Haredi Judaism

Haredi (Hebrew: חֲרֵדִי Ḥaredi) is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism often known as ultra-Orthodox Judaism. Those that follow Haredi are called Haredim (-m is a plural suffix in Hebrew and Yiddish) or Haredi Jews.

Overview

Haredi Judaism consists of many spiritual and cultural groups. It is divided into Hasidic sects with streams from Eastern Europe and Sephardic Haredim. The two are essentially different, including their beliefs, lifestyles, religious practice and philosophy and isolation from the mainstream culture they live in.

Population

Most Haredi Jews now live in Israel, North America and Western Europe. Their population is growing rapidly due to a high birth rate. It doubles every 12 to 20 years.

The estimates of the number of Haredim in the entire world are difficult to measure, because the definition of the word may or may not apply to some people. In addition, there have been a lack of data collection and rapid changes over time. A newspaper article once estimated there were approximately 1.3 million Haredi Jews as of 2011. The Me'a She'arim neighbourhood in Jerusalem is mainly populated by Haredi Jews.

Related pages

• Antisemitism
• Conservative Judaism
• Modern Orthodox Judaism

Other websites

• Haredi and technology
• Hasidic and Haredi Jewish population growth Archived 2006-12-12 at the Wayback Machine
• Map of the main Haredi Communities in Jerusalem Archived 2012-03-10 at the Wayback Machine
• Dei'ah Vedibur – Online Haredi newsweekly