North American Hasidic Jews

By William Shaffir

Chassidim.

Hasidim are ultra-religious Jews who live within the framework of their centuries-old beliefs and traditions and who observe Orthodox law so meticulously that they are set apart from most other Orthodox Jews. Even their appearance is distinctive: the men bearded in black suits or long black coats over side curls, and women in high-necked, loose-fitting dresses, with kerchiefs or traditional wigs covering their hair. They are dedicated to living uncontaminated by contact with modern society except in accord with the demands of the work place and the state. They do not, for the most part, own radio or television sets, nor do they frequent cinemas or theaters. They dress and pray as their forefathers did in the eighteenth century, and they reject Western secular society which they regard as degenerate.

They do not, however, constitute a uniform group but are divided into a number of distinctive sects and communities, each organized around the teachings of a particular rebbe or charismatic religious leader. While the various Hasidic sects share a desire to maintain the integrity of Orthodox Judaism, they are sometimes sharply divided on practice, points of philosophy, and the personality of their religious leaders.

In spite of their differences, all attach great importance to preventing assimilation by insulating their members from the secular influences of the host culture which they perceive to be disruptive to the life-stype they wish to observe. To outsiders, the Hasidim are a homogeneous entity whose lifestyle and religious practices mirror those of previous generations. Such a view exaggerates the reality. Despite the perception of Hasidic society as relatively static, and as unresponsive to major social, political, economic, and technological changes over the past decades, a more precise appraisal is that it is an ongoing sociocultural entity constantly adapting to events in the larger society and is, in the process, becoming transformed. Due to their persistent and organized efforts, the Hasidim have maintained their distinctive way of life and have adapted to societal influences which in the case of other ethnic and religious minorities has resulted in their assimilation.

Although the estimation of numbers is difficult, the Lubavitcher and Satmar constitute the two largest groups, with approximately 25,000 followers in their respective areas of Brooklyn, New York. A current estimate of the number of Hasidic Jews in North America is between 90,000 to 100,000. Though the Hasidic population of Montreal is but a fraction of its New York counterpart, it numbers some 4,000 persons. Outside of New York and Montreal, the Hasidic population is relatively small. The exception is the Lubavitch sect which has created nuclei of communities throughout North America. Several Hasidic sects have established enclaves to remain shielded from the urban environment. Three such notable settlements include New Square, near Spring Valley, Kiryas Yoel, in Monroe County, New York, named after the previous Satmar rebbe, and the settlement of Tash in Boisbriand, Quebec, established by the Tasher rebbe.

The Hasidic movement began in the middle of the eighteenth century in Galicia on the Polish-Romanian border and in the Volhynia region of the Ukraine. It was founded by Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezer (1700-1760) who became known as the Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name). The movement emerged as a populist reaction against what its followers considered the elite, remote and formal character of rabbinic leaders.

In contrast to the mechanical and rigid forms of worship, the Baal Shem Tov preached piety of heart and service of God through the emotions. To serve God, the duty of every Jew, was not confined exclusively to the study of Talmud but embraced every aspect of daily life. The Baal Shem Tov's ministry stressed the joyful affirmation of life and counselled against asceticism and self-affliction. It was only after his death, however, that the systematic dissemination of Hassidism began. The movement evolved into a number of dynastic courts, comprising a rebbe and his followers. As the rebbe's power was inherited by his sons, in succeeding generations the number of rebbeim (plural of rebbe) multiplied and dynastic courts were established in villages and towns throughout Eastern and Central Europe.

In essence, Hasidic institutions are only comparatively autonomous and are connected with, and affected by, those in the larger Jewish community and surrounding society. The very presence of the non-Hasidic Jewish population contributes to the development of the Hasidic community by offering financial support for its various institutions. It also provides the Hasidim with a market for their products, including kosher baked-goods, kosher meat, and religious articles. The precise nature of the relationship is influenced by the particular sect's views of the threats posed by such contacts. The differing cases of the Lubavitcher and Satmarer illustrate this point. While the differences between them are few--their appearance and religious practice are nearly identical and both strictly observe Jewish laws--in crucial ways, their styles and outlooks are vastly different. The Satmar group is an insular community that seeks no publicity and shuns outsiders. It also staunchly opposes the State of Israel on the ground that the Jewish state cannot rightly come into existence until the arrival of the Messiah. By contrast, under Rabbi Schneerson, the Lubavitcher rebbe, this sect has altered the Hasidic pattern by looking outward. They have sent vans ("mitzveh tanks") into Manhattan and the suburbs, offering, to Jews only, religious books and items and a place to pray. They have also recruited many young Jews at colleges in New York and California, offering intellectual programs, drug clinics, and outreach houses. Aimed at intensifying less observant Jews' identification with Orthodox Judaism, the Lubavitch sect is unique in its involvements with the wider Jewish community. However, their outreach activities have offended the more extremist Hasidic sects whose relations with outsiders, both Jewish and Gentile, are governed pragmatically.

