Exploring Hasidic Jewish Community in New York

We're about to enter the heartbeat of the Jewish world,

770. Once you go in, there's no going back.

They're the most religious community in America,

Hasidic Jews,

a closed off group with hundreds of thousands of members.

They're all over.

Our minds and our hearts are always with Israel,

and our prayers are directed

through there.

In the heart of New York, surrounded by skyscrapers and modern life,

there

exists another world, one that lives by its own traditions.

Have you ever logged into internet-

No

... in your entire life?

No. It's the most dangerous thing for a

person.

Have you ever watched television?

No.

Before anything else, they always ask the same question.

You Jewish?

No.

You Jewish?

No.

These neighborhoods look completely unlike the rest of the city.

They run community patrols that, in certain situations, appear to take on

responsibilities similar to law enforcement.

They also have ambulance services and religious courts for internal matters.

They can make a, they can make a citizen's arrest.

They're getting now permits for upping their security and stuff like that.

Even a small local diner here can become a stop for powerful political

figures. Donald Trump was planning to come here.

Oh.

Yeah.

If I would not have taken breaks, I would have had 15, not 10.

Before choosing to stop having more children, they are expected to talk to a

rabbi and decide together.

Let's say I have 10. Why I don't have 12? I have to ask God.

Many married women here follow a strict tradition of shaving their hair.

Outside, they cover it with a wig or a headscarf.

Do women keep their hair covered even when they're alone with their husband at

home?

Yeah, you have to cover your hair the whole

time.

And for nearly half of every month, married couples don't touch each other at

all,

not even to pass something directly from hand to hand.

So this is a, a warning to people who don't dress

modestly.

Volunteer groups, known as modesty patrols,

sometimes look to see whether

other Hasidic community members are dressed appropriately

when out in public.

Alongside this, beneath the central synagogue, there

are also

passageways that cannot be seen from the street.

I'm going to go inside their homes, businesses, and synagogues, and even

film their biggest gatherings inside their headquarters.

Okay, you ready?

Yeah.

You guys film me?

They were chanting and dancing in a circle with intense

devotion, waving

Welcome Messiah flags. They believe the Messiah is their promised

leader who will one day bring a new divine order to the world.

Where are we?

So this is the actual synagogue, and these boys come from all over, mostly

Israel, and they pray towards the eastern wall,

towards Jerusalem.

Our minds and our hearts are always with Israel,

and our prayers are directed

through there.

Their education also includes the traditional Jewish hope to

returning Jerusalem and one day seeing the holy temple

rebuilt. Altogether, for 10 people living under one roof,

the combined

value of public benefits and healthcare coverage may amount to more

than

$100,000 per year.

Like, if you look at the data by ZIP code, then you can see, like, there's a

very high reliance on government services.

I have 10 kids myself. I got nine boys and a girl.

They have their own brands of stores.

We all learn to like each other, and we all help out each other.

So there's not really, like, big chain stores.

Like, you won't find, like, a Toys "R" Us here. We have toys for us.

They mostly shop within their own community,

where money tends to circulate among

neighborhood businesses. A lot of the Hasidic people from

Williamsburg

own properties in Manhattan.

Along with praying for the wellbeing of the state of Israel, the people here pray

and sing for their holy temple to be rebuilt,

but the site where they believe it

should stand is already home to Al-Aqsa, one of the holiest sites in

Islam. Rebuilding it on this exact site would

mean the two religious sites

could not exist there at the same time, and this site is in East Jerusalem,

which the United Nations considers part of the Palestinian territory.

A lot of the information how to make the world a better place.

Hasidic communities also accept converts, and some of the people we met

openly encouraged us to learn more about Judaism.

We're all created by God.

Inside this synagogue, behind the wooden panels you see along the

walls, a

passage was discovered in 2024. It was nearly 65

feet long and contained mattresses, clothes, boxes, and other

personal items. When authorities came to inspect the area,

some people

refused to leave.