Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

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Charedic family in Tel Aviv in 2014

The ultra-Orthodox or charedische Judaism ( Hebrew יַהֲדוּת חֲרֵדִית jahadut charedit ) is the most theologically and socially conservative direction within Judaism .

External and self-names

The term "ultra-orthodox", which is common in the non-Jewish media, is mostly rejected by the supporters themselves; they call themselves “strictly orthodox” or “charedisch”. The common name in Hebrew for a follower of this direction is also Charedi (חֲרֵדִי, Plural Charedim חֲרֵדִים(in English also: Haredim ), from charada חֲרָדָה "Furcht", German about "God-fearing").

History and dissemination

Hasidic boys, Poland, postcard circa 1915

Ultra-Orthodox Judaism emerged in the 19th century as a reaction to the Jewish Enlightenment and the emancipation efforts of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe .

Ultra-Orthodox Jews exist among both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews; However, the latter only make up around 20 percent. The Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox Jews are divided into Hasidic and Lithuanian- Yeshivian groups , also known as Mitnagdim . Outwardly recognizable by their clothing style, they differ from the rest of the Orthodox Jews in that they are hostile to secular knowledge and lead a strictly regulated, mostly rabbinical head , apart from mainstream society, both Jewish and non-Jewish.

Hasidic Jews on their way to the synagogue, Rehovot , Israel

The number of ultra-Orthodox Jews was estimated at around 1.3 to 1.5 million worldwide in 2007. Most of them, around 700,000, lived in Israel . There were around 500,000 ultra-Orthodox Jews in the United States and Canada. In Europe, there are larger ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland, the largest of which is in England, where around 46,500 ultra-Orthodox Jews lived in 2007.

Centers of ultra-Orthodox Judaism (outside of Israel) are among others in New York, especially in Brooklyn , London, Manchester and Gateshead , in Antwerp , in Strasbourg , in Vienna and in Zurich .

The Charedim in Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men and children out shopping, Bnei Brak, 2010

Share in the population

In Israel, the Charedim make up an estimated 15 percent of the population. However, since the 2010s a growing number of young adults, so-called "XOs" (ex-Orthodox), have left the ultra-Orthodox communities, not least because the previous isolation of the Charedim from secular Israeli society can no longer be enforced as usual in the age of the Internet .

Preferred places of residence

Jerusalem has the largest number of Charedic inhabitants ; there they shape entire districts, such as Me'a She'arim and Geula. The cities of Bnei Brak and Bet Shemesh are also among the places with a large ultra-Orthodox population. Some Charedim also live in settlements in the West Bank , such as Betar Illit and Modi'in Illit .

Employment

In Israel, around 60 to 70 percent of the Kharedi Jewish men do not have any work, but spend their time exclusively in a religious school, the yeshiva , studying the religious scriptures, especially the Tanakh and Talmud . They are sometimes financially supported by the state.

Young Charedi men in Jerusalem

Sometimes the women are employed, and sometimes they have better professional training than the men who study theology. They usually marry between the ages of 18 and 20 and have an average of seven children.

Social status

About 53 percent of ultra-Orthodox Israeli Jews lived below the poverty line in 2018, according to figures from Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics . The Haredim Institute for Public Affairs sees reasons for this in the ultra-orthodox way of life, in which money and economic status are of little importance. The main reasons for the low per capita income are the low employment rate, the religiously dominated education system, the young marriage age and the large families.

Conscription

Charedian woman praying at the western wall in Jerusalem

In the early years of Israel, around 400 Charedi Jews were exempted from conscription. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the compulsory exemption of ultra-Orthodox Talmud students from military service was unconstitutional . On March 12, 2014, the Knesset passed a law that limited the scope of exceptions and postponements of military service that the population perceived as unjust. As a result, the proportion of ultra-Orthodox Jews doing military service rose sharply. For 2013 their number was estimated at 60,000 to 70,000. In 2017 there were 2,848 exemptions and 27,440 postponements.

Relationship to the State of Israel

Charedian couples in Jerusalem

Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, both inside and outside of Israel, is divided in its attitude towards the State of Israel. Some groups reject the state of Israel in its present form, because in their view only the Messiah can reestablish a Jewish state; this includes u. a. Neturei Karta and the groups united in the Edah HaChareidis organization . Others, despite their rejection of Zionism, take an active part in Israeli politics; Examples of this are Agudat Jisra'el and Degel haTora as representatives of ultra-orthodox Ashkenazim . A third group, especially Sephardic Jews represented by the Shas party , advocates Zionism.