They are viewed by the larger Jewish community as ultra-Orthodox and fanatical as a result of their zealous observance of the Code of Jewish Law. While acknowledging that contact with the outside world cannot be avoided completely, they believe it can be controlled.

For the most part, Jerusalem and B'Nai Brak in Israel and Brooklyn, New York, were the choice of residence of the Hasidic Jews who survived World War II. A sizeable community was also established in Montreal, Quebec. The arrival of the Hasidim in the 1940s and 1950s differed from the previous settlements of Hasidic Jews in North America since, for the first time, a number of Hasidic rebbeim settled in the New York area: for instance, the Satmarer rebbe and the Klausenburger rebbe established themselves in Williamsburg, and the Lubavitcher rebbe and the Bobover rebbe moved to the Crown Heights area. In 1990, Williamsburg, Crown Heights, and Boro Park, all in Brooklyn, serve as the center of Hasidic Jewry and include a diverse set of institutions catering to the Hasidim's needs.

As with other activities in the Hasidic world, employment is balanced on the scale of religious values. Hasidic Jews do not pursue occupational careers as is the norm in Western culture, but organize their livelihood so that it does not interfere with their religious obligations, such as refraining from work on the Sabbath and major Jewish holidays. As a rule, following their yeshiva studies but sometimes concurrent with them, young men usually learn a trade or business, or are taken into a family business if conditions permit. Most Hasidim are skilled workers, are employed in various facets of the diamond industry, particularly in the New York area, but also hold such jobs as electricians, carpenters, wholesalers, operators of small businesses, and manufacturers. As well, many are employed in religious-oriented occupations and serve as religious teachers, ritual slaughterers, overseers of food products requiring rabbinical supervision, scribes for religious letters and documents, and the manufacturers of religious articles such as phylacteries, prayer shawls, and mezzuzoths. To better control their hours of employment so as to meet their religious obligations, Hasidim prefer either to be self-employed or to work for an Orthodox Jew who will be sympathetic to their religious requirements.

While the number of business enterprises in the Hasidic community is increasing, the professional class remains very small since Hasidim restrict secular educational opportunities for their members. Since in only the rarest of cases do Hasidim attend college or university, professionals among the Hasidim received their secular training prior to affiliating with the Hasidic community.

Attitudes towards women working have undergone modification. As the value of conspicuous consumption has taken root among young married couples, it is generally expected that in the absence of small children at home a woman ought to be employed. Aside from serving as teachers in their own schools, women are generally employed in some secreatarial capacity in small businesses.

Boys and girls are segregated at a very early age and never participate in activities where the sexes are mixed. Ideally neither male nor female has any sexual experience before marriage, the average age of which is young -- generally between the ages of 18 and 20 -- but varies with the particular Hasidic sect. "Dating," and "falling in love," are as foreign to the Hasidim as they are the norm in the larger secular culture. The selection of a mate is arranged through the aid of friends and members of the community who act in the capacity of shadchan, or marriage broker.

There is a tendency to prefer marriages with the same sect or at least with sects sharing a similar ideology. While intermediaries bring the couple together, the latter do meet and are given the opportunity to talk and judge the other's suitability as a marriage mate. Such encounters often consist simply of conversations in the living room of the girl's family, although some might take a stroll unescorted. In some instances, notably among the Lubavitcher, the couple might go for a drive or meet in a public setting. After a few meetings between a prospective bride and groom, a decision regarding marriage is reached. It will require approval by the respective families and the rebbe's blessing will be sought. Procreation, God's commandment, is one of the most important functions of the Hasidic family, and couples strive to have children as soon as possible. Most forms of birth control are religiously forbidden and the tendency is towards large families. Although rates of separation and divorce remain low, they may increase as the Hasidim respond to social and economic changes in the world around them.

