Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that is characterized by its strict interpretation of religious sources and its accepted and traditions, in opposition to more accommodating values and practices. Its members are often referred to as ultra-Orthodox in English, a term considered pejorative by many of its adherents, who prefer the term strictly Orthodox or Haredi. Haredim regard themselves as the most authentic custodians of Jewish religious law and tradition which, in their opinion, is binding and unchangeable. Many consider all other contemporary expressions of Judaism, including Modern Orthodoxy, as "deviations from God's laws", although other movements of Judaism would disagree.
Some scholars have suggested that Haredi Judaism is a reaction to societal changes, including political emancipation, the movement derived from the Enlightenment, acculturation, secularization, religious reform in all its forms from mild to extreme, and the rise of the Jewish national movements. In contrast to Modern Orthodox Jews, Haredim segregate themselves from other parts of society, although some Haredi communities encourage young people to get a professional degree or establish a business. Furthermore, some Haredi groups, like Chabad-Lubavitch, encourage outreach to non-observant and unaffiliated Jews.
As of 2020, there were about 2.1 million Haredim globally, representing 14% of the world's Jewish population. Haredim primarily live in Israel, North America, and Western Europe. Absence of intermarriage, coupled with both a high birth and retention rate, spur rapid growth of the Haredi population, which is on pace to more than double every 20 years. Their numbers have been further boosted since the 1970s by secular Jews adopting a Haredi lifestyle as part of the baal teshuva movement; however, this has been somewhat offset by those leaving.
Terminology
The term is a Modern Hebrew adjective derived from the Biblical verb, which appears in the Book of Isaiah and is translated as " trembles" at the word of God. The word connotes an awe-inspired fear to perform the will of God; it is used to distinguish them from other Orthodox Jews.The term most commonly used by outsiders, for example most American news organizations, is ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Hillel Halkin suggests the origins of the term may date to the 1950s, a period in which Haredi survivors of the Holocaust first began arriving in America. However, Isaac Leeser was described in 1916 as "ultra-Orthodox".
The word Haredi is often used in the Jewish diaspora in place of the term ultra-Orthodox, which many view as inaccurate or offensive, it being seen as a derogatory term suggesting extremism; English-language alternatives that have been proposed include fervently Orthodox, strictly Orthodox, or traditional Orthodox. Others, however, dispute the characterization of the term as pejorative. Ari L. Goldman, a professor at Columbia University, notes that the term simply serves a practical purpose to distinguish a specific part of the Orthodox community, and is not meant as pejorative. Others, such as Samuel Heilman, criticized terms such as ultra-Orthodox and traditional Orthodox, arguing that they misidentify Haredi Jews as more authentically Orthodox than others, as opposed to adopting customs and practises that reflect their desire to separate from the outside world.
The community has sometimes been characterized as traditional Orthodox, in contradistinction to the Modern Orthodox, the other major branch of Orthodox Judaism, and not to be confused with the movement represented by the Union for Traditional Judaism, which originated in Conservative Judaism.
Haredi Jews also use other terms to refer to themselves. Common Yiddish words include , , , , and .
In Israel, Haredi Jews are sometimes also called by the derogatory slang words , that mimics the traditional Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation of the Hebrew word , and more rarely, , a reference to the black clothes they typically wear; a related informal term used in English is black hat.
Population
Due to its imprecise definition, lack of data collection, and rapid change over time, estimating the global Haredi population is difficult. The true number of Haredim may be significantly underestimated due to their reluctance to participate in surveys and censuses.In 1992, out of a total of 1,500,000 Orthodox Jews worldwide, about 550,000 were Haredi. One estimate given in 2011 stated that there were approximately 1.3 million Haredi Jews globally. Studies have shown a very high growth rate, with a large young population. Haredi population grew to 2.1 million in 2020 and is expected to double by 2040.