Charedian men in the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit

In Israel, ultra-Orthodox groups and parties, both Zionist and non-Zionist, have had significant political influence since the state was founded, as government majorities often fail without their support. The chief rabbinate , headed by two chief rabbis, one from Ashkenazi and one from Sephardi, also exerts a great influence on Israeli society .

Observance of the Sabbath

Charedim in Bnei Berak, Israel

For ultra-Orthodox Jews (as for all Orthodox Jews) the Sabbath is one of the most important events. The observance of the Sabbath is so important that it is said: “The Sabbath outweighs all the commandments. Those who keep the Sabbath according to regulations have recognized the whole Torah , as it were ; and whoever desecrates him is as if he had denied the whole Torah. ”The Sabbath rules in particular are of particular importance. There are 39 forbidden main jobs on the Sabbath (all planned, purposeful activities associated with the working day fall under this prohibition). An exception is, for example, when a human life is at risk. In order to be able to comply with these rules without having to forego convenience, certain aids are devised that do not violate the rules: For these cases, there are reliefs, such as special light switches based on "indirect causation".

literature

  • Steffen Hagemann : For people, country and Torah. Ultra-orthodoxy and messianic fundamentalism in comparison (= Politics and Culture series . 8). Schiler, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89930-154-4 .
  • Israel Shahak , Norton Mezvinsky: Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel. Pluto Press, Revised 2nd Edition, London & Ann Arbor 2004, ISBN 0-7453-2091-0 (hardcover); ISBN 0-7453-2090-2 (paperback) [critical examination of the influence of the ultra-Orthodox in Israel by two authors known for their anti-Israeli attitudes]
  • Michael Blume: The Haredim: History and Success of Ultra-Orthodox Judaism. sciebooks Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-95690-005-1 (eBook)
  • Joseph Berger: The Pious Ones: The World of Hasidim and Their Battle with America. [Hasidism in the USA]. Harper Perennial, 2014, ISBN 978-0-06-212334-3 (print); ISBN 978-0-06-212335-0 (eBook)
  • Peter Lintl: Ultra-Orthodox Politics in Israel: Towards a Religious State? In: Michaela Birk, Steffen Hagemann: The only Democracy? State and future of Israeli democracy. Aphorisma, Berlin, 2013, ISBN 978-3-86575-039-6 , pp. 209-237.
  • Yaakov Ariel: Ultra-Orthodoxy. In: Dan Diner (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Jewish History and Culture (EJGK). Volume 6: Ta-Z. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2015, ISBN 978-3-476-02506-7 , pp. 211-216.

Web links

Commons : Ultra-Orthodox Judaism  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Isabel Kershner: Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Protest Schools Ruling . In: The New York Times . June 17, 2010
  2. ^ Nathaniel Deutsch: The Forbidden Fork, the Cell Phone Holocaust, and Other Haredi Encounters with Technology. In: Contemporary Jewry. Vol. 29 (2009), Issue 1, pp. 3-19 ( DOI: 10.1007 / s12397-008-9002-7 ).
  3. ^ "Majority of Jews will be Ultra-Orthodox by 2050" . University of Manchester website . July 23, 2007
  4. ^ Britain's Jewish population on the rise . In: The Daily Telegraph . May 20, 2008
  5. ↑ studiotlv: gender dispute . August 16, 2019 ( ard-telaviv.de [accessed October 30, 2019]).
  6. ↑ Daniela Segenreich: «I cannot go back to slavery». Every year the ultra-religious congregations in Israel are losing more members - this is mainly due to the internet . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung of July 26, 2016, p. 35.
  7. ^ Dan Ephron: Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Problem. In: The Daily Beast . January 2, 2012, archived from the original on January 2, 2012 ; accessed on November 9, 2018 (English).
  8. ↑ Haredim very satisfied despite high poverty rates. In: Israelnetz .de. December 20, 2018, accessed January 13, 2019 .
  9. ↑ handelsblatt.de, Protest against conscription - Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators paralyze Jerusalem , March 2, 2014
  10. ↑ The number of Haredim in the army has risen sharply. In: Israelnetz .de. December 5, 2018, accessed December 28, 2018 .
  11. ↑ Peter Lintl: The Ultra-Orthodox, the Army and Why Nothing Will Change . In: Fokus-nahost.de
  12. ^ Shulchan Aruch , 404.
  13. ↑ Religious basics: Sabbath on the website “Jewish history and culture” of the Lessing-Gymnasium in Döbeln, accessed on September 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ On the seventh day: Helpers in need: Rabbi Halperin invents Shabbat technology in Jerusalem , Jüdische Allgemeine dated September 6, 2007, accessed on November 20, 2017.