Papers by Menachem Keren-Kratz
Relogions, 2024
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/H6Z656E98M
Abstract Immigration, particula... more https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/H6Z656E98M
Abstract Immigration, particularly forced immigration, has a profound impact on every aspect of immigrants’ lives. One such aspect is their religious convictions and practices. Nowadays, Migration Studies is a major academic field that produces many books and articles each year. This article examines the impact of forced immigration on the daily practices and internal relationships between leaders and followers of a specific religious group—Hassidism, in one particular period—the early second half of the 20th century. It does so by examining how two Hassidic leaders, the Satmar Rebbe in America and the Viznitzer Rebbe in Israel, established their communities after the Holocaust. This is one of only a few academic studies that explore post-Holocaust Hassidism, with a specific focus on the effects of forced immigration on its development. Throughout Jewish history, large-scale immigration and the inevitable need to adapt to new political, religious, and cultural circumstances had a profound influence on the way Jews conducted their religious affairs. This article explores how the uprooting of Hassidism from Eastern Europe after the Holocaust and its transplantation in countries that were new to them prompted Hassidic leaders who wanted to reestablish their communities to adopt a new set of leadership priorities. The result was that despite bearing the same title, Hassidic communities that were established after the Holocaust were very different from those that operated in Europe previously.
Ofakim Be-Geographia, 2023
English abstract in the following.
אחד המאמרים הראשונים שעסקו בחברה החרדית בישראל התפרסם בשנת 198... more English abstract in the following.
אחד המאמרים הראשונים שעסקו בחברה החרדית בישראל התפרסם בשנת 1985. הטענה המרכזית שלו הייתה כי החברה החרדית יכולה להתקיים רק כאשר חבריה מרוכזים במובלעות גיאוגרפיות מוגדרות. כותבי המאמר ביקשו להוכיח זאת באמצעות ניתוח נתוני ההצבעה למפלגות החרדיות באזורי הקלפי השונים בירושלים. בחינה מחודשת של נתוני החוקרים מעלה כי הנתונים שסיפקו לא תמכו במסקנות אליהם הגיעו.
מאמר זה משתמש בנתונים ובמתודולוגיה דומים. ואולם, בניגוד למאמר הקודם שבחן רק את החברה החרדית בירושלים, ורק את הנעשה בה בנקודת זמן מסוימת באמצע שנות השמונים, מציג המאמר שלפנינו תמונה מקיפה על דפוסי המגורים של הציבור החרדי בישראל משנותיה הראשונות של המדינה ועד ימינו אלה בכל רחבי המדינה. הנתונים מוצגים באמצעות גרפים המבוססים על ניתוח של עשרות אלפי נתונים, ומתארים את השינויים שחלו בפריסה הגיאוגרפית של הציבור החרדי ואת ההעדפה הברורה שלו, המתחזקת עם הזמן, להתרכז במרחבי מגורים בהם קיים כבר רוב חרדי.
One of the first articles dealing with Israel’s Haredi society was published in 1985. Its main claim was that Haredi society can only exist when its members are concentrated in defined geographic enclaves. The authors sought to prove this claim by analyzing the voting data to the Haredi parties in the various polling areas in Jerusalem. A reexamination of their analysis reveals that the data they provided did not support the conclusions they reached.
This article uses similar data and methodology. However, unlike the previous article that examined only Jerusalem’s Haredi society and only at a certain point in time in the mid-1980s, this article presents a comprehensive study of the residential patterns of the Haredi public in the whole country since its early years to the present day. This is presented using graphs based on the analysis of tens of thousands of data describing the changes in the geographical distribution of the Haredim in Israel and their tendency, that increases over time, to concentrate in residential areas in which they comprise a majority.
Segula, 2024
Today, many Haredi leaders who oppose secular studies in the ultra-Orthodox education system for ... more Today, many Haredi leaders who oppose secular studies in the ultra-Orthodox education system for boys claim that in the past Orthodox boys were never exposed to secular studies and that this tradition should be maintained in our generation as well. This article proves that this assertion is incorrect.
Jewish Culture and History, 2024
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3VPFPT5HGFXSC7GQXGUZ/full?target=10.1080/1462169X.2024.233669... more https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/3VPFPT5HGFXSC7GQXGUZ/full?target=10.1080/1462169X.2024.2336694
Until recently, most of the scholarship regarding the conduct of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox societies and their relations with other Jewish groups, focused on analyzing the differences between their respective theologies. Many contemporary authors, however, me being one of them, also look at the various religious groups' political agenda and its confrontation with either that of other religious groups and individuals or with the general political environment in which they operated. This is also this book’s main assertion, namely that analyzing the behavior and relationship between the two main Jewish religious movements, Agudat Yisrael and Mizrahi, cannot be completely understood based on their respective formal ideologies, but should also look at their corresponding politics and their decisions and actions at any specific moment in time.
באים אל הפרופסורים, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkbVPFmWi-M&t=907s
American Shtetl tells the story of Kiryas Joel (hereinafter "KJ"), whose over 30,000 residents ar... more American Shtetl tells the story of Kiryas Joel (hereinafter "KJ"), whose over 30,000 residents are almost exclusively Satmar Hasidim. Established in the mid-1970s as a small neighborhood, within a few years it became a semi-autonomous village within the town of Monroe, NY. As it continued to expand both geographically and in population, and seeking to have greater autonomy, a few years ago KJ was declared an independent town named Palm Tree. The book reviews the history of KJ and the various challenges it has faced over the 50 years since its founding. While the book supplies ample information on KJ and presents an insightful and profound sociological and conceptual analysis of this unique phenomenon of American Shtetl, it also has some drawbacks which will be addressed in what follows. The book addresses a series of paradoxes concerning KJ, which the authors, Nomi M. Stolzenberg and David N. Myers, address either directly or indirectly. For example, the book presents the Hasidic assertion that the main reason for the establishment of KJ was the desire of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum (1887-1979), the founder of the Satmar Hasidic community, also known as a Hasidic court, to create a rural enclave in which his followers would be able to live their lives free of the evil influences and unholy atmosphere of America. Consequently, KJ was meant to imitate life in an east-European Jewish Shtetl in keeping with Rabbi Teitelbaum's ultra-conservative and anti-modern views. However, the authors also claim that such "insularity, homogeneity, and religious uniformity [were] never before seen in the Jewish world, not even in the dense Jewish communities of Eastern Europe" (p. 15).
Antisemitism in Hungary: Appearance and reality, 2023
In 2016 the United States government, as well as other governments, adopted the working definitio... more In 2016 the United States government, as well as other governments, adopted the working definition made by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) which stated that: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews […] These manifestations might include the targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity.” The working definition also stated that one example of antisemitism was “Denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, e.g., by claiming that the existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavor.”
Because this definition refers also to the targeting of Israel as a Jewish state, it implies that the call to obliterate Israel, the Jewish state, may also be considered a form of antisemitism. Since then, many public bodies which fight antisemitism denounced the expression of anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands as a form of antisemitism.
But what can be said on such anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli expressions when they are voiced by Jews? Clearly, simply claiming that Jews, because of their Jewishness, cannot be antisemitic is a racist statement. Such a claim either assumes that Jews are better than non-Jews or that Jews are unable to make statements which offend their collective identity. This is all the more so considering the long history of objection to Zionism by several Jewish camps.
Jewish Quarterly Review, 2023
Speaking of Zionism it is important to remember not only that many Jews rejected this ideology, b... more Speaking of Zionism it is important to remember not only that many Jews rejected this ideology, but also that for some it symbolized an abomination, heresy and the worst collective sin the Jewish people have ever committed. Since it was first published in 1960, Va-Yoel Moshe – a book written by Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum, the Satmar Rebbe – is considered the most radical anti-Zionist text written by a Jew in modern history. During the ensuing sixty years, the book has reappeared in more than a dozen full editions and been translated into several languages. At least thirty further volumes have offered interpretations, adaptions for children, compiled digests, or reviewed its relevance to various ideological issues or halakhic rulings.
The article will present the history of Jewish anti-Zionist texts published prior to Va-Yoel Moshe, and shortly review Rabbi Yoel’s biography and explain his motivation for writing the book. It will then outline the book’s contents and the religious principles which support its main theses. Last, it will review the Jewish public’s reaction to the book and explain how and why it became a canonical text among Jewish Orthodoxy’s most radical wing, which in this article is titled Extreme Orthodoxy.
Jewish Studies Quarterly, 2023
https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/article/the-battle-over-hasidic-radicalism-the-belz-munkacs-contro... more https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/article/the-battle-over-hasidic-radicalism-the-belz-munkacs-controversy-101628jsq-2023-0017?no_cache=1
Throughout its history Hasidism has faced various challenges, including frequent internal controversies that augmented its ramified social and cultural frameworks. Many of these controversies have revolved around competition and political antagonism rather than ideological or theological incentives. This article addresses a harsh controversy that erupted between the Belz and Munkacs Hasidic groups after World War 1. This feud reflects the profound challenges that Jewish lay leaders and rabbis faced during this period, clarifies the socio-political considerations of the Hasidic rebbes, and affords readers a better understanding of the idiosyncratic anatomy of intra-Hasidic controversies. The reconstruction of the drama of the Belz-Munkacs controversy, which has thus far attracted no scholarly attention, reveals an important and unfamiliar chapter in the evolution of interwar Jewish fundamentalism.
Sefer Yerushalayim, 2023
Sefer Yerushalayim (The Book of Jerusalem) is a series of publications covering the History and s... more Sefer Yerushalayim (The Book of Jerusalem) is a series of publications covering the History and society of Jerusalem from antiquity to modern times. This is the seventh book in this series and is the first to review the city after the establishment of the State of Israel. My chapter deals with various aspects of Jerusalem's Haredi society.