The vast majority of Haredi Jews are Ashkenazi. However, some 20% of the Haredi population are thought to belong to the Sephardic Haredi stream. In recent decades, Haredi society has grown due to the addition of a religious population that identifies with the Shas movement. The percentage of people leaving the Haredi population has been estimated between 6% and 18%.
Israel
has the largest Haredi population. In 1948, there were about 35,000 to 45,000 Haredi Jews in Israel. By 1980, Haredim made up 4% of the Israeli population. Haredim made up 9.9% of the Israeli population in 2009, with 750,000 out of 7,552,100; by 2014, that figure had risen to 11.1%, with 910,500 Haredim out of a total Israeli population of 8,183,400. According to a December 2017 study conducted by the Israeli Democracy Institute, the number of Haredi Jews in Israel exceeded 1 million in 2017, making up 12% of the population in Israel. In 2019, Haredim reached a population of almost 1,126,000; over the next year, it reached 1,175,000. By the end of 2023, it reached almost 1,335,000, or 13.6% of total population; at the end of 2024, it passed over 1,392,000, thus representing 13.9% of the population, and by the end of 2025 it numbered over 1,452,000 or 14.3% of the total population of Israel.The number of Haredi Jews in Israel continues to rise rapidly, with their current population growth rate being 4% per year. The number of children per woman is 7.2, and the share of Haredim among those under the age of 20 was 16.3% in 2009.
By 2030, the Haredi Jewish community is projected to make up 16% of the total population, and by 2065, a third of the Israeli population, including non-Jews. By then, one in two Israeli children would be Haredi. It is also projected that the number of Haredim in 2059 may be between 2.73 and 5.84 million, of an estimated total number of Israeli Jews between 6.09 and 9.95 million.
The largest Israeli Haredi concentrations are in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Modi'in Illit, Beitar Illit, Beit Shemesh, Kiryat Ye'arim, Ashdod, Rekhasim, Safed, and El'ad. Two Haredi cities, Kasif and Harish, are planned.
United States
The United States has the second largest Haredi population, which has a growth rate on pace to double every 20 years. In 2000, there were 360,000 Haredi Jews in the US ; by 2006, demographers estimate the number had grown to 468,000, or 9.4 percent of all U.S. Jews. In 2013, it was estimated that there were 530,000 total ultra-Orthodox Jews in the United States, or 10% of all American Jews. By 2011, 61% of all Jewish children in Eight-County New York City metropolitan area were Orthodox, with Haredim making up 49%.In 2020, it was estimated that there were approximately 700,000 total ultra-Orthodox Jews in the United States, or 12% of all American Jews. This number is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, due to high Haredi birth rates in America.
New York state
Most American Haredi Jews live in the greater New York metropolitan area.New York City
Brooklyn
The largest centers of Haredi and Hasidic life in New York are found in Brooklyn.- In 1988, it was estimated that there were between 40,000 and 57,000 Haredim in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, Hasidim most belonging to Satmar.
- The Jewish population in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, estimated at 70,000 in 1983, is also mostly Haredi, and also mostly Hasidic. The Bobov Hasidim are the largest single bloc that mainly live in Borough Park.
- Crown Heights is the home base of the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement, with its network of shluchim heading Chabad houses throughout the Jewish world.
- The Flatbush-Midwood, Kensington, Marine Park neighborhoods have tens of thousands of Haredi Jews. They are also the centers for the major non-Hasidic Haredi yeshivas such as Yeshiva Torah Vodaas, Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, Mir Yeshiva, as well as a string of similar smaller yeshivas. The Torah Vodaas and Chaim Berlin yeshivas allow some students to attend college and university, presently at Touro College, and previously at Brooklyn College.
Queens
Manhattan
One of the oldest Haredi communities in New York is on the Lower East Side, home to the Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem.Washington Heights, in northern Manhattan, is the historical home to German Jews, with Khal Adath Jeshurun and Yeshiva Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. The presence of Yeshiva University attracts young people, many of whom remain in the area after graduation.