Hassidism is a religious movement within the framework of Jewish laws and practices, but with its own unique customs and traditions. The followers of hassidism are known as hassidim (Hebrew, plural of hassid meaning pious, godly person). Their everyday way of life is circumscribed by religious ideas and principles that differentiate them from other Jewish minority groups. All hassidic Jews are Orthodox, but all Orthodox Jews are not necessarily hassidim. The distinction between them lies mainly in the emphasis in beliefs, Rabbinical allegiance, and social structure and organization. Hassidic Jews are identified by the larger  Jewish community as ultra-Orthodox, for their observance of the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Orech) is far more zealous and meticulous than that of most Jews. Non-hassidic Jews may also zealously perform and adhere to the prescribed commandments in every detail, but differ in that the figure and institution of rebbe (charismatic religious leader), absolutely central in the lives of hassidic Jews, is absent. The rebbe, perceived as a saintly individual, is not only the sect’s central decision maker, but the ultimate Torah authority as well as a chief source of comfort and security. The relationship between hassidim and their rebbe rests unequivocally upon the belief in the latter’s supernatural qualities.

The founder of the hassidic movement was Rabbi Yisroel Baal Shem Tov (“Master of the Good Name”), a native of Podolia which, at the time, belonged to Poland but is now part of the Ukraine. Hassidism arose in the second quarter of the eighteenth century and from its founding to the present day has remained the most influential social and religious movement within Judaism. From Podolia it eventually spread to White Russia, Lithuania, Rumania, and Hungary. Later, through the mass immigration of Eastern European Jews to the United States between 1881 and 1914, and after the Second World War, the hassidic movement was established on the North American continent. The first hassidic community in Canada, comprised of Lubavitcher, was established in Montreal 1941.

A basic teaching of the Baal Shem Tov was that it was everyone’s duty to serve God, but that this duty was not confined exclusively to the study of Talmud. Rather, it embraced every aspect of daily life. The Baal Shem Tov’s ministry stressed the joyful affirmation of life and counselled against asceticism and self-affliction. The systematic dissemination of his teachings occurred following his death as hassidic houses of worship appeared in numerous eastern European communities. However, efforts to implant the hassidic philosophy among the Jewish masses did not always meet with immediate success, especially as opponents of hassidism, the Mitnagdim, viewed the fomer as a dangerous element in Judaism.

Beyond New York, Montreal enjoys the largest hassidic population in North America. The city includes followers of different sects including: Bobov, Belz, Klausenburg, Lubavitch, Munkatch, Papa, Satmar, Square, Tash, and Vishnitz. The majority of them are relatively small in total numbers; the largest include Belz, Lubavitch, Satmar, and Tash. In 1990, their total was estimated at some four thousand, representing an approximately 33 per cent  increase over the previous fifteen years. However, according to a survey of hassidim and ultra-Orthodox Jews in the Plateua and Outremont areas of the city,

the total amounts to approximately 6,250 ultra-Orthodox Jews, of which 80 per cent, or 5,000, were believed to be hassidim. Excluded from this survey were Lubavitcher and Tasher whose numbers would add some three thousand additional persons to the hassidic population. For a variety of reasons, Montreal’s hassidic population has increased substantially over the past thirty years. Demographics are one consideration: Hassidim have large families, and this tendency has not diminished across successive generations. Additionally the institutional base established by the hassidim in the city over the past decades including, for instance, schools, synagogues, ritual baths (mikvehs), small-scale commercial establishments, combined with the city’s proximity to New York, has increased its attractiveness for purposes of raising a family and living a hassidic lifestyle. The city of Toronto includes substantial communities of Bobover and Lubavitcher hassidim respectively, and Lubavitcher have established themselves in a variety of Canadian cities including Halifax, Ottawa, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.

While seemingly uniform to uninitiated outsiders, the hassidim do not constitute one group but are divided into a number of distinctive sects. While commonly committed to living their lives in accordance with Orthodox Jewish law, the sects may differ in details of attitudes, customs, and beliefs as well as commitment to the teachings of their particular rebbe. It is, therefore, in a loose sense only that the hassidim constitute an undivided community. The important dissimilarities among the various sects typically result in different social organization and techniques of insulation.

Hassidic Jews are set apart by their distinctive dress - the men bearded in black suits or long black coats with black hats over side curls and women in high-necked, loose-fitting dresses, with kerchiefs or traditional wigs covering their hair - and unique customs and traditions. They voluntarily segregate themselves in order to maintain a chosen way of life, well apart from the mainstream. They have organized bounded communities and have achieved high degrees of institutional completeness to accommodate their religious and socio-economic needs. In contrast to ethnic and religious communities that have gradually assimilated into the mainstream, the hassidim have kept secularizing influences at bay. Despite some internal changes, their staying power is impressive. Their garb has not been modified in response to fashion trends; their appearance, today, remains identical to their predecessors’ who settled in Montreal in the late 1940s and early-to-middle 1950s. With the exception of the Lubavitch and Tasher sects, the hassidim, in Montreal, live in the area they first inhabited upon settling in the city.

Following the near destruction of hassidic sects during the Holocaust, their resurgence is indeed remarkable. Today hassidic communities enjoy burgeoning numbers and varieties of institutions to meet their specialized needs. Among North American Jewry, hassidim enjoy the highest birth rate at a time when the overall Jewish birthrate is declining. Moreover, there is little evidence that the younger generation’s commitment to a traditionally hassidic way of life is diminishing; if anything, the reverse is true.