Hasidic Leaders in the Streets of Tel Aviv, 1940-1965

Abstract

From the late thirties to the mid-sixties of the twentieth century, Tel Aviv was the seat of dozens of Hasidic courts creating Hasidic precincts in the southern and central parts of the city. The article explores the reason for the Hasidic leaders’ choice to settle in the city with their followers and offers a glimpse of their courts. Hasidic communities distributed throughout the city filled the streets of Tel Aviv with a Hasidic atmosphere. Daily life brought different segments of the population into frequent contact, and generated a unique inter-sectoral mosaic, primarily around special calendar occasions.

In the early sixties, the Haredi community in Bnei Brak began to expand and establish educational institutions for the Litvishe and Hasidic communities. As a result, Haredi and Hasidic families slowly moved away from Tel Aviv to Bnei Brak. This trend led, inter alia, to the transfer of several Hasidic courts to Bnei Brak and Jerusalem during the sixties and seventies. The article concludes with a discussion of the diverse reasons for the departure of the Hasidic courts from Tel Aviv and addresses the impact of various processes on Haredi society in the course of the second half of the twentieth century.