Israel’s Haredim (the “God-fearing”)
Menahem Kahana
AFP
The Haredim represent one-tenth of Israel’s Jewish population and, far from being a homogeneous block, they are divided into many different movements centered around either a revered leader or a particular belief. They include the Hassidim, who advocate the adoration of God through joy, the Ashkenazim, who come from Eastern Europe, the Sephardim, who come from North Africa and Arab countries, the Zionists and anti-Zionists.
What binds them is their unshakeable faith in God and their unwavering attachment to the Torah, the law of Moses, which was given to Israel by God in the Sinai desert over three thousand years ago.
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Though their clothes vary depending on the movement they belong to and the leader they follow, almost all of them wear a suit and a black hat, and have a beard and ringlets. In this way they distinguish themselves from the secular world and its values, which they reject but which increasingly affects their way of life.
The photos shown here are an attempt to capture “eternal moments”. The Haredim have lived through the centuries with their hearts and souls anchored in another time dimension. With one foot in biblical times, they live in the present in expectation of ‘Celestial Jerusalem’ which will come with the Messiah. The most hard-line amongst them consider that the modern Jewish state created by the Zionist pioneers is blasphemous, as they believe the terrestrial kingdom of Israel can only emerge again with the coming of the Messiah and should be ruled according to the law of Moses.
I have also tried to document some of the less well-known facets of their lives, such as the purifying ritual of immersion and pilgrimages to the tombs of revered rabbis whom they ask, in their prayers, to intercede on their behalf with God.
