Unwrapping the insides of the ultra orthodox Jewish communities;
Haredi(m) are perhaps the most visibly identifiable subset of Jews today. They are easy to spot — haredi men in black suits and wide-brimmed black hats, haredi women in long skirts, thick stockings, and headcoverings — but much harder to understand.
Indeed, the history, beliefs, and practices of these devout Jews remain a mystery to many who live outside their cloistered communities.
The word “haredi” is a catchall term, either an adjective or a noun, which covers a broad array of theologically, politically, and socially conservative Orthodox Jews, sometimes referred to as “ultra-Orthodox.”
Orthodox Judaism Today
In order to prevent outside influence and contamination of values and practices, haredim strive to limit their contact with the outside world, avoiding, as much as possible, both non-haredi Jews and non-Jews.
Interaction with outsiders is generally confined to basic economic contact and unavoidable public interactions, such as going to the post office. However, certain groups of haredim, notably, but not exclusively, members of Chabad Lubavitch, do make contact with non-haredi Jews for the purpose of kiruv — encouraging others to adopt more stringent religious observance.
Haredim (Charedim), or Ultra-Orthodox Jews