Segula, 2023
בניגוד למצב ששרר בגולה, רק בארץ ישראל הוקמו יישובים שכל תושביהם היו יהודים. כיוון שהיה מדובר בייש... more בניגוד למצב ששרר בגולה, רק בארץ ישראל הוקמו יישובים שכל תושביהם היו יהודים. כיוון שהיה מדובר ביישובים חדשים, ומפני שלא היו בהם תושבים לא יהודים, ביקשו מייסדיהם, גם אם הם עצמם לא שמרו מצוות, לעצב את אורח החיים הציבורי שלהם באופן שידגיש את אופיים היהודי ויבליט את שונותם מן היישובים שבהם יהודים וערבים חיו אלה לצד אלה. כך קרה במושבות העבריות הראשונות כמו פתח תקוה, ראשון לציון, ראש פינה ורחובות, וגם באחוזת בית שהפכה לתל אביב, העיר העברית הראשונה. בכל המקומות הללו נקבעה השבת כיום מנוחה והעסקים שבתו בה ממלאכתם, נבנו מוסדות דת כמו בתי כנסת, מקוואות, ובתי עלמין יהודיים, ובבתי ספר שלהם לימדו תנ"ך ותורה שבעל פה. בחלק מן המושבות מונה גם רב ששימש כסמכות ההלכתית והוקמה מועצה דתית.
לפני מי שרצו להקים קהילה שכל חבריה יהיו שומרי מצוות קפדניים עמדו שתי אפשרויות. האחת הייתה הקמת מושבות חקלאיות קטנות ומבודדות שתתנהלנה מלכתחילה כקהילות דתית, וראשי הוועד יוכלו לסנן את המתיישבים החדשים ואף להרחיק באמצעות סנקציות חברתיות וכלכליות את מי שלא שמרו על התקנון שקבע את אורח החיים הדתי כעיקרון מחייב. האפשרות האחרת הייתה בנייתן של שכונות מגורים עירוניות מטעמו של יזם יחיד שמכר את הדירות רק למי שהתחייבו לקיים תקנון שכלל התחייבות לשמירה על אופייה הדתי של השכונה וגם סעיף שאסר למכור את הדירה למי שלא יתחייב למלא תנאי זה.
Israel Studies, 2023
Until the late 1970s, Israeli Haredim were known for their strict observance of halakha, their de... more Until the late 1970s, Israeli Haredim were known for their strict observance of halakha, their deference to their rabbis, the strictly Orthodox education of their children, and their reliable vote for Haredi political parties. Apart from these mores, most Haredim were comfortable leading a normal Israeli life: dressing as they pleased; living wherever their social, cultural, and economic needs were met; choosing an occupation or place of work that suited their capabilities and professional experience; and taking pride in the state which had accepted them as equal citizens after the Holocaust, supported their particular religious needs, and enabled them to follow their Haredi lifestyle to the full. In the wake of a process which began in the mid-1950s and culminated in the late 1970s, Israel’s Haredi society adopted a way of life and attitudes which were different from those they had previously followed. The transformation was driven by three main factors: a growing frustration and the realization that the society, public space, and governing bodies of the country were becoming increasingly secularized. A second factor was the rise to power of Rabbi Menachem Mann Shach who became Haredi society’s foremost leader during these years. And the third was the 1977 political turnaround when for the first time, right-wing parties established the government. This provided Rabbi Shach with the political opportunity to lead the Haredi sector away from its former lifestyle which sought to integrate into Israeli society, and towards a disdain for Israel, Zionist ideology, and non-Haredi society. Rabbi Shach achieved this by imposing strict and unprecedented religious and social norms, glorified as the return to a “golden age” that never really existed.
Modern Judaism, 2023
Throughout history, many Jewish laymen and rabbis have objected to the collective return of the J... more Throughout history, many Jewish laymen and rabbis have objected to the collective return of the Jews to Eretz Israel, namely Palestine, particularly if it was motivated by nationalistic rather than religious reasons. They did so for many reasons, the most persistent of which relied on a religious rationale. Anti-Zionist stands were voiced by both ends of the religious spectrum: the radical Reform on the one hand, and the ultra-Orthodox on the other.
Following the establishment of the State of Israel, expressing anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands has become a routine practice among some Reform groups as well as among several ultra-Orthodox communities of whom Satmar is the most influential one. However, Neturei Karta’s position advocating Israel’s annihilation and their open support for Israel’s worst enemies, has almost no parallel on the Reform side.
During the twenty-first century Neturei Karta’s anti-Zionist activities became even more vehement. On top of the ordinary anti-Israel demonstrations side by side with supporters of Hamas, PLO, or BDS, they also participated in international conferences which promoted Holocaust denial; visited Iran and met with its leaders who threatened to annihilate Israel; and rejected Israel’s raison d'être claiming that Zionist leaders intentionally caused the Holocaust.
AJS Review, 2022
This article discusses the biographies of two well-known ultra-Orthodox rebbetzins (rabbis’ wives... more This article discusses the biographies of two well-known ultra-Orthodox rebbetzins (rabbis’ wives): Sarah Sonia Diskin (1816–1906) from the Old Yishuv of Jerusalem and Alte Feige Teitelbaum (1912–2001) from the Satmar court of New York. While reviewing the lives of Rebbetzins Diskin and Teitelbaum, the paper explores the function of the ultra-Orthodox rebbetzin and explores how this position allows some women a degree of freedom and recognition. The paper presents the sociological model of the “two-person single career,” whereby a husband and wife jointly enhance the man’s vocation, thereby also elevating the social status of his wife, and examines the extent to which this model is applicable in the case of the rebbetzins discussed in this paper
Segula, 2022
גל הפטריוטיות החרדית לאחר מלחמת ששת הימים, שלווה גם בציפייה למספר גדול של חוזרים בתשובה, דעך בתחי... more גל הפטריוטיות החרדית לאחר מלחמת ששת הימים, שלווה גם בציפייה למספר גדול של חוזרים בתשובה, דעך בתחילת שנות ה-70, ובמיוחד לאחר מלחמת יום הכיפורים. את מקומה של ההזדהות עם המדינה וסמליה תפסה תחושה מרירה של אכזבה מאורח החיים החילוני שאימץ השפעות אמריקאיות שכללו צריכת סמים ומשקאות אלכוהולים, תרבות מתירנית פורקת עול, לבוש מופקר וזלזול מופגן במסורת היהודית. תסכולו של הציבור החרדי, שמצד אחד זכה לתמיכה כספית חסרת תקדים מן הממסד הישראלי אך מצד שני
התבקש שלא להתערב בדרך שבה ניהלה המדינה את ענייניהם של שאר התושבים הגיע לשיאו עם פרוץ ההפגנות בכביש רמות.
תוך זמן קצר יצאו ההפגנות משליטה והמשטרה התקשתה להשליט סדר כאשר מאות חרדים החלו להשתתף דרך קבע בהפגנות שבמהלכן השליכו אבנים מן השכונות החרדית שהיו על הגבעה לעבר הכביש שהיה במפלס נמוך יותר. במקביל הקימו תושבי שכונת רמות משמר אזרחי שנועד להתעמת עם המפגינים האלימים שניסו לחסום את הכביש בשבתות. המפגינים החילונים, שלעיתים הגיעו כשהם חמושים בנשק, נשאו כרזות, הפעילו רמקולים ואף רגמו באבנים גם את חלונות הבתים של דיירי השכונות החרדיות.
The Search for Meaning in the Israeli Scene, eds. Ofra Mayseless and Pninit Russo-Netzer, 2021
The status of Orthodox women has undergone many changes in history and reached its peak during th... more The status of Orthodox women has undergone many changes in history and reached its peak during the interwar period. At that time, Orthodox women were allowed to acquire both traditional and general education and enjoy the fruits of Western culture. They also helped to provide for their families, either by working with their husbands or by running their own businesses. These achievements were not maintained during the post-Holocaust period in Israel as Haredi women were expected to participate in restoring the totally ruined Torah World to its pre-Holocaust glory. To that end Haredi women were encouraged to bear as many children as they could and become their family’s main breadwinner to allow their husbands to study in the yeshiva for many years. Haredi women took up this burden and for many decades sacrificed their well-being and health without complaint. In the 21st century, once Haredi women realized that the world of the Torah had regained and even surpassed its scope in Europe, they sought to reclaim their previous social status. Nowadays, many Haredi women seek to enrich their lives in ways that until recently were considered undesirable and immodest. In their pursuit for a meaningful life they combine intrinsic adherence to a Haredi identity and tradition while also adopting other ways of behaving with personal agency to pursue meaning in their life.
TRADITION, 2022
For the full issue use this link: https://traditiononline.org/archives/?_sft_category=2022-issue-... more For the full issue use this link: https://traditiononline.org/archives/?_sft_category=2022-issue-54-1&_sf_ppp=20
Until the 1940s many members of the populous Orthodox Jewish communities in America worked on Shabbat because of the scarcity of alternative employment; they consumed non-kosher rather than higher-priced kosher meat; they let slide the laws of family purity because the mikvaot were sparse and often charged high admission fees; and they did not provide their children with a Jewish education because it was private and costly.
Most rabbis earned low wages and, reluctant to risk their precarious livelihood, did not dare to challenge the laxity of their congregants’ religious lifestyle. Thus, while in Eastern Europe most Jews who considered themselves Orthodox and regularly attended the synagogue were observant, in America the vast majority of Jews who belonged to the Orthodox congregations did not observe even the most fundamental mitzvot.
