DIASPORA DIVIDED: The future looks Haredi but where do the rest of us fit in?

In part two of his series, CLIVE LAWTON writes that Jews face a future in which the fastest growing segment of the community cares little for the rest

HAD ANY CASUAL observer in the 1950s, post-war and on the heels of the founding of the State of Israel, been asked about the Haredi role in the future of the Jewish people, most would have said they were finished. (They also would have asked, “What do you mean by ‘Haredim’? But we’ll return to that later.)

Often called “ultra-Orthodox”, this group are no more Orthodox than, say, the British Chief Rabbi. If you insist on English words, call them “Differently Orthodox”.

But Haredim works better. It comes from the Torah. The Israelites shivered, shook or quaked in awe at the revelation at Sinai. That verb is Kh-r-d, hence Kharedim, quakers!

Haredim are themselves diverse but there are two distinct camps, Hasidim and Mitnagdim. This distinction stems back to the founding of Hasidism in the 18^th century, when their vehement opponents (which is what “mitnagdim” means) distrusted the charismatic, mystical, evangelical, populist nature of Hasidism, and even sometimes shopped them to the Tzarist authorities. Far from being the authentic face of Judaism, Hasidim were radicals.

Hasidim today probably outnumber Mitnagdim by three or four to one, though the inclusion of some Mizrahi and Sephardi Jews among Haredim, especially in Israel, makes the old distinctions harder to read. Further, Hasidim are divided into subsects, some of whom are daggers-drawn. For example, Satmar Hasidim show deep contempt towards Lubavitch.

So, as interesting as all this may be, is it pertinent to a series on significant splits in the Jewish world?

First is the fact that most, though not all, Haredim want nothing to do with other Jews. Chabad/Lubavitch (which worldwide is a tiny subset of Haredim) obscures this from many of us. Overall, though, the Haredi world is resigned to the “Righteous Remnant” doctrine, arising from Isaiah’s prophecies, that only a small proportion of the Jewish people will ever survive.

So, the contemporary idea of Jewish peoplehood has no resonance with them. Most Jews are written off as not worth bothering with. Trying to “save” us will only result in dragging them down.