Editing Hasidic Judaism (section)

==Practice and culture==
===Rebbe and "court"===
[[File:Flickr - Government Press Office (GPO) - The Rabbi of Kalib (1).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Menachem Mendel Taub|Kaliver Rebbe]], Holocaust survivor, inspiring his court on the festival of [[Sukkot]]]]
[[File:פתקים בתוך אוהל הרבי מליובאוויטש.jpg|thumb|right|[[Kvitel]] requests for blessing piled on the [[ohel (grave)|saintly graves]] of the last [[Chabad]] rebbes]]
{{see also|rebbe}}
The Hasidic community is organized in a sect known as a "court" ({{Langx|yi|הויף|translit=Hoyf}}, Galician Yiddish ''howf''; [[grammatical gender|masc]]). In the movement's early days, a particular rebbe's following usually resided in the same town and their leaders' settlement categorized their Hasidism: a Hasid of Belz, Vizhnitz, and so forth. Later, especially after [[World War II]], the dynasties retained the names of their original Eastern European settlements when moving to the West or Israel. Thus, for example, the [[Joel Teitelbaum]]'s court in 1905 in [[Transylvania]] remained known after its namesake town, [[Sathmar]], even though its headquarters lay in New York, and almost all other Hasidic sects likewise – albeit some groups founded overseas were named accordingly, like the [[Boston (Hasidic dynasty)|Bostoners]].

Akin to his spiritual status, the Rebbe is also the administrative head of the community. Sects often possess linked synagogues (often known as [[shtiebel]]s), study halls, and internal charity mechanisms, and sufficiently large ones also maintain entire educational systems. The rebbe is the supreme authority figure, not just for the institutions. The rank-and-file Hasidim are also expected to consult with him on important matters and often seek his blessing and advice. He is personally attended by aides known as ''[[gabbai]]'' or ''mashbak''.

Many particular Hasidic rites surround the leader. On [[Shabbat]], [[Jewish holidays]], and celebratory occasions, rebbes hold a ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]'' "table", a large feast for their male adherents. Together, they sing, dance, and eat, and the head of the sect shakes the hands of his followers to bless them, and often delivers a sermon. A ''khozer'' "repeater", selected for his good memory, commits the text to writing after Shabbat (any form of writing during the Sabbath itself [[activities prohibited on Shabbat|being forbidden]]). In many "courts", the remnants of his meal, supposedly suffused with holiness, are handed out and even fought over. A very large dish is often prepared beforehand, and the rebbe only tastes it before passing it to the crowd. Apart from the gathering at noon, the [[seudah shlishit]] of Shabbat and the [[Melaveh Malkah]] meal when it ends are also particularly important and an occasion for song, feasting, tales, and sermons. A central custom, which serves as a major factor in the economics of most "courts", is the ''[[kvitel]]'', "little note". Adherents submit a written petition, which the master may assist with on behalf of his sanctity, adding money for either [[tzedakah]] or the leader's needs.<ref>[[Louis Jacobs]], ''[https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Hasidism/Everyday_Life Hasidism: Everyday Life]'', [[The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe]].</ref><ref>''Hasidism: Hasidic Way of Life'', Encyclopedia Judaica, Volume 8, pp. 398–399.</ref> Occasions in the "court" serve as a pretext for mass gatherings, flaunting the power, wealth and size of each. Weddings of the leader's family, for example, are often held with large multistoried stands (פארענטשעס, ''Parentches'') filled with Hasidim surrounding the main floor, where the Rebbe and his relatives dine, celebrate, and perform the [[Mitzvah tantz]]. This is a festive dance with the bride: Both parties hold one end of a long sash, a Hasidic [[gartel]], for modesty.

Allegiance to the dynasty and Rebbe is also sometimes a cause for tension.<ref>Mintz, Jerome R. (1992). ''Hasidic People: A Place in the New World''. Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-38116-2}}. pp. 58, 135–136, etc.</ref> Notable feuds between "courts" include the 1926–1934 strife after [[Chaim Elazar Spira]] of [[Munkacs (Hasidic dynasty)|Munkatch]] cursed the deceased [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach I]] of Belz;<ref>[http://www.jta.org/1927/02/10/archive/chassidic-feud-leads-to-split-in-community Chassidic Feud Leads to Split in Community.] JTA, February 10, 1927.</ref> the 1980–2012 Satmar-Belz collision after [[Yissachar Dov Rokeach II]] broke with the [[Orthodox Council of Jerusalem]], which culminated when he had to travel in a bulletproof car;<ref>[http://www.jta.org/1981/03/05/archive/belzer-rebbe-under-heavy-security-guard-due-to-threats-on-his-life Belzer Rebbe Under Heavy Security Guard Due to Threats on His Life]. JTA, March 5, 1981.</ref> and the 2006–present Satmar succession dispute between brothers [[Aaron Teitelbaum]] and [[Zalman Leib Teitelbaum]], which saw mass [[riot]]s.

As in other [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] groups, apostates may face threats, hostility, violence, and various punitive measures, among them separation of children from their disaffiliated parents, especially in divorce cases. Due to their strictly religious education and traditionalist upbringing, many who leave their sects have few viable work skills or even speak English. Their integration into the broader society is often difficult.<ref>Cf., for example: Judy Bolton-Fasman, [https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/memoirs-of-ex-hasidic-jews-shine-light-on-faigy-mayers-world-1.5385468 'Off the Path' Memoirs of ex-Hasidic Jews Shine Light on Faigy Mayer’s World]. [[Haaretz]], 11 August 2015.</ref> The segregated communities are also a comfortable setting for [[child sexual abuse]], and numerous incidents have been reported. While Hasidic leadership has often been accused of silencing the matter, awareness of it is rising within the sects.<ref>{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Berger |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/nyregion/sexual-abuse-questions-swirl-around-yeshiva-leader-in-kiryas-joel.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/18/nyregion/sexual-abuse-questions-swirl-around-yeshiva-leader-in-kiryas-joel.html |archive-date=2022-01-03 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Sexual Abuse Questions Swirl Around Yeshiva Leader in Kiryas Joel |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 17, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Another related phenomenon is the recent rise of ''mashpi'im'' "influencers". Once a title for an instructor in Chabad and Breslov only, the institutionalized nature of the established "courts" led many adherents to seek guidance and inspiration from persons who did not declare themselves new leaders, but only ''mashpi'im''. Technically, they fill the original role of rebbes in providing for spiritual welfare; yet, they do not usurp the title, and are therefore countenanced.<ref>Tomer Persico, ''[https://tomerpersico.com/2014/03/27/brown_interview/ דמוקרטיזציה מול הקצנה, פתיחות מול הסתגרות – ראיון עם ד"ר בנימין בראון על החברה החרדית]''.</ref>

===Liturgy===
Most Hasidim use some variation of ''[[Nusach Sefard]]'', a blend of the liturgies of [[Nusach Ashkenaz]] and [[Nusach Sefard]] based on the innovations of [[Isaac Luria]]. Many dynasties have specific adaptations of Nusach Sefard. The versions of the Belzer, Bobover, and [[Dushinsky (Hasidic dynasty)|Dushinskier]] are closer to the Nusach Ashkenaz, while others, such as the Munkacz version, are closer to the Lurianic. Many sects believe that their version reflects Luria's mystical devotions best. The [[Baal Shem Tov]] added two segments to Friday services on the eve of Sabbath: [[Psalm 107]] before [[mincha]], and [[Psalm 23]] at the end of [[maariv]].

Hasidim use [[Ashkenazi Hebrew]] for liturgical purposes, reflecting their Eastern European background. In their services, wordless, emotional melodies, [[nigun]]im are particularly common.

Hasidim lends great importance to [[kavanah]], devotion or intention; their services are long and repetitive. Some courts nearly abolished traditional specified times by which prayers must be conducted (''zemanim''), to prepare and concentrate. This practice, still enacted in [[Chabad]] for one, is controversial in many dynasties, which do follow the specifics of [[halakha]] on praying earlier, and not eating beforehand. [[Chabad]] uses the permission granted in Jewish law to eat before prayer in certain circumstances, and to have later praying times, as a result of more extended periods of preparatory study and contemplation beforehand. A common saying to explain this (attributed to the Third Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson I) goes, "Better to eat in order to pray, than to pray in order to eat", implying it is better to eat before prayer if due to the later time of prayers finishing one will be hungry and unable to concentrate properly. Another regulation is daily immersion in a [[mikveh]] by men for spiritual cleansing, a rate much higher than is customary for [[Misnagdim]] (non-Hasidic [[Orthodox Jews]]).

