Haredi Judaism

History

Throughout Jewish history, Judaism has faced internal and external challenges to its beliefs and practices, producing counter-responses. Adherents of Haredi Judaism see their beliefs as part of an unbroken tradition dating back to the revelation at Sinai, though most historians consider the modern incarnation to date to the beginning of the 20th century. For centuries before Jewish emancipation, European Jews were forced into ghettos where Jewish culture and religious observance were preserved.

Change began after the Age of Enlightenment, when some liberals sought to include Jews in emerging nation states, and the Haskalah movement influenced some to argue that Judaism must change. In Germany, opponents of Reform rallied to Samson Raphael Hirsch, who led a secession to form a strictly Orthodox movement with its own synagogues and schools, accepting modern scholarship to defend Orthodoxy. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, traditionalists gathered under Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel.

In 1877, Moshe Schick supported Hirsch's separatist policies, though Hirsch did not reciprocate and expressed astonishment at Schick's halakhic contortions. Lichtenstein opposed Azriel Hildesheimer and his son for using German in sermons and leaning toward Zionism.

Population

Estimating the global Haredi population is difficult due to imprecise definition, lack of data collection, and rapid change; the true number may be significantly underestimated because of reluctance to participate in surveys and censuses. In 1992, out of 1,500,000 Orthodox Jews worldwide, about 550,000 were Haredi, half of them in Israel. By 2011, estimates placed the global figure at approximately 1.3 million, and studies have shown a very high growth rate with a large young population.

The Haredi population grew to 2.1 million in 2020 and is expected to double by 2040. The vast majority are Ashkenazi, though some 20% belong to the Sephardic Haredi stream, which has grown in recent decades due to the Shas movement.

The percentage of people leaving the Haredi population is estimated between 6% and 18%, though not all leave Orthodox practice entirely. Israel has the largest Haredi population: in 1948 there were about 35,000 to 45,000; by 1980 they made up 4% of the Israeli population; by 2009, 9.9% (750,000); by 2014, 11.1% (910,500); in 2017, over 1 million (12%); in 2019, almost 1,126,000; in 2020, 1,175,000 (12.6%); at the end of 2023, almost 1,335,000 (13.6%); at the end of 2024, over 1,392,000 (13.9%); and by the end of 2025, over 1,452,000 (14.3%). The share of Haredim among those under age 20 was 16.3% in 2009 (29% of Jews).

Practices and beliefs

Haredi Judaism represents the conservative, pietistic form of Jewish fundamentalism, distinct from the radical fundamentalism of Gush Emunim, emphasizing withdrawal from and disdain for the secular world, and creating an alternative world that insulates Torah and its prescribed life from outside influences. It is not institutionally cohesive or homogeneous, comprising a diversity of spiritual and cultural orientations, generally divided into Hasidic courts, Litvishe-Yeshivish streams from Eastern Europe, and Oriental Sephardic Haredi Jews.

These groups differ significantly in ideologies, lifestyles, stringency of religious practice, rigidity of philosophy, and degree of isolation from general culture. Some Haredis encourage outreach to less observant Jews and secular Israelis. Some scholars describe Haredim as radical fundamentalists. Efforts to avoid external influence are core: historically, new media such as books, newspapers, tapes, CDs, and television were transformed, controlled, or censored by rabbinic leadership.

In the digital era, difficulty in censoring the Internet has led to ongoing struggle over comprehension, adaptation, and regulation. These isolationist practices can bring conflict with authorities; for example, in 2018 a Haredi school in the United Kingdom was rated inadequate after complaints about censoring textbooks and exam papers containing mentions of homosexuality, women socializing with men, pictures showing women's shoulders and legs, or information contradicting a creationist worldview.

In Israel

From the founding of Zionism in the 1890s, Haredi leaders objected to its secular orientation. After the establishment of the State of Israel, some Haredi Jews observed Independence Day as a day of mourning and referred to state holidays as idolatrous. The chief political division among Haredim is their approach to the State of Israel: only a minority consider themselves Zionists. Non-Zionist Haredim, the majority, do not object to the state and many consider it positive, but see no religious significance in it.

Anti-Zionist Haredim, a minority but more publicly visible, believe any Jewish independence before the Messiah is a sin. The non-Zionist United Torah Judaism alliance (Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah) represents a pragmatic stance of cooperation with the state and participation in politics, seeking to influence society toward religion and maintain welfare and religious funding. Stridently anti-Zionist Haredim are under Edah HaChareidis, rejecting politics and state funding.

Neturei Karta, a very small activist organization, engages in controversial activities condemned even by other anti-Zionist Haredim. Haredi support is often required to form coalition governments. In recent years, some rebbes affiliated with Agudath Israel have taken stances closer to the Israeli right wing on security, settlements, and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Did You Know?

• The term Haredi is a Modern Hebrew adjective derived from the Biblical verb hared, meaning 'one who trembles' at the word of God.
• Isaac Leeser (1806–1868) was described in a 1916 biography as 'ultra-Orthodox'.
• People who leave Haredi communities are sometimes shunned and pressured or forced to abandon their children.