Editing Hasidic Judaism (section)

===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>