===Melody===
Hasidism developed a unique emphasis on the spirituality of [[nigun]]im, wordless melodies, as a means to reach [[devekut]] during prayer and communal gatherings. Nigunim developed new expressions and depths of the soul in Jewish life, often drawing from folk idioms of the surrounding gentile culture, which were adapted to elevate their concealed sparks of divinity, according to [[Lurianic Kabbalah]].<ref>[https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Hasidism/Music Hasidism: Music] YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe</ref>

===Appearance===
{{More citations needed section|date=April 2024}}
[[File:Hasidic Family in Street - Borough Park - Hasidic District - Brooklyn.jpg|thumb|210px|left|Hasidic family in [[Borough Park, Brooklyn]]. The man is wearing a [[shtreimel]], and either a [[bekishe]] or a [[rekel]]. The woman is wearing a wig, called a ''sheitel'' in Yiddish, as according to [[halakha]], she is forbidden to show her hair to anyone outside her immediate family after marriage.]]
[[File:Rabbi Moshe Leib Rabinovich.JPG|thumb|150px|right|[[Moshe Leib Rabinovich]], the [[Munkacs (Hasidic dynasty)|Munkacser]] rebbe, wearing a [[kolpik]]]]
[[File:HasidicRebbe.jpg|thumb|150px|right|The [[Dorohoi]] rebbe in his traditional rabbinical [[Shabbat]] garb]]
Within the Hasidic world, it is possible to distinguish different Hasidic groups by subtle differences in dress. Some details of their dress are shared by non-Hasidic Haredim. Much of Hasidic dress was historically the clothing of all Eastern European Jews, influenced by the style of [[szlachta|Polish–Lithuanian nobility]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|last=Goldberg-Mulkiewicz|first=Olga|encyclopedia=[[The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe]]|title=Dress|url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Dress|access-date=20 February 2014}}</ref> Furthermore, Hasidim have attributed religious origins to specific Hasidic items of clothing.

Hasidic men most commonly wear dark overclothes. On weekdays, they wear a long, black, cloth jacket called a [[rekel]] in Yiddish, and on Jewish holidays, the [[bekishe|bekéshe]] and {{transliteration|yi|zaydene kapote}} "silk [[kaftan]]", a similarly long, black jacket, but of [[satin]] (traditionally silk. Indoors, the colorful ''tish bekéshe'' is still worn. Some Hasidim wear a satin overcoat called a ''radzivulke'' (after the noble wear of the Polish [[House of Radziwiłł]])

On Shabbat, rebbes traditionally wore a white bekéshe. However, this practice has fallen into disuse among most. Many wear a black silk bekeshe with velvet trim called ''strókes'' [[piping (sewing)|piping]] or ''samet'' "[[samite]]"; in Hungarian ones, they are gold-embroidered.

Various symbolic and religious qualities are attributed to Hasidic dress, though they are mainly apocryphal as their origin is cultural and historical. For example, bekeshes are modest, the [[shtreimel]] is warm but not [[wool]] (thus not violating rules of [[shaatnez]]). Shabbat shoes are laceless not to have to tie a knot, a [[rabbinically prohibited activities of Shabbat|rabbinically prohibited activity of Shabbat]]. A [[gartel]] divides the Hasid's lower parts from his upper parts, implying modesty and chastity. For kabbalistic reasons, Hasidim buttoned their clothes right over the left. Hasidic men customarily wear black hats on weekdays, as do nearly all Haredi men today. A variety of hats are worn depending on the group: Chabad men often pinch their hats to form a triangle on the top, Satmar men wear an open-crown hat with rounded edges, and ''samet'' "velvet hat" or ''biber'' [[beaver hat]] are worn by many Galician and Hungarian Hasidic men.

Married Hasidic men don a variety of fur [[headdress]]es on the Sabbath, once common among all wedded Eastern European Jewish males and still worn by non-Hasidic [[Perushim]] in Jerusalem. The most ubiquitous is the shtreimel, which is seen especially among Galician and Hungarian sects like Satmar or Belz. A taller ''[[spodik]]'' is donned by Polish dynasties such as [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Ger]]. A ''[[kolpik]]'' is worn by unmarried sons and grandsons of many Rebbes on the Sabbath. Some Rebbes don it on special occasions.

There are many other distinct items of clothing. Such are the [[Ger (Hasidic dynasty)|Gerrer]] ''hoyznzokn –'' long black socks into which the trousers are tucked. Some Hasidic men from [[Eastern Galicia]] wear black socks with their breeches on the Sabbath, as opposed to white ones on weekdays, particularly [[Belz (Hasidic dynasty)|Belzers]].

