Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Hasidic Judaism, a sub-group of Haredi Judaism that adheres to the historical traditions of Eastern European Jews, including communicating in Yiddish.
Hasidic
The Latest
-
News Can Ex-Orthodox Be Sold on Modern Orthodoxy?
In March 2013, Jewish educator and activist Allison Josephs, now 34, went to lecture at Rockland Community College about the journey to observance she took when she was a teenager. With her Jew in the City blog and her YouTube presence, Josephs, who was raised Conservative, has become a self-appointed spokeswoman for Modern Orthodox Judaism,…
-
Culture How Hasidism Bridges Boundary Between Christianity and Judaism
Hasidism Incarnate: Hasidism, Christianity, and the Construction of Modern Judaism By Shaul Magid Stanford University Press, 288 pages, $65 In some ways, the boundary between Judaism and Christianity is a boundary about boundaries — specifically, what separates humanity from God, and whether it is ever possible to bridge the gap. Christianity, of course, has among…
-
Opinion Men Pushing Baby Strollers? Only Goys Do That!
Now that Hasidic men are barred from pushing strollers, will they turn to other modes of baby transportation? / Illustration by Anya Ulinich Baseball. Men’s briefs. Dogs. Hipster eyeglasses. Motorcycles. Neckties. English. Math. Men’s shoes any color besides black. Button-down shirts that flap left-over-right. Fixing your own car. Modern Hebrew. That’s a partial list of…
-
Fast Forward N.Y. Hasidic Lawmaker Aron Wieder Gets ‘ISIS’ Threat Letter
Federal authorities are investigating a threatening photo sent to a Hasidic lawmaker in suburban New York. Aron Wieder, a Democrat who is majority leader of the Rockland County Legislature, received a photo last week in the mail showing his head pasted on the body of a person beheaded by the Islamic State jihadist group. The…
-
The Schmooze Bono Likes To Bike Around Dressed as A Hasidic Jew
Getty Images I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I hate Bono. And now, he’s just given me another reason. In an interview with CBS radio station KROQ’s Kevin & Bean Show, fellow U2 band-member The Edge mentioned that the lead singer casually dresses up as a Hasidic Jew while cycling around New York…
-
News Hasidic Enclave Keeps Its Secrets Amid Elusive Rebbe’s Tight Control
To his hasidim, Rabbi David Twersky is nearly akin to God. But that does not mean he exempts himself from the obligations God imposes on all Jews, at least as traditionalists understand them. Like his followers, Twersky prays to God three times a day. But unlike other Hasidic grand rabbis, Twersky does not pray in…
-
Fast Forward Ex-Hasidic Man Sues for $1.25M Over Poor Education
A lapsed haredi Orthodox Jew is suing the Quebec government for $1.25 million for not enforcing provincial education guidelines that he says left him virtually illiterate and unemployable. Yonanan Lowen, 36, attended two still-operating illegal haredi Tosh yeshivas north of Montreal and spoke only in Yiddish. He says he never learned to read or write…
-
News How Moshe Twersky’s Family Tree Melds Hasidic and Modern Orthodox Worlds
Rabbi Moshe Twersky, murdered in a bloody Jerusalem terror attack on November 18, bore the last name of one of the most illustrious families in Hasidic Europe. But he also was the “truest disciple” of his grandfather, Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, the founder of Modern Orthodoxy in America, Twersky’s brother-in-law told the Forward. Twersky, the…
Most Popular
- 1
Fast Forward Their Pacific Palisades synagogue is standing, but all three rabbis lost their homes
- 2
News Scoop: Heritage Foundation plans to ‘identify and target’ Wikipedia editors
- 3
News ‘Do you have the Torahs?’ Synagogue races LA wildfire to rescue its past and future
- 4
Opinion Why is Netanyahu poised to OK a ceasefire that’s favorable to Hamas? One word: Trump
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion Gaza ceasefire is the result of political machination — not Donald Trump
-
Looking Forward Why the hostage and ceasefire deal is both reassuring and terrifying
-
Opinion Is peace really coming? What about the West Bank? 5 crucial questions for Israel post-ceasefire
-
Fast Forward Isak Haleva, Turkey’s chief rabbi and face of Jewish minority, dies at 84
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism