SATMAR HASIDISM: A Moder Two of the characters in Anna Ziegler’s The Wanderers grew up, got married, and started their family within the Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, a branch of ultra-orthodox Judaism that is shrouded in mystery for many. If you’ve spent any time wandering around Brooklyn, you’ve probably encountered Hasidic Jews. Easily identified by their traditional dark clothing and distinctive headwear, Hasidim (meaning “pious ones” in Hebrew) represent the most traditional ultra-Orthodox brand of contemporary Judaism. But when Hasidism first emerged in Eastern Europe in the mideighteenth century, it was a modern movement. Unlike the more cerebral, traditional Judaism, Hasidism was a physically embodied movement in which all aspects of life carried spiritual significance. Early Hasidism was characterized by ecstatic joy, a call to spiritual renewal, and the relationship between the “righteous men” and their disciples, rather than the narrow focus on traditional learning that was a hallmark of Judaism at the time.i By introducing a modified liturgy, flexible hours for prayer, new rituals and practices and a new model of religious leadership, Hasidism created “something entirely new in Jewish history, a movement of mass religiosity.”ii Over the next two centuries, Hasidism grew in popularity until it was the dominate form of Judaism in much of Eastern Europe.iii As it spread across
10
i Biale, David. Hasidism: A New History. Princeton University Press, 2018, p 1. ii Biale, p 2. iii A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. Produced and directed by Menachem Daum and Oren Rudavsky, 1997. PBS Broadcast, August 25, 1998.
communities and countries, followers broke off into groups led by rebbes who took the name of the town in which their sect originated. The Satmar dynasty originated in 1928 when Yo’el Teitelbaum – second son of the Grand Rebbe of Siget and thus not in the line of succession to inherit his father’s position –relocated to the Hungarian town of Szatmár, amassed a following, and founded a new sect of Hasidism.iv Although the larger Hasidic community was already in decline by the early twentieth century, it was ravaged by the Holocaust which obliterated many dynasties. Teitelbaum survived the Cluj Ghetto in Hungry and Bergen Belson in Germany, eventually immigrating to New York in 1946 where he was one of the key figures in the rebirth of Hasidism.v Today, Satmar is the largest Hasidic sect in North America, and perhaps the largest in the world. Although they live in communities scattered across North America, Israel, Canada, and Europe, the vast majority are concentrated in New York. In 2010, roughly 70,000 Satmars lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and another 21,000 lived in the village of Kiryas Joel,vi which is located sixty miles northwest of Williamsburg and was established by Teitelbaum in 1974.vii Due to their high birthrate, the community continues to grow. Satmar Hasidism has a reputation as iv Nadler, Allan. "Satmar Hasidic Dynasty." YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe 14 October 2010. 2 January 2020. v “Joel Teitelbaum.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Dec. 2019. vi Biale, p 685. vii “Kiryas Joel, New York.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Dec. 2019.