The family is a central institution in the Hasidim's efforts to ensure conformity to a prescribed lifestyle as it is the first and most enduring locus of the socialization process. It is the mediator or communicator of social values and links the individual to the larger social structure. In this capacity, it becomes one of the cornerstones of community cohesion, continuity, and survival. Structurally speaking, the Hasidic family appears to be much like its traditional North American counterpart. Its organization shows a division of labor where the husband and father serves as the overall supervisor in religious matters, while the wife and mother is charged with keeping the house and ensuring that the children adhere to the prescribed religious precepts.

The religious education of the young is a central consideration in the Hasidic community. From childhood on, parents are instrumental in communicating to their children the appropriate attitudes and behavior. The ultimate objective of the religious training is to produce a God-fearing person who is well socialized into the sect's normative structure. Since Hasidic norms demand a strict separation of the sexes, separate schools are available for boys and girls and their formal education differs. For males, the central activity of the school day, until he is 16 or 17, consists of learning Torah. The primary subject matter is the Pentateuch and this, together with the Babylonian Talmud and some biblical commentaries, constitutes the core curriculum. Following graduation from the elementary division, the young man moves to the yeshiva--upper division--where the same basic subject matter is emphasized, except that more commentaries are added, and the coverage increases.

The girls' religious curriculum does not parallel the boys'. While it has undergone some changes in recent years, the general rule against teaching Torah to girls has resulted in a diluted curriculum which emphasizes a knowledge of Hebrew reading for prayer, Bible stories, moral teachings, and simplified law and custom codes. For both, the language of instruction is Yiddish. A feature common to all Hasidic sects is the view that secular education threatens their traditional values; in order to shield their children from its potentially harmful influences, they run their own schools where secular classes are closely supervised to ensure that the pupils will not encounter any conflict with the contents of their religious studies. While secular programs exist alongside the religious curriculum in the schools, they are hardly accorded equal importance. Textbooks are censored in advance and purged of all suspect stories and pictures. Non-academic subjects such as music and physical education are totally absent. Those hired for secular studies -- virtually all are outsiders since Hasidim do not pursue higher education to qualify for teacher accreditation -- are specifically informed about the constraints within which they must operate.

The secular studies program for girls is, generally, more liberal than the boys', since the former are permitted to have a greater amount of diversion from their religious studies. In the case of boys, only minimal time is devoted to secular education -- usually not more than a couple of hours late in the afternoon -- and by age 16 such studies are terminated for both sexes. The coordination of secular education helps the Hasidim uphold community boundaries, screening potentially harmful secular influences and contributing to the maintenance of a particular lifestyle. Secular studies programs are not seen as bearing any relationship to occupational choice in adulthood.

The rebbe occupies a unique position in the Hasidic community. He is in every way the leader of his flock and that fact is central in the organization of the group and the dynamics of change within it. His followers turn to him for advice not merely on spiritual and ethical problems but also on a wide range of practical matters such as taking a new job, moving to another city, or even consulting a physician. Because he is believed to be a tzaddik--a righteous person--possessing special qualities of insight, he is viewed as a mediator between his followers and God. In addition to seeking a personal audience with him, the Hassid may also send a kvitl, or prayer note, to the rebbe requesting his advice and blessing. It is common for Hasidim who are geographically distanced from their rebbe to visit him particularly during religious holidays. A rebbe's authority is inherited from his father or some other close relative but is believed ultimately to come from God. Perceived by his followers as unable to do wrong, it is impossible to have a disconfirmation of the rebbe's advice.

This summary was originally written by William Shaffir for the Encyclopedia of World Cultures.

