La vida OCULTA de los JUDÍOS ULTRA ORTODOXOS de Israel

Varios años más tarde del primer reportaje en el famoso barrio radical ultra ortodoxo Mea Shearim, regreso para adentrarme de una forma mucho más profunda. Tremendas entrevistas, entrar en casas locales, sinagogas o centros de estudio y muchísimo más, para conocer la cara oculta de estas comunidades tan herméticas. También, con la ayuda de Gastón y Oxana, corregimos y matizamos algunos aspectos del icónico vídeo de 2018.

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Now we’ll really sink into this culture, the reality of these people. They want to end the State of Israel, of course. Let me explain, they don’t represent all the ultra-orthodox Jews. They’re telling us to stop recording. I’d prefer if we left. We’ll be hosted by an ultra-orthodox Jewish family and we’ll enter their home. After the incidents we’ve been seeing in this part of the world recently, I feel obliged to deliver this statement before starting with the report. A month and a half ago, in September of 2023, I tried to go to the Gaza Strip, to document the resistance’s tunnels schools, hospitals, documenting life in Gaza. From Israel I was forbidden access, I was in Erez. Right in the part of the border where the attacks have recently happened. Since I couldn’t get in, I stayed in Israel, went back to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and I filmed this, the second part of the ultra-orthodox Jews. You know I filmed a report about these communities 5 years ago but I wanted to go deeper and sink into their culture, religion, places. I made the most of my failed entrance to Gaza, to carry out this report, but I have to put in context warning that all this was filmed before the attacks, this level of war that we’re seeing these days. Not only do I want to use this brief statement to clarify that the goals of this report are completely historic and cultural, but also to show my maximum disapproval of all that we’re living through. These attacks, inhuman massacres, that have been taking place these weeks. So now I’ll leave you with the report. HASIDIC JEWS Some years ago, I filmed one of the most iconic reports in my channel. It has over 10 million views. But truthfully, as years have gone by, I watch it again, and it raises a feeling of dissatisfaction. On one hand, I couldn’t go deep into this culture, in this religion, these people, this religion, these families. Perhaps it wasn’t easy for me, but I couldn’t create that close human feeling. It also seemed, in many moments, my fault, that I criticize or judge them. That it was just information I had read online, and that was true. So, without further ado, we’re back in Israel. Tomorrow we’ll go to the traditional ultra-orthodox neighborhood Mea Shearim. We’ll go back, but in this case we’re in a city that’s probably one of the most religious cities known as Bnei Brak. We have several days ahead where we’ll really sink into this culture, the reality of these people. We’ll also correct different things and topics I touched years ago but which weren’t properly explained. For that we’ll count on the help of Gastón and Oxana. They’ve been living here for years, they’re also Jewish, and with them we’ll be able to get contacts and relationships with local people. That they talk and open up to us. Interviewing them, even entering local homes. Hello, everyone, firstly, Ruben, it’s a pleasure being with you in this beautiful city. Bnei Brak is really one of our favorite cities in Israel, because here you can really feel the culture and today we’re doing a tour to learn more about the ultra-orthodox Jewish life. Seeing their everyday life, and also going inside the most curious places in this city. We’re in a Jewish study center. They’re studying the Torah, which is the Jewish sacred book, and other books, like the Talmud of Babylon. A curious detail we can see is that people study in pairs. This is a very known method in Orthodox Judaism called chavruta. Both people complement each other, they debate about what they’re learning. Today we had a class with a rabbi and now I’m making a summary of it. I’m studying the book "Shulhan Aruj", the book of Jewish Laws. Laws that speak on what to do in the morning, how to bless and pray correctly. Now we’re studying together. If a person can’t understand a concept properly, we also discuss about what we’re studying. This is how we study at yeshivá. (Study center of the Jewish religion) During Sabbath we don’t do any kind of work. For example, it’s forbidden to start a fire to cook. Because it’s written that God created the world in 6 days, and in the seventh day (Sabbath) he rested. The most important thing here is the study of Torah. There are about 400 people who come daily in the morning, afternoon, and evening. There are many people here who graduate as rabbis and then in many places of the world, or here in Israel, they exercise it and promote the Torah. We have a paragraph that says that Moshe got the Torah from Sinai and it was passed unto Joshua and the rabbis until today, to say that we’re always connected to the past. When we’re more connected to the past, we’re more connected with God. There are places like Jerusalem or Tel Aviv which are more touristic, they’re more open minded, this is a unique city that is completely and wholly religious. This container behind us is not a typical container. It means here they dispose of papers who have the name of God written on them. According to Jewish tradition, you can’t throw away something with God’s name in a common container. They have to throw them away in a special place and then it’s buried. We’re in a book shop in Bnei Brak and something we can see behind me is that kids love