A radically different picture emerges at the end of the twentieth century: At this point most members in American Orthodox congregations led a religious lifestyle even more rigorous than that which prevailed in many Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe which included a significant number of observant yet religiously lax members. Several scholars described the Haredization process of American Orthodoxy during the later twentieth century as “the shift” or “the slide” to the right. In this article, however, I return to the first half of the twentieth century to examine the beginning of the process, relying on primary sources, particularly Orthodox newspapers and journals published in America during that period.
Kesher, 2021
As of the seventeenth century, Vilna (Vilnius) became known as one of Lithuania’s leading Jewish ... more As of the seventeenth century, Vilna (Vilnius) became known as one of Lithuania’s leading Jewish communities. By the mid-eighteenth century, the town’s Jewish community had gained international recognition thanks to one of its rabbis. Eliyahu, son of Shlomo Zalman (Ha-Gra), was known for his command of all aspects of rabbinical literature and was called “the genius of Vilna.” Because of his opposition to Hasidism, Vilna also became the center of the anti-Hasidic movement – the Mithnagdim.
Due to the influence of modern movements, most notably the Haskala (Enlightenment), secularization, and Jewish nationalism, observant Jews who constituted an absolute majority at the beginning of the century, became a minority that feared for its future. Vilna became the capital of modern Hebrew literature and hosted many authors and intellectuals. Many young Jews enrolled in the local university which, unlike other academic institutions, did not discriminate against Jewish students.
Some 80,000 Jews, half of the city’s population, lived in Vilna in the early twentieth century, and it was considered one of the largest and most influential communities in the Jewish world. In those years anti-Semitism resurfaced in Lithuania and, at the same time, Jewish Socialists established the Bund, the Jewish Socialist movement, which expanded to communities throughout the Russian Empire. Many Jews also joined Zionist organizations.
After World War I, Vilna was annexed to Poland, which was re-established after more than a century of foreign occupation. Although Agudat Israel, the international ultra-Orthodox organization founded in 1912, began to operate in Poland, the strict Lithuanian rabbis, led by the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grozinski, were reluctant to collaborate with the movement’s leaders, particularly with the Hasidic rabbis and the well-educated, modern-oriented German rabbis. Instead, Vilna’s rabbis founded their own charity organizations and published the weekly Yiddish journal Das Vort (the word).
The journal, which was issued until the outbreak of World War II, reviewed ongoing events within ultra-Orthodox communities in Lithuania but also presented news from other places, especially from the Jewish settlement in Mandatory Palestine. The journal dealt extensively with issues related to traditional Jewish education and promoted support of the ultra-Orthodox education system, particularly Lithuanian yeshivas. Despite economic and social challenges, Vilna succeeded in maintaining its title of Yerushalayim De’Lita (Jerusalem of Lithuania), alluding to its standing as a foremost Torah center.
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Papers by Menachem Keren-Kratz
Abstract Immigration, particularly forced immigration, has a profound impact on every aspect of immigrants’ lives. One such aspect is their religious convictions and practices. Nowadays, Migration Studies is a major academic field that produces many books and articles each year. This article examines the impact of forced immigration on the daily practices and internal relationships between leaders and followers of a specific religious group—Hassidism, in one particular period—the early second half of the 20th century. It does so by examining how two Hassidic leaders, the Satmar Rebbe in America and the Viznitzer Rebbe in Israel, established their communities after the Holocaust. This is one of only a few academic studies that explore post-Holocaust Hassidism, with a specific focus on the effects of forced immigration on its development. Throughout Jewish history, large-scale immigration and the inevitable need to adapt to new political, religious, and cultural circumstances had a profound influence on the way Jews conducted their religious affairs. This article explores how the uprooting of Hassidism from Eastern Europe after the Holocaust and its transplantation in countries that were new to them prompted Hassidic leaders who wanted to reestablish their communities to adopt a new set of leadership priorities. The result was that despite bearing the same title, Hassidic communities that were established after the Holocaust were very different from those that operated in Europe previously.
אחד המאמרים הראשונים שעסקו בחברה החרדית בישראל התפרסם בשנת 1985. הטענה המרכזית שלו הייתה כי החברה החרדית יכולה להתקיים רק כאשר חבריה מרוכזים במובלעות גיאוגרפיות מוגדרות. כותבי המאמר ביקשו להוכיח זאת באמצעות ניתוח נתוני ההצבעה למפלגות החרדיות באזורי הקלפי השונים בירושלים. בחינה מחודשת של נתוני החוקרים מעלה כי הנתונים שסיפקו לא תמכו במסקנות אליהם הגיעו.
מאמר זה משתמש בנתונים ובמתודולוגיה דומים. ואולם, בניגוד למאמר הקודם שבחן רק את החברה החרדית בירושלים, ורק את הנעשה בה בנקודת זמן מסוימת באמצע שנות השמונים, מציג המאמר שלפנינו תמונה מקיפה על דפוסי המגורים של הציבור החרדי בישראל משנותיה הראשונות של המדינה ועד ימינו אלה בכל רחבי המדינה. הנתונים מוצגים באמצעות גרפים המבוססים על ניתוח של עשרות אלפי נתונים, ומתארים את השינויים שחלו בפריסה הגיאוגרפית של הציבור החרדי ואת ההעדפה הברורה שלו, המתחזקת עם הזמן, להתרכז במרחבי מגורים בהם קיים כבר רוב חרדי.
One of the first articles dealing with Israel’s Haredi society was published in 1985. Its main claim was that Haredi society can only exist when its members are concentrated in defined geographic enclaves. The authors sought to prove this claim by analyzing the voting data to the Haredi parties in the various polling areas in Jerusalem. A reexamination of their analysis reveals that the data they provided did not support the conclusions they reached.
This article uses similar data and methodology. However, unlike the previous article that examined only Jerusalem’s Haredi society and only at a certain point in time in the mid-1980s, this article presents a comprehensive study of the residential patterns of the Haredi public in the whole country since its early years to the present day. This is presented using graphs based on the analysis of tens of thousands of data describing the changes in the geographical distribution of the Haredim in Israel and their tendency, that increases over time, to concentrate in residential areas in which they comprise a majority.
Until recently, most of the scholarship regarding the conduct of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox societies and their relations with other Jewish groups, focused on analyzing the differences between their respective theologies. Many contemporary authors, however, me being one of them, also look at the various religious groups' political agenda and its confrontation with either that of other religious groups and individuals or with the general political environment in which they operated. This is also this book’s main assertion, namely that analyzing the behavior and relationship between the two main Jewish religious movements, Agudat Yisrael and Mizrahi, cannot be completely understood based on their respective formal ideologies, but should also look at their corresponding politics and their decisions and actions at any specific moment in time.
Because this definition refers also to the targeting of Israel as a Jewish state, it implies that the call to obliterate Israel, the Jewish state, may also be considered a form of antisemitism. Since then, many public bodies which fight antisemitism denounced the expression of anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands as a form of antisemitism.
But what can be said on such anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli expressions when they are voiced by Jews? Clearly, simply claiming that Jews, because of their Jewishness, cannot be antisemitic is a racist statement. Such a claim either assumes that Jews are better than non-Jews or that Jews are unable to make statements which offend their collective identity. This is all the more so considering the long history of objection to Zionism by several Jewish camps.
The article will present the history of Jewish anti-Zionist texts published prior to Va-Yoel Moshe, and shortly review Rabbi Yoel’s biography and explain his motivation for writing the book. It will then outline the book’s contents and the religious principles which support its main theses. Last, it will review the Jewish public’s reaction to the book and explain how and why it became a canonical text among Jewish Orthodoxy’s most radical wing, which in this article is titled Extreme Orthodoxy.
Throughout its history Hasidism has faced various challenges, including frequent internal controversies that augmented its ramified social and cultural frameworks. Many of these controversies have revolved around competition and political antagonism rather than ideological or theological incentives. This article addresses a harsh controversy that erupted between the Belz and Munkacs Hasidic groups after World War 1. This feud reflects the profound challenges that Jewish lay leaders and rabbis faced during this period, clarifies the socio-political considerations of the Hasidic rebbes, and affords readers a better understanding of the idiosyncratic anatomy of intra-Hasidic controversies. The reconstruction of the drama of the Belz-Munkacs controversy, which has thus far attracted no scholarly attention, reveals an important and unfamiliar chapter in the evolution of interwar Jewish fundamentalism.
לפני מי שרצו להקים קהילה שכל חבריה יהיו שומרי מצוות קפדניים עמדו שתי אפשרויות. האחת הייתה הקמת מושבות חקלאיות קטנות ומבודדות שתתנהלנה מלכתחילה כקהילות דתית, וראשי הוועד יוכלו לסנן את המתיישבים החדשים ואף להרחיק באמצעות סנקציות חברתיות וכלכליות את מי שלא שמרו על התקנון שקבע את אורח החיים הדתי כעיקרון מחייב. האפשרות האחרת הייתה בנייתן של שכונות מגורים עירוניות מטעמו של יזם יחיד שמכר את הדירות רק למי שהתחייבו לקיים תקנון שכלל התחייבות לשמירה על אופייה הדתי של השכונה וגם סעיף שאסר למכור את הדירה למי שלא יתחייב למלא תנאי זה.
Following the establishment of the State of Israel, expressing anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands has become a routine practice among some Reform groups as well as among several ultra-Orthodox communities of whom Satmar is the most influential one. However, Neturei Karta’s position advocating Israel’s annihilation and their open support for Israel’s worst enemies, has almost no parallel on the Reform side.
During the twenty-first century Neturei Karta’s anti-Zionist activities became even more vehement. On top of the ordinary anti-Israel demonstrations side by side with supporters of Hamas, PLO, or BDS, they also participated in international conferences which promoted Holocaust denial; visited Iran and met with its leaders who threatened to annihilate Israel; and rejected Israel’s raison d'être claiming that Zionist leaders intentionally caused the Holocaust.
