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Hasidism (Hebrew: חסידות, romanized: Ḥăsīdus) or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe.
In choosing to belong to one particular sect, individuals were establishing their personal and collective identity vis-à-vis others. Thus each sect meticulously erected walls around itself to separate its members from other sects, ordinary Jews, and non‑Jews.
Jewish denominations — also sometimes referred to as streams, movements or branches — are the principal categories of religious affiliation among American Jews.
Simple: A Jew is anyone who was born of a Jewish mother, or has undergone conversion to Judaism according to halachah (Jewish law). That’s the way it’s been since Biblical times and it’s also firmly established in the Code of Jewish Law.
- Tzvi Freeman
- The Hasidic Movement Is About Love, Joy and Humility. Hasidim belong to a movement that was founded by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, who taught love, joy and humility—both in our service of G‑d and in our treatment of fellow human beings.
- Hasidic Jews Are Mystics. The teachings of Hasidism are an extension of the Kabbalistic writings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Isaac Luria and others.
- Not All Hasidim Are the Same. Every Hasidic group has its own unique flavor and focus. For example, the Hasidic groups influenced by the masters of Pshischa (notably Gur Hasidim today) value simplicity, austerity and a devotion to the stark, unvarnished truth.
- Hasidic Jews Use Technology. Hasidim use mobile phones, drive cars and use other forms of technology. Why not? After all, the sages taught that “All that G‑d created in His world, He only created for His honor.”
Though resistant to active participation and affiliation with Israel’s mostly secular democracy, haredi political groups function with the aim of aligning Israel’s policies with halakhah, or Jewish law, as well as insuring that haredi schools and institutions continue to receive government funding.
The defining doctrine of Orthodox Judaism is the belief that God revealed the Torah ("Teaching" or "Law") to Moses on Mount Sinai, both the written scripture of the Torah and the Oral Torah explicating it, and that sages promulgated it faithfully from Sinai in an unbroken chain.