reading. There are many curiosities, like all books being tailored to their way of life. Here we have an orthodox Jewish comic. You can see that all characters are orthodox Jews, from this community. Here we have the grandfather with his grandson. Here we also have a book designed to teach the commandments to Jewish kids. We can also see that some books have this seal which simply indicates that this book is approved by the rabbis. It’s not that Gastón chose two books which are the only religious ones. They only have that type of book. I asked if there was anything lighter and they said no. This one for example, it’s the same. It’s about the holocaust, here you can see the N*zis. There’s no "light" entertainment, so to speak, but always with a cultural and religious teaching. Another interesting feature is that we can find walls with ads. In this case it’s not screens, but rather posters and signs. In this publicity, only men can appear, not women. There are also children, but always with a Kippah or covering their head. 3333 years ago, the people of Israel received the Torah and from that moment on we wrote each Torah on a scroll. As you can see here. Writing the Torah takes one year. And it’s only made with natural materials. To be able to write the Torah, you must save its precepts. Everyday you must submerge in the mikveh (spiritual cleansing bath) and you must deeply believe in God. Not anybody can write the Torah. Now I’ll show you the writing process. This is skin of an animal fit for this process. We process the skin like this. From that, we reach this scroll. There are 62 sheets of scroll in a roll of Torah. It’s sewn with a string made of cow hamstring. The ink is produced from of these natural materials. Ah, I wanted to show you the little Torah. There are different sizes. This one is 10 centimeters long. – Everything is hand made, right? – Exactly. Now I’ll show you an even smaller one. This one can only be read with a magnifying glass. This is half a page. But this is the size of the pages. We sell it for a million and a half shekels. Around half a million dollars. The smaller it is, it’s more expensive. Because they write everything by hand. Reuben (Biblical name) – Tremendous. – Incredible, huh? I’d never imagined the money this business moves. It’s really art, a very special art, where everything comes from nature. The paper, which really is skin. The colors, the pigments, the tools used to draw and write. It moves a lot of money. A piece in this size costs about 400 thousand Euros. Obviously, this is for a very specific public. I’ve lived here since I was little. The feeling here in Bnei Brak you won’t feel it anywhere else. During this time, you can feel the vibe of the holidays (Jewish New Year, Sucot) This place, in the heart of Bnei Brak, is the most attended synagogue complex in the entire world. Thousands of Jews, you can see behind us the amount of people here, come everyday to pray here. You can also see that here and in every religious and sacred places only men can enter, and always with a Kippah. Even those you see wearing hats, they have a Kippah under the hat. So let’s see a bit more. These hear are the famous tzedakah boxes. They’re donations for those in need. They’re not only in synagogues, at least here in Bnei Brak we find them basically in every street. There always are at least ten Jewish men praying. This is related to the concept of Minyan. This concept says that 10 Jewish men are needed for more divine presence. So often times we can see in the entrances of synagogues that people go out to the street to look for more men to complete the Minyan. I must clarify something I said before, about only men being able to enter these synagogues. There’s an exception, women can enter this upper floor on Saturdays. As you can see, today’s not the case, so it’s kept closed the rest of the week. We’re in a store that may look modern, at the same time, and I find this contrast surprising, it also has typical dishes of the ultra-orthodox Jews. For example, this is Kugel. It’s a noodle pie. We have other dishes which are more common but namely, the kugel, or this here, we see here something more industrial and these fish recipes, which are also typical of the ultra-orthodox Jews. Let’s eat, this is one of the things I like and enjoy the most. This is the real kugel, the noodle one, the other one was made of potato. We were corrected later. – Is it good? -Yes. It’s very nice. SECOND DAY I’m really content, happy with the experience of yesterday in Bnei Brak. Not only in the streets, but also in sacred, religious places. And this direct, authentic contact that we had was thanks to Gastón and Oxana. Not just because of religion but also because of the language. What I felt was a complete unlocking. Last time it seemed like I was filming behind an invisible glass wall, a barrier, so thanks a lot because all this also lets the people watching feel and see it in a very different way. How many branches of Judaism, how many details, how many terms that change depending on how you explain them Gastón and Oxana have a channel where you can see and learn much more advanced in all these things, right? Yes, our channel is about that. And it’s very important to say that Judaism is very deep, as you said. I also want to add that it’s a very unknown world. There’s not much information online, and what is there, often is wrong. In our channel we try to explain what the culture is like, the customs,. We’ve been to places that many people don’t know Incredible events, like an ultra-orthodox Jewish wedding. We also went to houses of Hasidic Jews We went to events like a Hanukkah Tish. It’s a very amazing event in December, you’re probably seeing images of it because it’s very striking. I also want to add, the biggest advantage of us being a couple is that he can film and I can film the Hasidic Jewish world and I can show the life of a Hasidic Jewish woman. It’s very striking because often a person can see just men and wonders, where are the women? Are they home? Do they not celebrate? No, they have a completely different and more hidden life. Yesterday we explored the city of Bnei Brak. Now we’re returning to the mega-orthodox Jewish neighborhood Mea Sharim where I filmed my famous report. The difference is that in Bnei Brak there were orthodox and ultra-orthodox. In this case, we find the more radical thought and belief branches. The ultra-orthodox Jews are Jaredites. But within the ultra-orthodox there’s a level that goes beyond, and that’s the Hasidics, that is, most of the people we’ll see here in Mea Sharim. Also, we’re very close to the center of Jerusalem, a place that’s very touristic and very busy. That’s why here the experience can become more hostile. First, they’re more closed and hermetic, and they don’t like outside people, curious tourists, come in here to shoot photos and videos. That’s why, with the help of Gastón and Oxana, we’ll try to live a different experience than we lived years ago. Because here they’re more radical, more extremists. Also, we’ll try to correct some features that I mentioned in that report. Are they against the state of Israel? Do they believe in the Holocaust as a divine punishment? Do they live off of subsidies? Are they violent and hostile? Let’s start. This is one of the parts that interested and surprised me the most back then, given the lack of technology, a more direct way of communicating is through these signs we can find everywhere. It says how a person has to dress to come in this area. Long sleeves, long skirts for women. Understand that in this time of the year, it’s very hot. Over 30°C My long sleeves are also to cover my tattoos. It’s a capital sin. So we try to be more modest, covering ourselves, tying up our hair, and trying to be more undercover. What they’re asking for, really. Added to the dress code, they also recommend I wear a Kippah. You can see it here. The more elements you notice in their clothes, more extremely they take these religious beliefs. So, for respect, acceptance and to have a better experience… Let’s wear a kippah. Related to what we just saw, it’s very important to say that… I’m trying to ignore them, they’re telling us to stop filming. I’d prefer if we left, I don’t feel comfortable. Like I tried to explain before, what we saw yesterday were two Jewish women. The thing is not many ultra-orthodox women cover their entire bodies. Most women you’ll see wearing modest clothes but not completely covered. Here, families are very large. Some of them with the goal of managing to populate the earth with as many Jews as there were before the Holocaust. These are direct quotes from some Rabbis. So some families can’t take care of 10, 12 children at the same time and it’s very common to see children walking alone in the streets. Hebrew is the official language of the State of Israel, but here they speak Yiddish. It’s the language the Jewish spoke in Eastern Europe. And they still maintain it. The reason why they don’t speak Hebrew in their day to day life is because they consider it such a sacred language that it can’t be used in everyday life. Only to say their prayers. This is the first Judaic store (Jewish objects) This store has been open for 200 years. Soon we’ll have Rosh Hashaná (Jewish new year) God ordered us to play the "shofar" in this very special day. This is the central precept of this holiday, with which our prayers rise to the sky and God. Right now we’ll talk about one of the most delicate subjects. We’re in the center of Jerusalem, the ultra-orthodox neighborhood Mea Sharim and here we have a Palestinian flag. In the previous report I talked about groups that were against the State of Israel. They supported the Palestinian cause and even gathered with Iranian leaders. They want to finish the state of Israel, of course, but this is not the entirety of the ultra-orthodox Jews. Just a very small group, some of them probably live there, and they’re the Neturai Carta, which means the guardians of the city. Seeing these images makes me very sad. I can assure that 99.9% of the Jewish Israeli population think the same. So unfortunately, the Jews that think this way also have a strong image outside of Israel. They’re loud, the thing is that the Neturai Carta are a radical group. Very small but very loud. The ideology behind it for them is clearly that the state of Israel can only exist under orthodox Jewish law. For this reason and many more, Israel can’t exist as a legitimate country Also, for these Jews the Messiah has not arrived yet and I also think they say there can’t be a Jewish state before the Messiah comes. I’m happy to have seen again a more direct contact of Mea Sharim. Of course, it hasn’t been like in Bnei Brak. I lived it five years ago and we’ve lived through it now. When we’re with Gastón and Oxana people in the streets told us to leave strongly. There are people who had to leave this place running. Tourists that came dressed improperly and had to run away. Then a local friend of Gastón and Oxana came and we were able to enter businesses and talk to more people and the experience was better, more calm and direct. But even he told us not to record in certain streets. Walk fast in this street. There are streets in Mea Sharim which are tense, hostile. But I’m very happy about what we lived, and now we’re going to Beit Shemesh, another ultra-orthodox city like Bnei Brak and there we’ll be hosted by an ultra-orthodox Jewish family and we’ll see their family home. How do you explain that in Mea Sharim we saw signs saying not to use the internet and you use it? Maybe outside people see us all the same because we dress similar, but we’re completely different. I have a smartphone, with a filter protecting me from pornographic content and such, because I think religion and social media are completely compatible. There are Jews who decide not to use the internet because they say it affects the education of children and themselves. I think we can use technology and still live in the values of Judaism, and with love of God. Each one with their way of being. Then we eat these vegetables which have their own meaning. And in your Torah it’s written: Hey, Oh Israel, Adonai is our God, Adonai is unique. At what age do you start seeing men to marry? It depends on the community, there’s variety in orthodox Judaism. In my specific case it depended on my parents. They didn’t want me to marry too early in general it’s at 18 years old. Around 18 years old we see a matchmaker. The matchmaker knows many families and takes care of proposing couples whose values coincide and whose marriage can be successful. Is that the only way to find a couple? – Could a man meet a woman in the streets? – No. How many times do couples meet before deciding to get married? My parents told me to meet him until I felt the time was right. I’m very determined, I decided to marry after 3 dates. After three dates? Yes, and it wasn’t because of pressure. Nobody pressured me. How long is it from commitment until the wedding? Depending on the community, in my case it was six months. Do you meet during that period? Depends on the community, in my case we did meet. Can you two meet then? Yes, in marriages, events… But not alone? It’s better if not, it’s difficult for the couple because we can’t touch until after the wedding. Once married we cover our hair (some also shave their head) Only the husband can see your natural hair. King David wrote this book. It’s a book of songs. Get up, with energy! Jump up! Also the bird found a hoome And a nest of sparrows for her. If everything we’ve lived through so far hasn’t been enough, we’re going to the Western Wall because today we’ll live something very special. We’re arriving right on the date, and with our friend and his son in arms, I had to drive their Tesla, something else unexpected for today. Let’s go. Remember the kugel, we tried it yesterday. Yesterday’s was cold and sweet, today’s salty and warm. It’s something else. This is also a special ultra-orthodox dish. Yes, they cook it for 24 hours with the meat, it has beans, meat, potatoes. It’s very good. We’re in the most sacred place for Jews. We are in the Western Wall square. Today we have an amazing event. This place will be filled with people and for a very special reason. We’ll pray special prayers for forgiveness Forgiveness to ourselves, for our friends, our loved ones and forgiveness to God. Why do we ask for forgiveness? Because in a few days they Jewish people will live the most important day in the year which in Hebrew is called Yom Kippur. So in a few minutes, this place, The Wailing Wall will be filled with people and all of them will sing and send prayers directly to the skies. We’re now in the beaches in the center of Tel Aviv. Some 30 minutes by car from Bnei Brak just one hour from Jerusalem and therefore from Mea Sharim but such a different reality we see here. Completely opposite. I’m still thinking about it now, and I’m trying to understand how we got so far inside in a world that is often times so hermetic and closed to outsiders. I thank you because it was really interesting for me. We talked about many topics, for example, the thing about the advantages they have against the rest of society For example, the Hasidics, because of religious reasons are not obliged to take on the military service. Here, both for men and women is mandatory. Also, for years now, in that report I said they lived off of subsidies. They didn’t work, they didn’t pay taxes. They explained it better this time. There are men who only work part-time there are men who don’t work at all, but usually, if the man doesn’t work it’s women who work. They take care of about 10 children and they also work. The subsidies are not much, about $200 to $300 per month, which for big families is very little. Women tend to work so much because it’s a real pride that your husband, your man, is one of these completely dedicated to something so pure and pretty as religion. In fact, for us, Luis on camera and myself, coming back to Mea Sharim had a certain nostalgic feeling. We also were here five years ago sort of hidden, seeing what we could find, scared to go inside. And coming back now, having lived this, filming the way we filmed, for him and me has been happiness, pride and also satisfaction. Gastón and Oxana told us, these are dense, deep topics. They can’t be covered in just one report. They have a channel dedicated to this and it will never be over, because there are so many cultural and religious elements that it would never end. Once again, thanks to all these families that hosted us so well, thanks a lot to Gastón and Oxana, who translated what they told us and translated to them what we wanted to say and through their friends and contacts, have been the gates to this world. A window to a world completely different to ours. This window is also your window. So now, finally, we’re in the Jewish New Year, it’s today, far from what happens today in Mea Sharim everyone locked in their homes and without technology, I think our night in Tel Aviv will be completely different. This is goodbye, thank you all and see you in the next report. ENGLISH SUBTITLES: Santiago Cabbad