התבקש שלא להתערב בדרך שבה ניהלה המדינה את ענייניהם של שאר התושבים הגיע לשיאו עם פרוץ ההפגנות בכביש רמות.
תוך זמן קצר יצאו ההפגנות משליטה והמשטרה התקשתה להשליט סדר כאשר מאות חרדים החלו להשתתף דרך קבע בהפגנות שבמהלכן השליכו אבנים מן השכונות החרדית שהיו על הגבעה לעבר הכביש שהיה במפלס נמוך יותר. במקביל הקימו תושבי שכונת רמות משמר אזרחי שנועד להתעמת עם המפגינים האלימים שניסו לחסום את הכביש בשבתות. המפגינים החילונים, שלעיתים הגיעו כשהם חמושים בנשק, נשאו כרזות, הפעילו רמקולים ואף רגמו באבנים גם את חלונות הבתים של דיירי השכונות החרדיות.
Until the 1940s many members of the populous Orthodox Jewish communities in America worked on Shabbat because of the scarcity of alternative employment; they consumed non-kosher rather than higher-priced kosher meat; they let slide the laws of family purity because the mikvaot were sparse and often charged high admission fees; and they did not provide their children with a Jewish education because it was private and costly.
Most rabbis earned low wages and, reluctant to risk their precarious livelihood, did not dare to challenge the laxity of their congregants’ religious lifestyle. Thus, while in Eastern Europe most Jews who considered themselves Orthodox and regularly attended the synagogue were observant, in America the vast majority of Jews who belonged to the Orthodox congregations did not observe even the most fundamental mitzvot.
A radically different picture emerges at the end of the twentieth century: At this point most members in American Orthodox congregations led a religious lifestyle even more rigorous than that which prevailed in many Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe which included a significant number of observant yet religiously lax members. Several scholars described the Haredization process of American Orthodoxy during the later twentieth century as “the shift” or “the slide” to the right. In this article, however, I return to the first half of the twentieth century to examine the beginning of the process, relying on primary sources, particularly Orthodox newspapers and journals published in America during that period.
Due to the influence of modern movements, most notably the Haskala (Enlightenment), secularization, and Jewish nationalism, observant Jews who constituted an absolute majority at the beginning of the century, became a minority that feared for its future. Vilna became the capital of modern Hebrew literature and hosted many authors and intellectuals. Many young Jews enrolled in the local university which, unlike other academic institutions, did not discriminate against Jewish students.
Some 80,000 Jews, half of the city’s population, lived in Vilna in the early twentieth century, and it was considered one of the largest and most influential communities in the Jewish world. In those years anti-Semitism resurfaced in Lithuania and, at the same time, Jewish Socialists established the Bund, the Jewish Socialist movement, which expanded to communities throughout the Russian Empire. Many Jews also joined Zionist organizations.
After World War I, Vilna was annexed to Poland, which was re-established after more than a century of foreign occupation. Although Agudat Israel, the international ultra-Orthodox organization founded in 1912, began to operate in Poland, the strict Lithuanian rabbis, led by the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grozinski, were reluctant to collaborate with the movement’s leaders, particularly with the Hasidic rabbis and the well-educated, modern-oriented German rabbis. Instead, Vilna’s rabbis founded their own charity organizations and published the weekly Yiddish journal Das Vort (the word).
The journal, which was issued until the outbreak of World War II, reviewed ongoing events within ultra-Orthodox communities in Lithuania but also presented news from other places, especially from the Jewish settlement in Mandatory Palestine. The journal dealt extensively with issues related to traditional Jewish education and promoted support of the ultra-Orthodox education system, particularly Lithuanian yeshivas. Despite economic and social challenges, Vilna succeeded in maintaining its title of Yerushalayim De’Lita (Jerusalem of Lithuania), alluding to its standing as a foremost Torah center.
Abstract Immigration, particularly forced immigration, has a profound impact on every aspect of immigrants’ lives. One such aspect is their religious convictions and practices. Nowadays, Migration Studies is a major academic field that produces many books and articles each year. This article examines the impact of forced immigration on the daily practices and internal relationships between leaders and followers of a specific religious group—Hassidism, in one particular period—the early second half of the 20th century. It does so by examining how two Hassidic leaders, the Satmar Rebbe in America and the Viznitzer Rebbe in Israel, established their communities after the Holocaust. This is one of only a few academic studies that explore post-Holocaust Hassidism, with a specific focus on the effects of forced immigration on its development. Throughout Jewish history, large-scale immigration and the inevitable need to adapt to new political, religious, and cultural circumstances had a profound influence on the way Jews conducted their religious affairs. This article explores how the uprooting of Hassidism from Eastern Europe after the Holocaust and its transplantation in countries that were new to them prompted Hassidic leaders who wanted to reestablish their communities to adopt a new set of leadership priorities. The result was that despite bearing the same title, Hassidic communities that were established after the Holocaust were very different from those that operated in Europe previously.
אחד המאמרים הראשונים שעסקו בחברה החרדית בישראל התפרסם בשנת 1985. הטענה המרכזית שלו הייתה כי החברה החרדית יכולה להתקיים רק כאשר חבריה מרוכזים במובלעות גיאוגרפיות מוגדרות. כותבי המאמר ביקשו להוכיח זאת באמצעות ניתוח נתוני ההצבעה למפלגות החרדיות באזורי הקלפי השונים בירושלים. בחינה מחודשת של נתוני החוקרים מעלה כי הנתונים שסיפקו לא תמכו במסקנות אליהם הגיעו.
מאמר זה משתמש בנתונים ובמתודולוגיה דומים. ואולם, בניגוד למאמר הקודם שבחן רק את החברה החרדית בירושלים, ורק את הנעשה בה בנקודת זמן מסוימת באמצע שנות השמונים, מציג המאמר שלפנינו תמונה מקיפה על דפוסי המגורים של הציבור החרדי בישראל משנותיה הראשונות של המדינה ועד ימינו אלה בכל רחבי המדינה. הנתונים מוצגים באמצעות גרפים המבוססים על ניתוח של עשרות אלפי נתונים, ומתארים את השינויים שחלו בפריסה הגיאוגרפית של הציבור החרדי ואת ההעדפה הברורה שלו, המתחזקת עם הזמן, להתרכז במרחבי מגורים בהם קיים כבר רוב חרדי.
One of the first articles dealing with Israel’s Haredi society was published in 1985. Its main claim was that Haredi society can only exist when its members are concentrated in defined geographic enclaves. The authors sought to prove this claim by analyzing the voting data to the Haredi parties in the various polling areas in Jerusalem. A reexamination of their analysis reveals that the data they provided did not support the conclusions they reached.
This article uses similar data and methodology. However, unlike the previous article that examined only Jerusalem’s Haredi society and only at a certain point in time in the mid-1980s, this article presents a comprehensive study of the residential patterns of the Haredi public in the whole country since its early years to the present day. This is presented using graphs based on the analysis of tens of thousands of data describing the changes in the geographical distribution of the Haredim in Israel and their tendency, that increases over time, to concentrate in residential areas in which they comprise a majority.
Until recently, most of the scholarship regarding the conduct of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox societies and their relations with other Jewish groups, focused on analyzing the differences between their respective theologies. Many contemporary authors, however, me being one of them, also look at the various religious groups' political agenda and its confrontation with either that of other religious groups and individuals or with the general political environment in which they operated. This is also this book’s main assertion, namely that analyzing the behavior and relationship between the two main Jewish religious movements, Agudat Yisrael and Mizrahi, cannot be completely understood based on their respective formal ideologies, but should also look at their corresponding politics and their decisions and actions at any specific moment in time.
Because this definition refers also to the targeting of Israel as a Jewish state, it implies that the call to obliterate Israel, the Jewish state, may also be considered a form of antisemitism. Since then, many public bodies which fight antisemitism denounced the expression of anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands as a form of antisemitism.
But what can be said on such anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli expressions when they are voiced by Jews? Clearly, simply claiming that Jews, because of their Jewishness, cannot be antisemitic is a racist statement. Such a claim either assumes that Jews are better than non-Jews or that Jews are unable to make statements which offend their collective identity. This is all the more so considering the long history of objection to Zionism by several Jewish camps.
The article will present the history of Jewish anti-Zionist texts published prior to Va-Yoel Moshe, and shortly review Rabbi Yoel’s biography and explain his motivation for writing the book. It will then outline the book’s contents and the religious principles which support its main theses. Last, it will review the Jewish public’s reaction to the book and explain how and why it became a canonical text among Jewish Orthodoxy’s most radical wing, which in this article is titled Extreme Orthodoxy.
Throughout its history Hasidism has faced various challenges, including frequent internal controversies that augmented its ramified social and cultural frameworks. Many of these controversies have revolved around competition and political antagonism rather than ideological or theological incentives. This article addresses a harsh controversy that erupted between the Belz and Munkacs Hasidic groups after World War 1. This feud reflects the profound challenges that Jewish lay leaders and rabbis faced during this period, clarifies the socio-political considerations of the Hasidic rebbes, and affords readers a better understanding of the idiosyncratic anatomy of intra-Hasidic controversies. The reconstruction of the drama of the Belz-Munkacs controversy, which has thus far attracted no scholarly attention, reveals an important and unfamiliar chapter in the evolution of interwar Jewish fundamentalism.
