Event
9/11 and the Hasidic & Orthodox Community
Hundreds of Jews were killed in the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York. Volunteers of Chevra Hatzalah rushed to…
Topic
Customs
31 items on the site.
Event
The shmira vigil for the victims of 9/11
After the attack on the World Trade Center, Orthodox Jews kept a shmira beside the victims' remains at the city's medical…
Customs & life
Dance in Hasidic Life
For Chassidim, dance is a way of serving Hashem with joy. This article explains its foundation in Chassidus, the dancing at the…
Customs & life
Rebbe Stories: The Tradition of Tales of the Tzaddikim
For many years, Hasidic stories of the tzaddikim were passed down by word of mouth, at tishen and melaveh malkahs. The first…
Customs & life
The History of the Shtreimel: From a Polish Fur Hat to the Crown of Shabbos
What is actually known about the shtreimel: theories of origin, the Sigismund legend (no documentary basis), 17th–18th century…
Customs & life
The Mitzvah Tantz: A Wedding Custom a Thousand Years Old
The roots of the mitzvah tantz in the Gemara (Kesubos) and Machzor Vitry, the gartel, who dances, the special niggunim of each…
Customs & life
Bekeshe (Bekishe)
The bekeshe is the long black silk coat Chasidim wear on Shabbos, Yom Tov and at simchas.
Customs & life
Gartel
The gartel is the black prayer belt Chasidic men wear while davening.
Customs & life
Lag BaOmer and the Bonfires
Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the Omer, is the hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, celebrated with bonfires and pilgrimage to Meron.
Customs & life
Upsherin
The upsherin is a boy's first haircut at age three, when he receives peyos and a yarmulke and begins learning the aleph-beis.
Customs & life
Purim Shpiel
The Purim shpiel is a comic Purim play dramatizing the Megillah with jokes, songs and costumes.
Customs & life
Badchan
A badchan is the traditional Jewish wedding entertainer — rhymer, jester and master of ceremonies — part of Jewish weddings for…
Customs & life
Melava Malka
Melava Malka is the Motzei Shabbos meal that "escorts the Shabbos Queen" — the "fourth meal".
Customs & life
Daf Yomi
Daf Yomi is the practice of learning one page of Talmud daily, completing the Talmud in about seven and a half years.
Customs & life
Kapparos
Kapparos is the old custom on Erev Yom Kippur of circling a chicken or money over one's head and giving it to charity.
Customs & life
The Tish (Rebbe's Tisch)
A tish is the joyous gathering of Hasidim at their Rebbe's table, with niggunim, divrei Torah and shirayim.
Customs & life
Kvitel
A kvitel is a note with a request that a Hasid gives to his Rebbe to receive a blessing.
5:37Shuki Pedia
When Hasidic Jews hit the dance floor 🎶
When the music starts, everyone dances — a night of Hasidic music, dancing and real joy. Gut Moed!
6:31Shuki Pedia
Rebbe stories — part 1
Funny, special and unforgettable moments from Rabbonim and the Chassidish world — made with respect.
Shuki Pedia
Hasidim dancing — “Blaz Dem Shofar”
A short: Hasidim dancing to “Blaz Dem Shofar”.
פֿאָרווערטס (ייִדיש) — בלאג „עולם החסידות“
How Brooklyn's Hasidim celebrate Sukkos ↗
A warm, detailed look at how a large Hasidic family in Brooklyn prepares for Sukkos weeks ahead and celebrates at home, in the…
פֿאָרווערטס (ייִדיש) — בלאג „עולם החסידות“
When Hasidim sit down to the Shabbos meal ↗
A step-by-step account of the Friday-night meal in Brooklyn Hasidic homes — besamim, kiddush and the fixed traditional dishes —…
פֿאָרווערטס (ייִדיש) — הרב אליעזר שם טוב
"Here I'm the boss" — a Chabad story about obsessive thoughts ↗
A Hasidic tale: the founder of Chabad sends a Hasid troubled by obsessive thoughts to an old woodcutter, and the lesson is about…
Customs & life
The Mussar Movement
The Mussar movement arose in 19th-century Lithuania, founded by Rabbi Yisroel Salanter. It brought into the yeshivas a daily…
Customs & life
The Litvish Shiur (Brisker Derech)
The Litvish shiur, especially in the Brisker derech of Rabbi Chaim Brisker, breaks a sugya into clear concepts ("two dinim",…
Customs & life
Mishmar (Thursday Night Learning)
Mishmar is the old yeshiva custom of learning late into Thursday night, and in many yeshivos it comes with hot cholent, kugel and…
Customs & life
The Shidduch "List"
In the Litvish world, when a bochur starts shidduchim, a "resume" is prepared: one page with his yeshivos, his family and his…
Customs & life
Chavrusa
Chavrusa is the traditional way of learning in pairs or a small group: reading together, asking, debating and sharpening each…
Customs & life
Kollel
A kollel is an institute for full-time study of Talmud and halacha, mostly for married yungeleit, who receive a monthly stipend.…
Customs & life
Yeshivish (the language)
"Yeshivish" is the speech of the yeshiva world in America: English full of words from Yiddish, Hebrew and the Aramaic of the…
Customs & life
Elul Zman and the Three Zmanim
The yeshiva year is divided into three "zmanim": Elul zman (from Rosh Chodesh Elul until after Yom Kippur), winter zman (after…