Frum ( yi, פֿרום, , religious', 'pious) is a word that describes Jewish religious devotion. The term connotes the observance of Jewish religious law in a way that often exceeds its bare requirements. This not only includes the careful study of

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, daily prayers, observing

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stori ...

and

kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fr ...

, and performing deeds of loving-kindness, but also many more

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

and ''

khumrot A ''chumra'' ( he, חומרה; pl. ; alternative transliteration: ) is a prohibition or obligation in Jewish practice that exceeds the bare requirements of Halakha (Jewish law). One who imposes a ''chumra'' on oneself in a given instance is sai ...

'' (prohibitions or obligations in Jewish life that exceed the requirements of Halakha). The term ''frum'' contrasts with ''frei'' ( yi, פֿרײַ, , free), which describes Jews who are

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

or practice non-Orthodox observance, or "free from keeping the… commandments."

Meaning

''Frum'' can be used in a negative sense for 'hypocritically pious', 'holier-than-thou', 'sanctimonious'; or in a positive sense for 'pious', 'devout', 'God-fearing', and 'upright'. The phrase ''frum and ehrlich'' captures the positive connotations of these words, to mean roughly 'upright' or 'righteous' (see ''

tzadik Tzadik ( he, צַדִּיק , "righteous ne, also ''zadik'', ''ṣaddîq'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadiqim'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. Th ...

''). The question "is s/he ''frum''?" asks whether the person is religious.

Derived terms

Yinglish Yiddish words used in the English language include both words that have been assimilated into Englishused by both Yiddish and English speakersand many that have not. An English sentence that uses either may be described by some as Yinglish (or H ...

, ''frummer'' is used both as a noun for 'one who is frum', and as a

comparative adjective Comparison is a feature in the morphology or syntax of some languages whereby adjectives and adverbs are inflected to indicate the relative degree of the property they define exhibited by the word or phrase they modify or describe. In language ...

, i.e. 'more frum'. The correct Yiddish comparative form of the adjective is, in fact, . ''Frumkeit'' describes the lifestyle of those who are frum. ''Frummer'' can also have a negative

connotation A connotation is a commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning, which is its denotation. A connotation is frequently described as either positive ...

, similar to ''chasid shoteh'' ('pious idiot'), which is how the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

(Sotah 21B) describes a man who sees a woman drowning, but refuses to save her, and says, "It is not proper to look at her, and rescue her." A ''frummer'' in that sense is a person displaying a disproportionate emphasis on technical aspects of religion of one's daily life in a manner which actually violates the ''halakha'' in a specific case. (See

Pikuach nefesh ''Pikuach nefesh'' ( he, פקוח נפש, lit=watching over a soul) is the principle in Halakha (Jewish law) that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious rule of Judaism. In the event that a person is in critical dang ...

.) Another term with this meaning is ''frummie''. A person who is ''frum from birth'' (or "FFB") was born into a frum household and has remained observant. This contrasts with a ''

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God_in_Judaism.html"_;"title="o_God_in_Judaism">God)_is_a_Jew_who_adopts_some_form_of_traditional_religious_observance_after_having_previ ...

'' (literally 'master of return') (or "BT"), a Jew who has become frum after a period or lifetime living a non-Orthodox lifestyle. The ''Frumba'' exercise program originated in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

as a derivation of the dance based fitness program

Zumba Zumba is a fitness program that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance. It was founded by Colombian dancer and choreographer Beto Pérez in 2001, and by 2012, it had 110,000 locations and 12 million people taking classes weekly. Zumba is a ...

. Frumba classes are offered exclusively to women who observe frum forms of

tzniut ''Tzniut'' ( he, צניעות , , ; " modesty" or " privacy"; ) describes both the character trait of modesty and discretion, as well as a group of Jewish laws pertaining to conduct. The concept is most important within Orthodox Judaism. ...

modesty laws, featuring music with less explicit lyrics.

Mode of dress

''The New York Times'' defines the word ''frum'' as 'religiously observant'. For boys and men, covering the head is an identifier of religiosity. For women, being frum includes adherence to the laws of

, such as modest dress covering the arms and legs. For married women, a head covering is another indicator.

References

{{Reflist Orthodox Judaism Yiddish words and phrases

Meaning

Derived terms

Mode of dress

See also

References