לפני מי שרצו להקים קהילה שכל חבריה יהיו שומרי מצוות קפדניים עמדו שתי אפשרויות. האחת הייתה הקמת מושבות חקלאיות קטנות ומבודדות שתתנהלנה מלכתחילה כקהילות דתית, וראשי הוועד יוכלו לסנן את המתיישבים החדשים ואף להרחיק באמצעות סנקציות חברתיות וכלכליות את מי שלא שמרו על התקנון שקבע את אורח החיים הדתי כעיקרון מחייב. האפשרות האחרת הייתה בנייתן של שכונות מגורים עירוניות מטעמו של יזם יחיד שמכר את הדירות רק למי שהתחייבו לקיים תקנון שכלל התחייבות לשמירה על אופייה הדתי של השכונה וגם סעיף שאסר למכור את הדירה למי שלא יתחייב למלא תנאי זה.
Following the establishment of the State of Israel, expressing anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli stands has become a routine practice among some Reform groups as well as among several ultra-Orthodox communities of whom Satmar is the most influential one. However, Neturei Karta’s position advocating Israel’s annihilation and their open support for Israel’s worst enemies, has almost no parallel on the Reform side.
During the twenty-first century Neturei Karta’s anti-Zionist activities became even more vehement. On top of the ordinary anti-Israel demonstrations side by side with supporters of Hamas, PLO, or BDS, they also participated in international conferences which promoted Holocaust denial; visited Iran and met with its leaders who threatened to annihilate Israel; and rejected Israel’s raison d'être claiming that Zionist leaders intentionally caused the Holocaust.
התבקש שלא להתערב בדרך שבה ניהלה המדינה את ענייניהם של שאר התושבים הגיע לשיאו עם פרוץ ההפגנות בכביש רמות.
תוך זמן קצר יצאו ההפגנות משליטה והמשטרה התקשתה להשליט סדר כאשר מאות חרדים החלו להשתתף דרך קבע בהפגנות שבמהלכן השליכו אבנים מן השכונות החרדית שהיו על הגבעה לעבר הכביש שהיה במפלס נמוך יותר. במקביל הקימו תושבי שכונת רמות משמר אזרחי שנועד להתעמת עם המפגינים האלימים שניסו לחסום את הכביש בשבתות. המפגינים החילונים, שלעיתים הגיעו כשהם חמושים בנשק, נשאו כרזות, הפעילו רמקולים ואף רגמו באבנים גם את חלונות הבתים של דיירי השכונות החרדיות.
Until the 1940s many members of the populous Orthodox Jewish communities in America worked on Shabbat because of the scarcity of alternative employment; they consumed non-kosher rather than higher-priced kosher meat; they let slide the laws of family purity because the mikvaot were sparse and often charged high admission fees; and they did not provide their children with a Jewish education because it was private and costly.
Most rabbis earned low wages and, reluctant to risk their precarious livelihood, did not dare to challenge the laxity of their congregants’ religious lifestyle. Thus, while in Eastern Europe most Jews who considered themselves Orthodox and regularly attended the synagogue were observant, in America the vast majority of Jews who belonged to the Orthodox congregations did not observe even the most fundamental mitzvot.
A radically different picture emerges at the end of the twentieth century: At this point most members in American Orthodox congregations led a religious lifestyle even more rigorous than that which prevailed in many Orthodox communities in Eastern Europe which included a significant number of observant yet religiously lax members. Several scholars described the Haredization process of American Orthodoxy during the later twentieth century as “the shift” or “the slide” to the right. In this article, however, I return to the first half of the twentieth century to examine the beginning of the process, relying on primary sources, particularly Orthodox newspapers and journals published in America during that period.
Due to the influence of modern movements, most notably the Haskala (Enlightenment), secularization, and Jewish nationalism, observant Jews who constituted an absolute majority at the beginning of the century, became a minority that feared for its future. Vilna became the capital of modern Hebrew literature and hosted many authors and intellectuals. Many young Jews enrolled in the local university which, unlike other academic institutions, did not discriminate against Jewish students.
Some 80,000 Jews, half of the city’s population, lived in Vilna in the early twentieth century, and it was considered one of the largest and most influential communities in the Jewish world. In those years anti-Semitism resurfaced in Lithuania and, at the same time, Jewish Socialists established the Bund, the Jewish Socialist movement, which expanded to communities throughout the Russian Empire. Many Jews also joined Zionist organizations.
After World War I, Vilna was annexed to Poland, which was re-established after more than a century of foreign occupation. Although Agudat Israel, the international ultra-Orthodox organization founded in 1912, began to operate in Poland, the strict Lithuanian rabbis, led by the Chafetz Chaim and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grozinski, were reluctant to collaborate with the movement’s leaders, particularly with the Hasidic rabbis and the well-educated, modern-oriented German rabbis. Instead, Vilna’s rabbis founded their own charity organizations and published the weekly Yiddish journal Das Vort (the word).
The journal, which was issued until the outbreak of World War II, reviewed ongoing events within ultra-Orthodox communities in Lithuania but also presented news from other places, especially from the Jewish settlement in Mandatory Palestine. The journal dealt extensively with issues related to traditional Jewish education and promoted support of the ultra-Orthodox education system, particularly Lithuanian yeshivas. Despite economic and social challenges, Vilna succeeded in maintaining its title of Yerushalayim De’Lita (Jerusalem of Lithuania), alluding to its standing as a foremost Torah center.
They settled in nearby Satmar (Satu Mare) where Rabbi Yoel began gathering a small group of disciples. Several years later he was elected as chief rabbi of the remote village Orshiva, but during World War I he returned to Satmar and established a small yeshiva, dividing his time between Satmar and Orshiva. In 1926 he was elected as chief rabbi of Kroly (Carei) in Transylvania, Romania and two years later he was elected chief rabbi of Satmar. This appointment faced substantial public opposition and it took Rabbi Yoel six years of fierce and scandalous struggle until he eventually took office in 1934. During that waiting period he also tried to run for a rabbinate office in other communities, including that of the Edah Haredit (the ultra-Orthodox community) of Jerusalem.
Rabbi Yoel was known to have a stubborn, controversial and argumentative personality. Wherever he wanted to serve, public debates arose and the newspapers accused him in using improper means during the election process. At the same time, he was also known as a religious zealot, and several extremist Orthodox groups acknowledged him as their spiritual leader. Following his ordination as chief rabbi of Satmar, Rabbi Yoel gained an important leadership role among the extreme-Orthodox, and became known for his unwavering opposition to modernity, Zionism and even to the ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Israel. In the late 1930s, after a long public campaign, he was elected to the leadership of the Central Bureau of the Orthodox Jewish communities of Transylvania. In that position he was able to influence the lives of over one hundred and fifty thousand religious Jews in that region.
In his personal life, Rabbi Yoel suffered a series of tragedies. After losing his father at an early age, he was expelled from his hometown, Sighet. He and his wife could not give birth to a son, and two of their three daughters died young and childless. His chronically ill wife died soon thereafter, as well as Rabbi Yoel’s mother and brother. He married again, but although his wife was young and healthy, she too did not bear him any children. Following this second marriage, Rabbi Yoel and his only daughter became estranged and they hardly spoke until she died, also at a young age. This surviving daughter was also barren meaning that Rabbi Yoel had no grandchildren to succeed him.
During World War II Rabbi Yoel was involved in various rescue operations for refugees who fled Poland. As danger grew, he sought to get a certificate that will allow him and his close family to immigrate to Palestine. Failing that, he abandoned his community and escaped along with a small group of friends from Satmar, but was caught and sent to the ghetto of Cluj. He was spared from being sent to Auschwitz as he was included in the small group saved by Zionist activist Israel Kasztner’s rescue train. He and the rest of the passengers were taken to Bergen-Belsen, where they were detained for a few months. Later the group was released to Switzerland where Rabbi Yoel stayed for a few months. He did not return to lead and to comfort the survivors that returned to Satmar after the Holocaust, nor did he join the relief operations conducted by other rabbis in the refugee camps in Germany.
After his stay in Switzerland, Rabbi Yoel decided to settle in Jerusalem. The leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community, who were aware of his aggressive and argumentative personality, shunned away from him. As a result, the institutions he established failed and he was on the verge of bankruptcy. His only hope to repay his tremendous debt was by raising funds in the United States. Humiliated and destitute Rabbi Yoel was forced to travel to the land he always considered the most hostile and spiritually dangerous environment for Orthodox Jews.
After arriving in the United States, it became clear to Rabbi Yoel that he will never be able to raise enough funds to save his institutions in Jerusalem. Having no place to return to, he decided to settle in New York. Oddly enough, it was in this notorious “New World” that Rabbi Yoel was able not only to establish his own congregation, but also to significantly expand and develop it. Within a few years he attracted a large circle of supporters and devotees and created a congregation which, he claimed, resembled that of an East-European “Shtetel.”
However, in order to succeed in his mission, Rabbi Yoel had to apply significant un-traditional innovations that were inconceivable in the East-European “Shtetel.” He established a Hasidic education system, including one for girls, which introduced secular teachings and summer camps. He also encouraged his followers to go to work or to establish their own small businesses. His delegates cooperated with government and municipal officials who helped the poor Hasidim to get public housing, professional training and social benefits. That innovative spirit was one of the main reasons his Hasidic court grew rapidly and prospered economically. Rabbi Yoel used funds gathered by his adherents to support the Eda Haredit in Jerusalem, and in 1952, just a few years after he was forced to leave Jerusalem, he returned triumphant to be declared president of the Edah Haredit.
One of the reasons for Rabbi Yoel’s unparalleled success, beyond his personal charisma and leadership qualities, was his anti-Zionist and Extreme Orthodox ideology. His views were published in two major books, Va-Yoel Moshe – published in the late 1950s, and Al Ha-Geula Ve-Al Ha-Temura – published after the Six Days War. These books were re-printed numerous times, and new editions are still being printed to this day. The radical ideas expressed in these books still affect and guide the Satmar Hasidic court and some of the other Hungarian courts, as well as some marginal groups of zealots, also known as Neturei Karta.