• American Jewish Committee (AJC) -- category 664

• B'NAI B'RITH -- category 575

• BAAL TEFILAH -- master of prayers -- categories 463, 782, 794

• BAR MITZVAH -- categories 881, 794

• BAR/BAT MITZBAH -- categories 881, 794, 788

• BATLAN -- professional scholars -- categories 463, 877

• BAYS MEDRESH -- Rabbinical college -- category 874

• BRISS -- circumcision -- categories 852, 304

• CHASSIDIM (HASIDIM) -- a religious movement within the framework of Jewish laws and practices, but with their own unique customs and traditions -- category 795

• council of elders -- category 795

• court -- 25-30 communities or congregations -- category 794

• DYBBUK -- wandering souls of the dead -- category 775

• EINHORA -- the evil eye -- category 754

• GABAI -- the Rebbe's secretary or assistant -- category 794

• HALLEL -- prayer -- category 782

• HATZOLOH -- a medical volunteer emergency corps -- categories 575, 758

• HAZAH -- singers of the NIGGUNIM -- category 533

• Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) -- categories 167, 575

• HEDER -- a class of boys of mixed ages -- category 872

• Jewish benevolent societies -- categories 741, 747, (sometimes 795)

• KADISH -- prayers for the dead -- category 782

• KEHILLAH -- a Jewish polity or community -- categories 794, 621

• KEMEYOS -- protective amulets -- categories 789, 755

• KOLLEL -- institute of advanced Talmudic studies for young, married scholars -- categories 873, 874

• KOSHER, concepts of -- category 783

• KVITL (KVITLACH) -- a note on which the Hsid wrote their needs and requests and those of their family -- category 212 and other relevant categories

• LANDSLEIT -- clusters of fellow townsmen -- category 571

• LANDSMANSHAFTN -- association of Jewish immigrants who share common European origins -- categories 571, 575

• MASHGIACH -- supervisor of foodstuffs -- categories 463, 252, 262

• MELAMED -- instructor in religious matters -- categories 463, 554, 875

• MELAVE-MALKE -- a time of tale telling and good humor -- category 527

• METARGEM -- the person who translates Tallmudical laws and legends into English or Yiddish -- categories 463, 212

• MEZUZEH -- a holy amulet -- categories 778, 789

• MIKVEH -- the ritual bath -- categories 783, 515

• MITZVOT -- religious commandments -- category 779

• MOFSIM -- miracles -- category 789

• MOHEL -- the circumciser -- categories 463, 304

• NIGGUNIM -- melodies -- category 533

• NUSAH -- prayers -- category 782

• PARNASS -- the lay head of the Synagogue -- category 794

• PURIM -- category 796

• REABBE (RABBI) -- category 793

• ROV -- chief Rabbi -- categories 793, 554

• SE'UDAH -- a festive meal -- categories 262, 527

• SEGULOS -- objects or practices which are considered to effective against many types of illness -- categories 789, 755

• SHABBES -- the sabbath -- category 527

• SHAMASH -- the person in charge of the house of worship -- categories 463, 794

• SHATNES -- the prohibition on wearing any garment made of wool and linen -- categories 291, 784, 779

• SHOHET -- ritual slaughter -- categories 463, 231, 554

• SHOMRIM -- the volunteer civil patrol in Williamsburg -- categories 575, 625

• SHTETL -- village or townlet -- categories 361, 621

• SOFER -- scribe of religious letters and documents -- categories 463, 212

• SUCCAH -- a temporary booth used during the Holiday of Tabernacles -- category 349

• TIFILIN (phylacteries) -- sacred religious objects worn by men during morning prayers -- category 778

• TEVILAH -- immersion in a MIKVEH -- category 783, 515

• TIKKUN -- a donation of a sum of mo0ney to by liquor and cake -- category 431

• TOKE'A -- the person blowing the SHOFAR -- category 796

• Worker's Benevolent Association -- a mutal benefit society -- category 456

• YESHIVAH -- religious educational schools or seminaries -- categories 872, 873, 874

• YIHUS -- one's lineage -- category 613

• YOHRTSAIT -- anniversary of the day of death -- category 769

• Zionist movement -- category 668

Mintz, Jerome (1968). Legends of the Hasidim: an Introduction to Hasidic Culture and Oral Tradition in the New World. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

Poll, Solomon (1962). The Hasidic Community of Williamsburg. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, Inc.

Rubin, Israel (1972). Satmar: an Island in the City. Chicago, IL: Quadrangle Books.

Shaffir, William (1974). Life in a Religious Community: the Luvaitcher Chassidim in Montreal. Montreal, PQ: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston of Canada.