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Edah HaChareidis

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Large ultra-Orthodox Jewish communal organization based in Jerusalem
Edah HaChareidis
Charedi Council of Jerusalem
העדה החרדית
Headquarters In Jerusalem
Formation1918; 107 years ago (1918)
FounderRabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld, Rabbi Yitzchok Yerucham Diskin
HeadquartersJerusalem
Membership40,000
Chief Rabbivacant
Head of CourtRabbi Moshe Sternbuch
PublicationHaEdah
SecessionsNeturei Karta, Khal Adas Yerushalayim
AffiliationsHaredi Judaism
Formerly calledAshkenazi City Council

The Charedi Council of Jerusalem (Hebrew: העדה החרדית, haEdah haCharedit, Ashkenazi pronunciation: ha-Aideh Charaidis or ha-Eido ha-Chareidis; "Congregation of God-Fearers") is a large Haredi Jewish communal organization based in Jerusalem. It has several thousand affiliated households and is chaired by the Grand Patriarch (Ga'avad), who also holds the title of chief rabbi (Mara D'Ara D'Yisroel מרא דארעא דישראל). The Council provides facilities such as dietary laws supervision, ritual baths, a Sabbath enclosure, and welfare services.

The Council was founded in 1918 by devout Ashkenazi residents of Jerusalem, especially of the Old Yishuv, who refused to be affiliated in any way with the new Zionist institutions. Inspired by militant anti-Zionist ideology, it refuses to receive any state funding from the Israeli authorities, or to endorse voting in the elections, relying on donations from fellow anti-Zionist Haredi Jews abroad and its own income. Its members often engage in demonstrations against Sabbath desecration, autopsies, or archaeological excavations of human remains, which they regard as sins, and are noted for their poverty and extreme religious strictness. The Council also sponsors a Sephardi Haredi Council.

History

Old Yishuv
A sepia photograph shows three elderly Jewish men sporting beards and holding open books, posing for the camera. Against a backdrop of leafy vegetation, the man in the centre sits, wearing a black hat and caftan, while the two others stand, wearing lighter clothes and turbans.Jewish community in the Land of Israel under Ottoman rule
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The Edah HaChareidis was originally founded by Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld and Rabbi Yitzchok Yerucham Diskin (son of Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Diskin) in 1918, prior to the establishment of the Chief Rabbinate by the Zionist movement under British auspices, as The Ashkenazic City Council (Va'ad Ha'Ir Ha'Ashkenazi ועד העיר האשכנזי), to separate from the Zionist-controlled General City Council [he] and later, the Zionist Chief Rabbinate. The Council originally had two rabbinical courts, one for the perushim and one for the chassidim, over which Rabbi Sonnenfeld was named as the first Av Beis Din, a position he held until his death in 1932. In 1936 the two courts joined and the organization received its current name. While the Edah was originally affiliated with the World Agudath Israel, the two split in 1945, when the Palestinian branch of the latter became the Israeli Agudat Yisrael political party.

Rabbi Sonnenfeld was succeeded by Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, who was succeeded by Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis, who was succeeded by the Satmar Rebbe, Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. Rabbi Teitelbaum had already emigrated to the United States, but was still given the position as chief of the OCJ. Teitelbaum's nephew, the late Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Satmar, was given the title of President upon Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum's death. The lay leader of the body for many years was Gershon Stemmer, until his death in early 2007.

Anti-Zionist ideology

The anti-Zionist ideological stance of the Edah HaChareidis is explicated in the book Vayoel Moshe, written by its former President and Chief Rabbi, Joel Teitelbaum, which is regarded as the standard, and by which all issues relating to the modern State of Israel are generally determined. For example, the Congregation forbids voting in the elections for the Knesset, and forbids accepting any funding from the Israeli government (such as subsidies for schools and unemployment benefits), and also does not accept Israeli citizenship through the Law of Return. According to Ynetnews, "It has declared an ideological war against the 'heretic Zionist government'."

The state-run "Chief Rabbinate" recognizes marriage and divorce performed by the Edah's rabbinic court, per a settlement hearkening back to British rule. Yet, like all those performed by non-governmental bodies, converts to Judaism who convert through the Edah's courts are neither recognized nor eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return.