At the time of his death, in 1979 and still today, Rabbi Yoel was undoubtedly one of the most recognized and influential Jewish leaders in the post-Holocaust era. His community had tens of thousands of Hasidim and the education system he established was amongst the largest in the Jewish world outside Israel. Ideas expressed by Rabbi Yoel have influenced the rest of Orthodox society and thus the Jewish society in general. Today, about forty years after his death, the “Satmar” trademark is still strong and still synonymous with religious zealotry. The spiritual and practical foundations laid by Rabbi Yoel continue to fuel the ever-growing expansion of the Satmar Hasidic court that today has more than a hundred thousand followers worldwide.
The religious and spiritual life in the region was greatly influenced by the new mystical movement that spread in mid-18th century in nearby Galicia – Hasidism. The Ba’al Shem Tov (1700–1760), founder of the Hasidic movement, used to travel to the Carpathian Mountains not far from his hometown. On several occasions he visited Marmaros and was impressed by its wild beauty. According to a long lived Hasidic tradition, he appointed his disciple, Rabbi Yacov Kopel of Kolomea (?–1787), to “Become be the guardian of this beautiful garden”. This legacy, which was passed on from generation to generation,. Rabbi Kopel's son – Rabbi Mendel Hager (1768–1884) of Kosov, traveled from village to village, preaching and establishing the basic religious institutions. Through his charismatic personality he transformed Maramaros into what will later be described as “The cradle of Hasidism”.
His influence was such that many Jewish villagers adopted the Kosov Hasidic lifestyle. However, the majority of the more educated and financially established Jews in Sighet (Sighetu Marmatiei, Máramarossziget), the county's seat, and in some of the larger towns and villages, didn't take on Hasidism. By mid-19th century Marmaros was already a center for Hasidic activity. Its Jewish population grew, and religious institutions operated in many villages and towns. The continuous immigration of Jewish scholars from nearby Galicia strengthened traditional education and ritual observance. It was during that period that Marmaros became an exclusively ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) region with almost no exceptions. Starting with the poor Jewish farmers that worked the fields, through the Jewish merchants and traders and up to the Jewish businessmen and industrialists, all were part of the Haredi community, be it Hassidic or Ashkenazi.
While modern ideas such as religious reforms, emancipation and the introduction of general education captured most of Hungarian Jewry, not one rabbi or institution of reform nature operated in Marmaros. Since the Jewish community had no tolerance for even the slightest religious compromise, the only solution for a few rich families that wanted to adopt a more modern lifestyle, was to convert to Christianity. This unique Haredi surrounding made Marmaros the ultimate environment for the rise of Extreme Orthodoxy.
Rabbi Yoel was known to have a stubborn, controversial and argumentative personality. Wherever he wanted to serve, public debates arose and the newspapers accused him in using improper means during the election process. At the same time, he was also known as a religious zealot, and several extremist Orthodox groups acknowledged him as their spiritual leader. Following his ordination as Chief Rabbi of Satmar, Rabbi Yoel gained an important leadership role among the extreme-Orthodox, and was known for his unwavering opposition to modernity, Zionism and even to the ultra-Orthodox party Agudat Israel. In late 1930s, after a long public campaign, he was elected to the leadership of the "Central Bureau of the Orthodox Jewish communities of Transylvania". In that position he was able to influence the lives of over 150,000 religious Jews in that region.
In his personal life, Rabbi Yoel suffered a series of tragedies. After losing his father at an early age, he was expelled from his hometown, Sighet, and had to settle in a different area. After his wedding, he and his wife could not give birth to a son, and two of their three daughters died young and childless. His chronically ill wife died soon after, as well as Rabbi Yoel’s mother and brother. He married again, but although his wife was young and healthy, they did not have any children. Following his second marriage, Rabbi Yoel and his only daughter became estranged and they hardly spoke until she died, also at young age. His only surviving daughter was also barren meaning that Rabbi Yoel had no grandchildren and successors.
During WWII Rabbi Yoel was involved in various rescue operations for refugees who fled Poland. As danger grew, he tried to get a certificate that will allow him and his family to immigrate to Palestine. Failing that, he escaped along with a small group of friends from Satmar, but was caught and sent to the ghetto of Cluj. He was spared from being sent to Auschwitz as he was included in the small group saved by Zionist activist Israel Kasztner's rescue train. He and the rest of the passengers were taken to Bergen-Belsen, where they were detained for a few months. Later the group was released to Switzerland where Rabbi Yoel stayed for a few months. He did not return to lead and to comfort the survivors that returned to Satmar after the Holocaust, nor did he join the relief operations conducted by other rabbis in the refugee camps in Germany.
After his stay in Switzerland, Rabbi Yoel decided to settle in Jerusalem. The leaders of the ultra-Orthodox community, who were aware of his aggressive and argumentative personality, shunned away from him. As a result, the institutions he established failed and he was on the verge of bankruptcy. His only hope to repay his tremendous debt was by raising funds in the United States. Humiliated and disappointed Rabbi Yoel was forced to travel to the land he always considered the most hostile and spiritually dangerous environment for Orthodox Jews.
After arriving in the United States, it became clear to Rabbi Yoel that he will never be able to raise enough funds to save his institutions in Jerusalem. Having no place to return to, he decided to settle in New York among a small number of followers of his late brother Rabbi Chaim Zvi. Oddly enough, it was in this "New World" that Rabbi Yoel was able not only to establish his own congregation, but also to significantly expand and develop it. Within a few years he attracted a large circle of supporters and devotees and created a congregation which resembled that of an East-European "Shtetel". In order to succeed in that task, Rabbi Yoel had to apply significant un-traditional innovations. He established an ultra-Orthodox education system, including one for girls, which introduced secular teachings. He also encouraged his followers to go to work or to establish their own small businesses. His delegates cooperated with government officials who helped the poor Hasidim to get public housing, professional training and social benefits. That innovative spirit was one of the main reasons his Hasidic court grew rapidly and prospered economically. Rabbi Yoel used funds gathered by his adherents to support the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem, and in 1952, just a few years after he was rejected from town, he returned triumphant to Jerusalem and was declared president of the Edah-Ha'Charedit.
One of the reasons for Rabbi Yoel's unparalleled success, beyond his personal charisma and leadership qualities, was his anti-Zionist and extreme-Orthodox ideology. His views were published in two major books, "Va'Yoel Moshe" – published in the late 1950s, and "Al Ha'Geula Ve'Al Ha'Temura" – published after the Six Days War. These books were re-printed several times in a few variations, and new editions are still being printed in recent years. The unique ideas expressed in these books still affect and guide the Satmar Hasidic court and some of the other Hungarian courts, as well as some marginal groups of zealots, also known as Neturei Karta.
At the time of his death, in 1979, Rabbi Yoel was undoubtedly one of the most recognized and influential Jewish leaders of the post-Holocaust era. His court had tens of thousands Hasidim and the education system he established was amongst the largest in the Jewish world outside Israel. Ideas expressed by Rabbi Yoel have indirectly influenced the rest of Orthodox society and thus the Jewish society in general. Today, more than thirty years after his death, the "Satmar Rebbe" trademark is still strong and still synonymous with religious zealotry. The spiritual and practical foundations laid by Rabbi Yoel still continue to fuel the ever-growing expansion of the Satmar Hasidic court.
Maramaros was a province of Greater Hungary until WWI. Its northern flank bordered eastern Galicia whereas its eastern region adjoined "Old Transylvania.” Maramaros was about half the size of the state of Israel. Consisting of large mountainous and forested tracts, its population density was low. Jews settled in the area early in the 17th century and by the mid-18th century there were a few hundred Jews in Maramaros. By the mid-19th century their numbers swelled to about 10,000, representing a substantial percentage of the total population. By the onset of WWII some 70,000 Jews inhabited the region.
After WWI and the collapse of greater Hungary, Maramaros was divided. The northern part was annexed by Czechoslovakia and, together with three smaller fractions of former Hungarian counties, composed a part of Czechoslovakia known as Carpatho-Rus. This fragmentation caused the region to lose its original historical and geographical identity. The southern part was handed over to Romania but retained its name and separate administrative character. During WWII both parts of historical Maramaros were once again united under Hungarian occupation. Most of the Jews of Maramaros were deported and died during the Holocaust.
Two opposing and unusual processes took place in the Jewish community of Maramaros by the mid-19th century. The rabbinical leadership, as well as large segments of the Jewish population, adopted extreme religious attitudes. Backed by the public, the top rabbis of Maramaros led the battle against modernization, religious reforms and the integration of secular education. Simultaneously, a small group of Jewish intellectuals emerged. These intellectuals adopted the ideas of the Enlightenment movement which were popular at that time in Europe. This intellectual trend, which continued to develop and reached its peak by the 1930s, ended with the onset of WWII.
Several factors contributed to the establishment of extreme Orthodoxy in Maramaros. Owing the area’s remoteness and harsh physical landscape, the Jewish settlement consisted mostly of poor Jews who turned to farming and the sale of agricultural products. Most came from nearby Galicia and were scattered in about 150 villages. Following a protracted period devoid of spiritual guidance, the Chassidic rabbis of the nearby town of Kossov began to wield religious influence on the region and large numbers of Jews, especially poor villagers, bowed to the authority of the Hassidic rabbis of Kossov and, later on, to that of the Rabbis of Wiznitz, who were the descendants of the Rabbi of Kossov. Towns and the larger villages were settled by more educated Jews who came mostly from central Europe and did not adopt the Hassidic lifestyle.
