by OftenBen

The more religious aspects of Hasidic life sometimes offend my secular morality. The Hasidim are fundamentalists who apply Talmudic law in extreme ways. Homosexuality is a sin, they don’t teach their children evolution, and they tend to strictly segregate gender roles. Men study ancient religious laws and prayers, while women cook, clean, and care for their many kids. (Rabbis get to decide, on a case-by-case basis, when birth control will be allowed.) Men and women are not allowed to touch unless they are married. My aunt, an early Jewish feminist, always told me she could not relate to this profoundly patriarchal group. “I can’t wear tzitzit, can’t be part of a minyan, can’t say Kaddish. So how do I fit in?” she asked. “Where do I belong?”