In 2002, the rabbinical leadership of the Edah wrote a complementary introduction to Vayoel Moshe. The introduction mentioned: "and it is necessary to learn about this subject ... the holy book Vayoel Moshe will open eyes to see all troubles and horrors of our time, and will prevent readers from being drawn after the Zionist heresy, may the Merciful One save us."

In 2006, during a campaign against the participation of Haredim in the Israeli parliamentary elections, the Edah accused the Zionists of having played a role in the Holocaust.

In March 2008, an article in the Edah's newspaper HaEdah blasted the "first Hasidic police officer" and the newspapers who had praised him, and called for him to be thrown out of the Haredi world. It referred to him as presenting his children to Molech. Addressing him personally, it said: "and even if you are great in your own eyes, you are worth nothing and an embarrassment to us"; and: "We will continue our continuous war, the days of which are the same as the days of the existence of the Zionist entity, against them and against everything you represent."

Influence

Followers of the movements that constitute the Edah HaChareidis are estimated (as of 2012) at approximately forty thousand, and live mainly in the northern areas of Jerusalem (from Har Nof to Sanhedria, and in Mea Shearim), and in Beit Shemesh. The Edah HaChareidis includes the following groups: Satmar, Dushinsky, Toldos Aharon, Toldos Avrohom Yitzchok, Spinka, Sanz-Tshokave, groups belonging to the Perushim (such as a more "moderate" wing of Neturei Karta), a faction of the Breslover Hasidim, led by Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter, other factions of Breslov, Mishkenois HaRoyim, Khal Chasidei Yerushalayim [he], and several other smaller communities. The Edah HaChareidis publicizes a weekly magazine called HaEdah [he] ("The Edah"), written in Hebrew. This magazine is used to publicize the views of the leadership of the Edah HaChareidis on various issues, as well as articles on Jewish thought, including the weekly Torah portion and biographies of deceased leaders of the Yerushalmi community.

In response to day-long Haredi protests in Jerusalem in 2009, Israel's then-President Shimon Peres described the Edah as "a radical minority".

Kashruth supervision

[REDACTED]
The kashruth certification stamp of the Badatz

The Edah HaChareidis is known for its high standards in rabbinical supervision of kosher food, and is considered to be the most prominent hechsher in Israel. It is often simply known as the hechsher of the "Badatz", which stands for Beis Din Tzedek (literally, "Court Righteous Law"), the standard term for a rabbinical court. Products certified by the Edah are marked with the logo of the Edah.

Rabbinical court

Historically, the court is headed by both a Chief Rabbi, called the "Ga'avad" גאב"ד (an acronym for Gaon Av Beis Din meaning Grand Patriarch of the Rabbinical Court), and by the Head of the Rabbinical Court, called a "Ra'avad" ראב"ד. The "Ra'avad" is the first person in the line of succession of the "Ga'avad", and would usually ascend to the role of "Ga'avad" upon his death or resignation, subject to confirmation by vote.

Titles and Honorifics

Decrees and announcements promulgated by the court are usually published under one of the following headers:

  • (when signed by the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, (or the princes of Torah) (his honorable holiness) our master the Ga'avad and the righteous court, may they live long and good days Amen".
  • (when signed by the Ra'avad and not by the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, (or the princes of Torah) (his honorable holiness) our masters the Ra'avad and the righteous court, may they live long and good days Amen".
  • (when signed by neither the Ra'avad nor the Ga'avad) "By the authority of our teachers, the geniuses, the righteous, the members of the righteous court (of this here holy city), may they live long and good days Amen".

The following lists the proper (written) titles of the various members of the Edah's rabbinical court:

  • (Ga'avad) His Honorable Holiness, our Master the Ga'avad, may he live long and good days Amen, the Master of the Land of Israel (or the Holy Land);
  • (Ra'avad) His Honorable Holiness, the Ra'avad, may he live long and good days Amen;
  • (Members) The great genius, Rabbi So-and-So, may he live long and good days Amen, Member of the Righteous Court.