In the mid-19th century two rabbis who held extreme religious attitudes settled in Maramaros. Their determination as well as their support turned the county into a fortress of extreme Orthodoxy. The two rabbis were R' Yekutiel Yehuda Teitelbaum (1808-1883) whose descendants acted as the rabbis of the Sighet and later Satmar Hassidic courts known for their religious radicalism. The other rabbi was R' Moshe (Mahara"m) Schick (1807-1879) who was the rabbi of Chust and is known as one of Hungary's greatest rabbis. Schick was a prominent leader in the struggle against religious reforms and took an active role in the historical decision which led to the separation of the Orthodox and Reform Jewish communities in Hungary.
One of the fronts on which the rabbis fought against modernization was the issue of integrating general (secular) pedagogy into traditional Jewish schooling. R' Teitelbaum closed the Jewish school shortly after his appointment as the rabbi of Sighet. He also attacked all forms of secular instruction for children and adults. R' Schick, who had received a secular education, was at first moderate but later on adopted a hard-line approach.
In order to strengthen their position and deliver it to the coming generations, the two rabbis established rabbinical learning institutes (Yeshivot) that educated hundreds of students. These students later settled in other parts of Hungary or in other European countries, bringing with them and spreading an extreme form of Orthodox ideology. Most attempts to introduce general education, as the law required, either by establishing Jewish schools or by allowing the children to go to general schools, were greeted with fierce rabbinical opposition. Only after WWII and the geopolitical changes that ensued, did the number of children who received a general education begin to increase. At the same time the number of Yeshivot also grew. These processes took part in both areas of Maramaros.
The reign of Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Joseph, which began in 1867 and ended by WWI, is known as the "Golden age of Hungarian Jewry.” During this period Jews were granted almost full equality and took an active part in the political, cultural and economic life of Hungary. Integration into all aspects of daily life improved the economic and cultural status of Hungarian Jews more than in many other Jewish settlements elsewhere. In contrast, most Jews in Maramaros lingered in their acute state of poverty and ignorance until WWII, during which they perished.
A central issue related to the development of a Jewish cultural center is language. Jews in Maramaros spoke several languages, in addition to Hebrew and Yiddish. Local languages included Hungarian, German, Romanian, Ruthenian and Czech. Of all the languages, Yiddish had a special status. It was the mother tongue of most Jews in Maramaros, the medium of communication among them, and the vernacular of most of the Jewish press and secular literature. An examination of dozens of books and newspapers printed in Maramaros, starting at the end of 19th century and up to the Holocaust, reveals the role of printed Yiddish as a vector of modern ideas to large segments of the Jewish population. Another confirmation of the position of Yiddish in their cultural existence can be found in dozens of Yiddish words and expressions which existed in this area and were inspired by its special character and atmosphere. The importance of Yiddish for Maramaros' Jews is still in evidence today. More than 60 years after the near-obliteration of the Jewish settlement, their descendants, the Hassidim of Satmar, Wiznitz and a few other Hassidic courts, still keep Yiddish as a living language.
Several factors contributed to the development of a cultural center in Maramaros. Sighet had a substantial Jewish printing industry which managed the production of religious books as well as Jewish and non-Jewish press and literature. Jewish employees of the printing houses and newspaper editing rooms were exposed to modern and secular ideas and became the agents of these ideas in the community. Another forum of influence were the Jewish libraries which were open to the public and kept religious and other types of reading materials. The cultural activity in Maramaros was not limited to press and literature as Jews engaged in other pursuits such as music, art, theater and sports.
The cultural movement was led by dozens of authors who wrote books on various subjects, including Jewish thought, history, Zionism, literature and poetry. The first generation of authors wrote mainly about Jewish studies, philosophy and history. The second generation continued this trend but also introduced prose and poetry. The third generation, the last before the Holocaust, focused on literature. The main achievement of Jewish culture in Maramaros was its press industry. Hebrew-language newspapers were being published in 1874. By the end of the 19th century a Yiddish press emerged. More than 30 Jewish newspapers were published in Maramaros until the deportations began. These newspapers were the main agents of modern, national and Zionist thought.
A number of cultural and literary newspapers began to appear in the 1930s. These newspapers reflected the acceptance of modern ideas by many of the Jews of Maramaros. During this period many newspapers, written mainly in Yiddish, dealt with politics, literature and art. Most of the prose and poetry books, also written in Yiddish, were published at that time. A literary circle was also founded to promote various cultural aims. After the Holocaust, survivors revived the writing tradition. Many did so by penning their memories but a few became professional writers. Of the Holocaust survivors, the most recognized is Elie Wiesel, a Nobel Laureate known worldwide for his books on the Holocaust.
The cultural center which developed in Maramaros is exceptional in two main aspects. The first is its remoteness from other Jewish cultural centers. The other is the development of a secular cultural center in the midst of an extreme Orthodox society. Both topics call for further inquiry such as an historical research into the phenomenon of small cultural centers in the periphery of Jewish settlements. Another line of research calls for a sociological analysis of the ability of Orthodox society and its leaders to cope with the ideas introduced by modernity and secular culture.
July 21, 2024
The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute
The discrepancy between the confidence and the metaphysical virtues of the Zaddik and the terrible outcome of the Holocaust, in conjunction with the fact that many rabbis, such as the Belzer Rebbe and his brother, fled on the eve of the Holocaust, leaving most of their followers behind, raised a fundamental question regarding the role of the Hasidic rabbi in times of crisis. To whom, first and foremost, was the Zaddik obligated? To the frightened members of his community, who were suffering and who looked to him to save them, console them, and imbue them with hope and faith? Or was his fundamental obligation to save himself, thereby saving the unique tradition of the specific Hasidic dynasty he represented? In other words, was the Zaddik obligated to the currently endangered members of his community or to a Hasidic dynasty that may be established in the future?
religion, they generally address ideological changes and social trends that took
place either within the Jewish realm or in its adjacent non-Jewish environment. In
this article, however, I demonstrate how Jewish society in general, and its religious
concepts in particular, were also influenced by political decisions taken by the
leaders of the countries in which they lived.
To this end the article examines two of the most religiously diverse Jewish
societies, that of Galicia and that of Hungary. In referring to these two locations,
this article does not relate to territories contained within recognized political
borders but rather to the Jews who lived in two distinct, yet adjacent, geographic
regions. The one, located north of the Carpathian Mountains and known as Halych
or Galicia since the 12th century, was recognized as a semi-independent region
after its annexation to the Habsburg Empire in 1772. The second is the vast area
surrounded by the Carpathian Mountains to the east and the Pannonian Basin to
the west known as Hungary since the 10th century, nowadays referred to as
“Greater Hungary.”1 From a Jewish perspective, Galician and Hungarian Jews
were always considered to be two distinct types, regardless of their formal
nationality, be it Polish or Austrian in the case of Galicia, or Romanian or
Czechoslovakian in the case of Hungary.
evangelical Christians attended marches in support of the Taliban, extremist Buddhist monks demonstrating against the Dalai Lama, or Shiite jihadists who demonstrated hand in hand with supporters of new Jewish settlements in the West bank. In the following article, I will describe the development of relationships between the conservative Haredi community in Palestine, and later the state of Israel, and the Arabs.
The article looks at the Jewish-Arab relationships since the beginning of the 18th Century and the few reports concerning that issue that remained from that period. In those reports, Jews usually reported being treated fairly by Arabs or the Arab (Othman) rulers. Starting World War I, Ultra-Orthodox Jews joined forces with Arabs, in face of their common ideological
enemy – Zionism. That affair didn't last long, and the raise of the Nazi regime in Europe and the persecution of Jews which followed drove the Haredi society back toward Zionism. After the establishment of the state of Israel, and the inevitable conflicts between the Radical UltraOrthodox and the secular state, again drove them to seek the custody of the Arab states. The
hatred of such radicals for the Zionist ideology was such that they now saw themselves on the same front as other anti-Zionist regimes. This marginal radical group still continues its pro-Arab policy in spite of growing opposition by other Haredi groups.
"Chronicling Jews and Crime: From Law-Makers to Law-Breakers"
הרצאה בקונגרס ה-17 למדעי היהדות (ירושלים, 2017)
The Jewish settlement in Maramures – a North Eastern border county of Hungary – began in the mid-17th century, and in time it became an exclusively ultra-Orthodox region. Yet, from the mid-19th century, when Jewish emigration to Hungary accelerated and brought with it the spirit of modernity, Jews became increasingly involved in non-religious culture and especially in writing poetry. By the turn of the 20th century, and despite its highly religious atmosphere, several intellectuals, all raised in ultra-Orthodox and even Hasidic homes, published some 40 non-religious books on topics such as Jewish history, religious thought, science, and Zionism, as well as some fifteen different newspapers.
Following its defeat in the First World War, Hungary was dismantled and most of its former territories were annexed to other countries. The Southern part of Maramures was annexed to Romania. The literary circle in Sighet, Maramures’ capital, came about and flourished in the early 1920s. The group, which contained both men and women, were inspired by their physical and spiritual surroundings, and this was manifested in their writings. The more established authors and poets managed to publish their own books, while the young ones only published their works in local newspapers and in literary magazines.
During the 1930s, Sighet’s literati realized that they needed their own publication, and several activists established a monthly cultural magazine in Yiddish named 'The Maramarosher Bleter' which was published between 1931-1932. Shortly after this magazine ceased to appear in 1932, they published a new and radical bi-weekly magazine named 'Der Stern.' It too didn’t last long but in 1934 a new literary magazine titled 'Oyfgang' was established. Even though Sighet was a remote town far from other literary centers and its editors were relatively unknown, Oyfgang enjoyed worldwide acclaim and survived longer than many literary magazines which were published in major cities. The last literary magazine, 'Yung Maramures,' was published in 1941 but managed to print only one issue before the Second World War broke. These cultural achievements demonstrate that in some cases literary centres which did not enjoy the benefits of a large metropolis, and which consequently were late to develop, could still gain great influence, as well as international recognition.
