Culture

Gender

‘For Women and Girls Only’: new book explores Haredi women artists and performers

Author Jessica Roda charts a trend in which Haredi women's art and creativity has transcended schools and summer camps

Courts

RICO suit against rabbinical courts brought by founder of ‘Kindlein’ children’s magazine

Mendel Paneth, the visionary artist behind the wildly popular Yiddish-language kids’ magazine, claims rabbinical courts colluded with his former partner to sabotage his business in retaliation for defying a rabbinic order

Theatre

Hasidic-born actors star in new Yiddish play about a former Hasid turned Christian missionary

With starring roles in “The Gospel According to Chaim,” actors Melissa Weisz and Sruli Rosenberg describe the Hasidic world as offering more leeway to pursue unconventional paths

Haredi Life

Year end reflections on Shtetl’s first ten months of reporting: the top issues of 2023

With the intimate familiarity of insiders but free from the usual top-down oversight of Haredi media, we reported on everything from the Satmar rebbe's bragging about deceiving legislators to Agudah's efforts to keep the Times from winning a Pulitzer

Israel

Hasidic singer Lipa Schmeltzer responds to controversy around his performances for IDF soldiers

In a video filmed at the gravesite of Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, the late rebbe of Satmar, Schmeltzer acknowledged that he and others had performances canceled for appearing to support Israel and its military

Jewish Life

After attacks in Israel, Matisyahu ponders a return to wearing a beard and yarmulke

Oct. 7 attacks “just smacked me in the face” and his ‘pintele Yid’ was awakened, the musician said, as he reconsidered an outward expression of his Jewish identity

Israel

Hasidic musicians face controversy over pro-Israel messages and appearances

Singers Motty Ilowitz and Berry Weber appear to draw criticism after a pro-Israel video poem and a DC rally prayer service

Film

‘The Shidduch Crisis’: New film explores one Haredi woman’s dating struggles

“Just one date,” the matchmaker tells the film’s protagonist. “If it’s good, it’s good. If it isn’t, you go again!”

Economics

Is the price right? Grassroots campaign calls for price transparency at Haredi grocery stores

“Show the price” or #ווייז_די_פרייז has pressured many local supermarkets to comply with the law

Art

Haredi artists join multifaith exhibition

The artistic melting pot spanned sects and continents, presenting at churches and a Conservative Jewish seminary

Business

Sam Jacobs is building an e-commerce army

How the influencer shapes his livelihood to accommodate his Haredi lifestyle