Chief Rabbis

  1. 1919–1932: Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld (1849–1932)
  2. 1932–1948: Grand Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, First Dushinsky Rebbe (1867–1948)
  3. 1947–1953: Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis (1864–1953)
  4. 1953–1979: Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1887–1979)
  5. 1979–1989: Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (1901–1989; author of Minchas Yitzchak, formerly of Manchester Beth Din, England)
  6. 1989–1996: Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund (1904–1996; author of Ateres Yehoshua (Chassidei Satmar)
  7. 1996–2002: Grand Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky, Second Dushinsky Rebbe (1921–2003; son of Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dushinsky, listed above)
  8. 2002–2022: Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss (1926–2022; formerly dayan of the Machsike Hadass community, Antwerp, Belgium)

Heads of Court

  1. 1920-1921: Rabbi Moshe Nochum Wallenstein [he] (1840-1922)
  2. 1924-1929: Rabbi Mordechai Leib Rubin [he] (1871-1929)
  3. 1929-1938: Rabbi Pinchas Epstein [he] (d.1969)
  4. 1938-1948: Rabbi Zelig Reuven Bengis (1864–1953)
  5. 1948-1968: Rabbi Pinchas Epstein [he] (d.1969)
  6. 1968-1972: Rabbi Dovid Jungreis [he] (1898-1972)
  7. 1972-1979: Rabbi Yitzchok Yaakov Weiss (1901–1989)
  8. 1979-1989: Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Freund (1904–1996)
  9. 1989-1996: Grand Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky (1921-2003)
  10. 1996-2003: Rabbi Yisroel Yaakov Fisher (1928–2003)
  11. 2003-present: Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch (b.1926)

Presidents

  1. 1953–1979: Grand Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1887–1979)
  2. 1979–2006: Grand Rabbi Moshe Teitelbaum of Satmar (1914–2006)
  3. 2006–2021: Rabbi Dovid Soloveitchik, rosh yeshiva of Brisk (1921–2021)

Past members

Present members

Affiliated rabbis

Lay Leadership

The lay leadership of the Edah was originally comprised of three bodies, a Council of Seventy elected by the general membership, which in turn selected from within itself a Council of Twenty-Three, which in turn selected from within itself the members of the Acting Committee. The Acting Committe ran the day-to-day affairs of the Edah, while graver or more important decisions were left to the Council of Twenty-Three, and very important decisions left to the full Council of Seventy.

Currently the Edah is controlled by a forty-one member administrative board based on a system of communal representation. The following is a list of the various communities represented, followed by the number of representatives:

References

  1. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://dacenter.tau.ac.il/sites/abraham.tau.ac.il/files/media_server/daniel%20abraham/kesher/51/14%20Keren.pdf
  2. https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/haretz/1918/04/04/01/article/16?&dliv=none&e=-------he-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxTI--------------1
  3. ^ Rubinstein, Avraham (2007). "Teitelbaum". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 19 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. pp. 582–83. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
  4. "Rabbi Yosef Sheinberger dies at 87". The Jerusalem Post. In 1981, he issued a decree that all educational institutions that accept state funding were off limits for children of the Edah Haredit.
  5. ^ Ynetnews
  6. Pour une fois, une conversion ultra-Orthodoxe n'est pas reconnue dans le cadre d'une demande de naturalisation
  7. Introduction, Sefer Yalkut Amorim Vayoel Moshe.
  8. HaEdah, parashas Pekudei 5768, pages 10–11
  9. Peres lauds Rabbinate for recognizing brain death, Ynet, (October 06, 2009)
  10. "יש להכריז על בדץ העדה החרדית מונופול בתחום שירותי כשרות המהדרין" TheMarker
  11. מעיין דויד, מלחמת הבד"צים: כך כבשה קבוצת שוליים חרדית את שוק הכשרות, באתר מידה, ‏2017-09-07
  12. Kahn, Betzalel (2 April 2003). "NEWS: HaRav Yisroel Moshe Dushinsky, zt'l". Dei'ah VeDibur. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  13. Levi Julian, Hana (July 30, 2022). "Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, Head of Jerusalem's Eida HaChareidis, Passes Away". The Jewish Press. Retrieved July 31, 2022.
  14. "BDE: HaGaon HaRav Tuvia Weiss, Z'TL, Gaavad Of The Eidah HaChareidis". Yeshiva World News. 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2024-09-18.

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