המושבה בני ברק הוקמה בשנת 1924 כיוזמה של יצחק גרשטנקורן, יהודי חסידי, בן למשפחת סוחרים, שלמד בישיבתו של הרב ריינס בלידא בה ספג מידה גדושה של אהבת ארץ ישראל. בזכות כישרונותיו הניהוליים ודבקותו במשימתו הצליחה מושבה לא רק לשמור על אופייה הדתי, אלא גם להפוך לעיר החרדית הראשונה. בשנות המנדט הזדהה הסניף הארץ-ישראלי של אגודת ישראל עם היישוב הישן בירושלים ולא תמך בהתיישבות בבני ברק, ואילו המרכז הבינלאומי של התנועה פעל למען 'מחנה ישראל', היישוב שהם עצמם הקימו ונכשל בסופו של דבר. לכן, בשנותיה הראשונות של בני ברק הגיעה התמיכה הממסדית בעיקר מתנועת המזרחי ומן המוסדות הציוניים. למרות שרק מקצת המתיישבים השתייכו לתנועת המזרחי, הרי שבפועל גם שומרי המצוות הלא ציונים הגשימו את אידאל ההתיישבות שלה.
כעשור לאחר הקמת המושבה החליט החזון אי"ש, דמות רבנית למדנית משכמה ומעלה, להתיישב בבני ברק ובעקבותיו הצטרפו רבנים חשובים אחרים. עם התפוררותם של מוסדות היישוב הישן לאחר השואה והקמת המדינה, הפך החזון אי"ש לדמות המשפיעה ביותר על כלל היהדות שומרת המצוות הלא-ציונית, שהחלה לכנות את עצמה בשם 'חרדית'. לצדו פעל הרב יוסף שלמה כהנמן, שייסד את ישיבת פוניבז' והפך אותה לגדולה ולחשובה שבישיבות בישראל. מספרם הרב של בוגרי הישיבה והשפעתו של החזון אי"ש עליהם להמשיך את לימודיהם בכולל לאחר נישואיהם, הניחו את הבסיס להפיכתה של החברה החרדית בישראל לחברת לומדים.
מיד לאחר הקמת המדינה החליט הרבי מוויז'ניץ להקים בבני ברק שכונה נפרדת עבור חסידיו ומעט אחר כך החליט גם הרבי מסאטמר להקים בה שכונה דומה. שכונות אלו שימשו מודל להקמתם של רבעים חסידיים וחרדיים נוספים והניחו את התשתית למדיניות ההתבדלות המרחבית והתרבותית של החרדים שלא הייתה קיימת לפני השואה. למרות שבתחילה היווה הציבור החרדי רק כשליש מתושבי העיר, הרי בתהליך שנמשך על פני מספר עשורים פעלו נציגיו לקדם את האינטרסים שלהם על פני אלו של המגזר הדתי והחילוני. הצלחתם הביאה לדחיקת התושבים הלא-חרדים אל מחוץ לבני ברק והיוו דוגמה לניצול הכוח הפוליטי במישור המקומי לשם השגת הישגים שבנסיבות אחרות היו מצריכים החלטות ממשלתיות.
למרות שמרבית החרדים המשיכו להתגורר בירושלים, הרי שהחל משנות השבעים כבר ניכר היה כי מנהיגותה של היהדות החרדית כולה, הן במישור ההשקפתי והן במישור הפוליטי, מרוכזות במידה רבה בבני ברק. עם עליית כוחו של הרב שך, מנהיג הציבור הליטאי שהתגורר בבני ברק, הוא גרם לפיצול ביהדות החרדית שהייתה עד אז תחת חסותה של אגודת ישראל, ולהקמתן של תנועות דגל התורה הליטאית וש"ס הספרדית. בשנים אלו הפכה בני ברק גם למרכז של עיתונות חרדית עם הקמתו של היומון 'יתד נאמן', וכתבי העת 'משפחה', 'בקהילה', ו'השבוע' (לימים 'שעה טובה'). הדומיננטיות של החברה החרדית בבני ברק בעיצוב דמותה של כלל החברה החרדית התקבלה עד לפני שנים אחדות כמובנת מאליה, אולם לאחרונה החל 'הפלג הירושלמי', המוגדר אף הוא בקריטריונים גיאוגרפיים, לאתגר אותה.
בהרצאה נסקור את השפעתה של בני ברק על אופייה ועקרונותיה של החברה החרדית בישראל בהתייחס לנקודות הבאות:
הגדולים – הצגת הרבנים הליטאיים שהתגוררו בבני ברק ונחשבו כבעלי השפעה הרבה ביותר על כלל החברה החרדית ועל התנהלותם של נציגיה הפוליטיים.
מערכת החינוך – יצירתה של 'חברת הלומדים' באמצעות הקמתו של 'קו ייצור' של תלמידי חכמים ובמיוחד בעקבות הכוללים הראשונים שיועדו לזרם החרדי המרכזי שהוקמו על ידי החזון אי"ש והרב כהנמן.
חינוך הבנות – הקמת מערכת חינוך לבנות תוך הטמעה של דמות נשית חרדית הרואה אידאל הדתי בנישואים לבן תורה הממית עצמו באהלה של תורה ואינו מפרנס את משפחתו בשנים הראשונות להקמתה.
אשכניזציה של בני עדות המזרח – המשך התהליך שהחל לאחר השואה באירופה לפיו נקלטו ילדים בני עדות המזרח במוסדות חינוך נפרדים וחונכו לקבלת תפיסת העולם האשכנזית-ליטאית. בבגרותם שולבו 'המוצלחים' שבהם במוסדות האשכנזיים, הטמיעו את תפיסת העולם הנפרדת וייצרו אליטה ספרדית-ליטאית חדשה.
בידול חברתי מן החברה החרדית – הפרדה מרחבית באמצעות הקמת מתחמי מגורים שבהם נאסרת הנסיעה ברכב בשבת ולכן לא התאימו למגורי תושבים חילונים.
בידול בין קבוצות חרדיות שונות – הקמת שכונות נפרדות לקבוצות בעלות מאפיינים דתיים או אידאולוגיים שונים כמו שיכונים לחברי אגודת ישראל, לפועלי אגודת ישראל, לציבור ליטאי ולחצרות החסידיות השונות.
הנהגה חברתית פוליטית – בחינת האישים הפעילים והמשפיעים בחברה החרדית מבחינות פוליטיות, חינוכיות וחברתיות מעלה כי משקלם של תושבי בני ברק היה גדול במיוחד.
נקודות המפנה – בחינה רטרוספקטיבית של החלטות משמעותיות שביצעו מנהיגי החברה החרדית מעלה כי רוב ההחלטות שהיו בעלות ההשפעה הרבה ביותר, כמו עזיבה או כניסה לממשלה, הקמת 'החינוך העצמאי', מערכת היחסים בין המפלגות החרדיות והקמת מפלגה חרדית ספרדית, התקבלו על ידי מנהיגים שהתגוררו בבני ברק.
לתובנות בדבר השפעתה של אוכלוסייה חרדית המרוכזת במרחב גיאוגרפי מסוים על כלל התנהלותה של חברה זו יש השלכות לא רק ביחס לשאיפתם של ההיסטוריונים להבין טוב יותר את תולדותיה בעבר, אלא גם באשר לניסיונם של חוקרי החברה החרדית בת זמננו, המבקשים להבין את המתרחש בה כיום ואף לחזות את פני העתיד. לאור הדברים העולים מהרצאתי יש לשוב ולבחון את אופיים ואת השפעתם של המרכזים החרדיים החדשים, בבית שמש, בעמנואל, באלעד ובמקומות אחרים ואת האפשרות כי דווקא שם יקבעו הנורמות המחייבות של החברה החרדית בעשורים הבאים.
35th ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ISRAEL STUDIES
IMAGES AND REALITIES: LAND OF PROMISE TO START-UP NATION?
KINNERET COLLEGE ON THE SEA OF GALILEE, ISRAEL
JUNE 24-26, 2019
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is__MAYboQc&list=PLX305R4UNU49Z_t2BXaYTOLjEXLK_1S9G&index=5&t=0s
The contemporary dual Israeli-Haredi identity is the outcome of two opposing processes. The first, which stems from the Haredim’s existence amid Israeli, and from a wider perspective western society, is what scholars describe as the Israelization and westernization of the Haredim. The second process, which is attributable to inter-Haredi trends, is a movement toward greater radicalization and social isolation. The article reviews the historical foundations of Haredi society and its development by analyzing its social, political, educational and halachic trends over the last 70 years. I demonstrate how this society was impacted both by (a) “Israeli factors,” such as the Six Days War or the 1977 major shift in political power; (b) “global/western factors,” such as the growing role of computers and the internet as well as the promotion of women’s rights; (c) “Haredi factors,” such as the rise of the Sephardi Orthodoxy or the impact of Rabbi Shach on Haredi politics; and (d) various combinations of the above-mentioned factors, such as the case of hozrim bi-teshuva and hozrim be-she’ela or the pilgrimage to Uman, Ukraine.
The article will present the history of Jewish anti-Zionist texts published prior to Va-Yoel Moshe, and shortly review Rabbi Yoel’s biography and explain his motivation for writing the book. It will then outline the book’s contents and the religious principles which support its main theses. Last, it will review the Jewish public’s reaction to the book when it was first published and explain how and why it became a canonical text among Jewish Orthodoxy’s most radical wing, which in this article is titled Extreme Orthodoxy