Haredi Judaism - Terminology

Terminology

According to Nachman Ben-Yehuda, "the Hebrew word Haredi derives from harada – fear and anxiety –meaning, 'he who is anxious about, and/or fearful of, the word of the Almighty.'" Nurit Stadler writes that the word "meaning 'those who fear or tremble', appears in Isaiah 66:5: 'Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word'". Other sources give Isaiah 66:5 and Ezra 10:3 ("those that tremble at the commandment of our God") as the sources. In general, the word "connotes awe-inspired, fearful of God's majesty", similar to the way Quakers use the term.

The term "ultra-Orthodox" is often used instead of the term Haredi. Some regard this term to be misleading: Ami Ayalon writes that "Haredi" is preferable because

"Haredi" has none of the misleading religious implications of "ultra-Orthodox": in the words of Shilhav (1989: 53), "they are not necessarily more religious but religious in a different way."

Use of the term "ultra-Orthodox" can also be controversial, and is considered pejorative by Ayalon, Norman Lamm and others. Canada's Centre for Faith and Media, while stating that the term "sometimes... cannot be avoided", advises journalists to

Try to avoid the term ultra-Orthodox to describe very observant Jews, partly because ultra implies extremism. The term also lumps all fervently religious Jews together (there is much diversity among the observant). As well, there is no analogue on the other end of the religious spectrum (there are no ultra-Reform Jews.)

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency stopped using the term in the 1990s, substituting "fervently Orthodox" or "Haredi" or both. Then-editor Lisa Hostein stated "'ultra-Orthodox' was seen as a derogatory term that suggested extremism". A New Jersey based newspaper, The Star-Ledger, reportedly dropped the term ultra-orthodox in 2009.

More generally, a range of other expressions are used among Haredi Jews to describe themselves and others in the community, such as Yidn (Jews), erlekhe Yidn (virtuous Jews), frum (pious), heimish (home-like, i.e. "our crowd"), yeshivish and Anash (anshei-shloimeinu – members of our community). These have varying meanings depending on the context.

In Israel, Haredi Jews are sometimes referred to as "blacks" (Hebrew "shechorim") by the seculars, a derogatory reference to the black clothes they typically wear. They are also referred to by the slang word "dos" (plural "dosim" or "dossim"), another derogatory term that mimics the traditional Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation of the word "datim", meaning religious.