Following a Biblical commandment not to shave the sides of one's face (Leviticus 19:27), male members of most Hasidic groups wear long, uncut sidelocks called [[payot]]. Some Hasidic men shave off the rest of their hair. Not every Hasidic group requires long peyos, and not all Jewish men with peyos are Hasidic, but all Hasidic groups discourage the shaving of one's beard. Most Hasidic boys receive their [[upsherin]] ritual, a first haircut, at the age of three years ([[Skver (Hasidic dynasty)|Skverer]]s do this on boys' second birthday). Until then, Hasidic boys have long hair.

Hasidic women wear clothing adhering to the principles of [[tzeniut]], modest dress. This includes long conservative skirts, sleeves past the elbow, and covered necklines. Also, women wear stockings to cover their legs; in some Hasidic groups, such as Satmar or [[Toldos Aharon]], the stockings must be opaque. In keeping with halakha, [[head covering for Jewish women|married women wear a head covering]], using either a ''sheytel'' "wig", ''tikhl'' "headscarf", ''shpitzl'' "[[snood (headgear)|snood]]", [[beret]], or other hat. In some Hasidic groups, women may wear two headcoverings – a wig and scarf or a wig and hat.

===Families===
Hasidic Jews, like many other Orthodox Jews, typically produce large families; the average Hasidic family in the United States has 8 children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aish.com/jw/s/48899452.html |title=Jews and the Jewish Birthrate |work=aishcom |publisher=Aish.com |access-date=2009-05-05}}</ref> This is followed out of a desire to fulfill the Biblical mandate to "[[be fruitful and multiply]]" and sometimes specifically to counteract the loss of Jewry during [[the Holocaust]].

===Languages===
Most Hasidim speak the language of their countries of residence but use [[Galician Yiddish]] among themselves to remain distinct and preserve tradition. Thus, children are still learning Yiddish today, and the language, despite predictions to the contrary, has not died. Yiddish newspapers are still published, and Yiddish fiction is written, primarily aimed at women. Even media in Yiddish is produced both within the Hasidic community and outside it for both educational and entertainment purposes, such as [[Unorthodox (miniseries)|''Unorthodox'']] and ''[[Shtisel]]'' on [[Netflix]] as well as support from the Swedish government for Yiddish as one of the [[official minority languages of Sweden]]. Some Hasidic groups, such as Satmar and Toldot Aharon, actively oppose the everyday use of Hebrew, which they consider a holy tongue. The use of Hebrew for anything other than prayer and study is, according to them, profane, and so, Yiddish is the vernacular and common tongue for most Hasidim around the world.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

===Literature===
{{see also|Hasidic philosophy#Writings|Rabbinic literature #Hasidic thought}}
[[File:Chassid22.jpg|thumb|right|Sculpture of the Hasidic movement's celebration of spirituality on the [[Knesset Menorah]]]]
Hasidic tales are a literary genre, including the [[hagiography|hagiographies]] of various rebbes and moralistic themes. Some are anecdotes or recorded conversations about faith, practice, etc. The most famous tend to be terse and carry a strong and obvious point. They were often transmitted orally, though the earliest compendium is from 1815.<ref name="Schacter-Shalomi, Zalman 2003">Schacter-Shalomi, Zalman, Wrapped in a Holy Flame (2003) San Francisco CA, Jossey-Bass, {{ISBN|978-0-7879-6573-0}}</ref>

Many revolve around the righteous. The Baal Shem Tov, in particular, was subject to excess hagiography.<ref name="Buber, Martin 1948">Buber, Martin, Tales of the Hasidim: The Early Masters (1948) New York, NY, Schocken Books {{ISBN|978-0-8052-0995-2}}</ref> Characterized by vivid metaphors, miracles, and piety, each reflects the surrounding and era it was composed in. Common themes include dissenting the question what is acceptable to pray for, whether or not the commoner may gain communion, or the meaning of wisdom.<ref name="Buber, Martin 1948"/>
The tales were a popular, accessible medium to convey the movement's messages.<ref name="Schacter-Shalomi, Zalman 2003"/>

In addition to these tales, Hasidim study the numerous mystical/spiritual works of [[Hasidic philosophy]]. (Chabad, for example, daily study the [[Tanya (Judaism)|''Tanya'']], the ''[[Torah Or/Likutei Torah]]'', and the voluminous works of the [[Chabad#The leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch|Rebbes of Chabad]]; [[Breslov]]ers study the teachings of [[Nachman of Breslov]], additional to his "tales".) These works draw on the earlier esoteric theology of Kabbalah but articulate this in terms of inner psychological awareness and personal analogies. In addition to its formal, intellectual component, this study thus makes Jewish mysticism accessible and tangible, so that it inspires emotional devekut and embeds a deep [[Hashkafa#Principles|spiritual element in daily Jewish life]].