Hasidic Jews

History
Hasidism is a a Jewish religious sect. The Hasidic movement
began in the middle of the eighteenth century in Galicia on the
Polish-Romanian border and in the Volhynia region of the Ukraine.
It was founded by Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezer (1700-1760) who
became known as the Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name).
Today most affiliates reside in the United States, Israel and
Britain.
Comunity
An outsider visiting a Hasidic neighborhood is likely to be struck
immediately by just how Hasidic it looks. Their appearance is
distinctive: the men bearded in black suits or long black coats,
and women in high-necked, loose-fitting dresses, with kerchiefs or
traditional wigs covering their hair. They are dedicated to living
uncontaminated by contact with modern society except in accord
with the demands of the workplace and the state. They do not, for
the most part, own radio or television sets, nor do they frequent
cinemas or theaters.

Dress code(comparison to amish)

Yet this world is virtually unknown to most Americans, who are apt
to confuse Hasidic men, who wear beards, sidelocks, black hats,
and long coats, with the similarly-dressed Amish.
Hasidic men most commonly wear dark overclothes. On weekdays
they wear a long, black, cloth jacket called a rekel.
A Kolpik is worn by unmarried sons and grandsons of many
Rebbes on the Sabbath. Some Rebbes don it on special occasions.

Following a Biblical commandment not to shave the sides of one's

face, male members of most Hasidic groups wear long, uncut
sidelocks called payot (or peyes).
Hasidic women wear clothing adhering to the principles of modest
dress in Jewish law. This includes long, conservative skirts and
sleeves past the elbow as well as covered necklines. Also, the
women wear stockings to cover their legs.
In keeping with Jewish law, married women cover their hair (and
it's become customary by a lot of Hasidic women to shave off all
their hair) using either a sheitel (wig) or a tichel (headscarf) which
is sometimes used to cover a shpitzel. In some Hasidic groups,
such as Satmar, women may wear two headcoverings a wig and
a scarf or a wig and a hat.
Hasidic School and separate activities
Boys and girls are segregated at a very early age and never
participate in activities where the sexes are mixed. Ideally neither
male nor female has any sexual experience Before marriage, the
average age of which is youngusually Between the ages of
eighteen and twentybut varies with the particular Hasidic sect.

Wedding
The selection of a mate is arranged through the aid of friends and
members of the community who act in the capacity of shadchan,
or marriage broker. There is a tendency to prefer marriages within
the same sect or at least within sects sharing a similar ideology.
Kids
Procreation, God's commandment, is one of the most important
functions of the Hasidic family, and couples strive to have children
as soon as possible. Most forms of birth control are religiously

forbidden and the tendency is toward large families. Although

rates of separation and divorce remain low, they may increase as
the Hasidim respond to social and economic changes in the world
around them.
Brit milah circumcision at 8 days
Bar-mitzvah boys considered men at 13 years
Other holidays
Hanukkah
Shabbat
Pesach-passover

Torah studies
The religious education of the young is a central consideration in
the Hasidic community. From childhood on, parents are
instrumental in communicating to their children the appropriate
attitudes and behavior. The ultimate objective of the religious
training is to produce a God-fearing person who is well socialized
into the sect's normative Structure. Since Hasidic norms demand
a strict separation of the sexes, separate schools are available for
boys and girls and their formal education differs. For males, the
central activity of the school day, until they are sixteen or
seventeen, consists of learning Torah. The primary subject matter
is the Pentateuch, and this, together with the Babylonian Talmud
and some biblical commentaries, constitutes the core curriculum.
Yiddish language

For both, the language of instruction is Yiddish.

Signs and symbols used by the Hasidic Jews

Menorah
Mezuzah
Star of david
Hamsa

Food
The laws of keeping kosher (kashrut) have influenced Jewish
cooking by prescribing what foods are permitted and how food
must be prepared. The word kosher is usually translated as
"proper."
Certain foods, notably pork and shellfish, are forbidden; meat and
dairy may not be combined, and meat must be ritually
slaughtered and salted to remove all traces of blood.
Examples of Jewish foods
Babka-cozonac
Blintz-clatite
Goulash
Holishkes-sarmale
Halva, Falafel