Chabad hipsters (or hipster Hasidim) are the cross-acculturated members of the
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...
community and contemporary hipster subculture. Beginning from the late 2000s through the 2010s, a minor trend of cross acculturation of Chabad Hasidism and hipster subculture appeared within the New YorkJewish community. The first printed reference to this trend was the 2007 New York Press cover story, "Hipster Hassids" by Alyssa Pinsker. Later, according to '' The Jewish Daily Forward'', a significant number of members of the
Chabad
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic group ...
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...
community, mostly residing in
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard/East New Yo ...
Cultural similarities between some of the Hasidic community's members and New York City hipsters were noted on blogs such as ''Hasid or Hipster'' (inspired in part by the art of Elke Reva Sudin).
According to '' The Jewish Daily Forward'', a number of members of the Crown Heights Chabad community, all while adhering to the norms of Orthodox dress codes, have incorporated contemporary fashion as a part of their daily appearance.
Similarly, ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' noted that some New York hipsters appeared to be appropriating local Chabad Hasidic fashion by wearing black fedora hats. Some hipsters reported purchasing their headwear from Hasidic shops in Brooklyn."Culture-Hopping in a Fedora." Fashion and Style. ''The New York Times''. April 29, 2011. Closely associated with the adoption of the "black hat", the preference for long skirts by female hipsters in New York are believed to be partly inspired by the fashion of Hasidic women.
Chabad fashion designers Mimi Hecht and Mushky Notik who started their Mimu Maxi brand in the summer of 2013, originally with the Hasidic female community in mind, but soon the brand had gained a broader, loyal following. The pair has been referred to as "Hasidic Hipsters" on social media, and they have responded positively to that label.
One Crown Heights resident established an eatery called "Hasid+Hipster". The eatery serves artisanal dishes while adhering to the laws of
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 ...
. The owner, Yuda Schlass, told ''
The New York Jewish Week
''The Jewish Week'' is a weekly independent community newspaper targeted towards the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. ''The Jewish Week'' covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC. In March 2016, ''The Jewish We ...
DeScribe
Shneur Hasofer is a Hasidic musician known as DeScribe. Hasofer's musical style has been characterized as "Hasidic hip-hop," "Hasidic rap" and "Hasidic R&B".
Background
Hasofer was born to a Chabad Hasidic family in Melbourne, Australia. Hasof ...
, have fused Jewish themes and contemporary music styles and genres. Similarly, the band
Zusha
The Zusha (russian: Зуша) is a river in Tula and Oryol Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is 234 km. The area of its basin is 6,950 km².folk,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, and
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
with the wordless vocals of traditional Hasidic songs (known as ''
niggunim
A nigun ( he, ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", plural nigunim) or niggun (plural niggunim) is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", ...
''). The group cites as a spiritual advisor Rabbi Dov Yonah Korn of New York City's East Village Chabad House.
Chabad on Campus rabbi
Simcha Weinstein
Simon Weinstein, known by his Hebrew name Simcha Weinstein ( he, שמחה וינשטיין), is an English author and a rabbi. In 2006, his first book, '' Up Up and Oy Vey: How Jewish History, Culture and Values Shaped the Comic Book Superhero'', ...
, whose activities are based at Pratt Institute, has been termed one of "New York's Hippest Rabbis".
Outreach
Chabad emissaries operating in "hipster neighborhoods" have sought to reach out to Jewish hipsters and encourage them to perform traditional Jewish rituals and commandments (or '' mitzvahs''). One event, titled "Unite the Beards", with the stated aim of "bridging the two communities", was organized by Chabad emissaries in Brooklyn.
Chabad emissaries have established centers and organized services and events for young unaffiliated Jews in Dumbo, Williamsburg/Greenpoint, Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, Carroll Gardens and Prospect Heights.Bell, Kaitlin "A Brooklyn Mitzvah: Converting the Hipsters." ''The New York Observer''. November 2, 2008.
"Hipster synagogues"
The Soho Synagogue, established by Chabad emissaries in SoHo, Manhattan, has been branded as a "hipster synagogue." The synagogue is housed in a former "chic clothing store."
Chabad of Bucktown-Wicker Park has been noted as the synagogue of one of "America’s Best Hipster Neighborhoods." The Chabad house attracts a number of local Jews to services and events.Sugar, Yehuda "Rabbi Finds Home in One of America’s Trendiest Neighborhoods". ''Chabad.org''. October 25, 2012.
See also
*
Matisyahu
Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American reggae singer, rapper, beatboxer, and alternative rock musician.
Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing so ...
Y-Love
Yitz Jordan (born January 5, 1978), better known by his stage name Y-Love, is an American hip hop artist. An Orthodox Jew, Jordan was formerly Hasidic.Jerry Portwood"Y-Love is Ready for Love,"'' Out'', May 15, 2012. He is a web developer, activis ...