Hasidim

Photographs of Israeli Hasidic communities, together with short Hasidic stories. Introductory text by Yoel Rappel.

As a student at the Hadassah Community College in Jerusalem, I would continuously wander the neighborhoods of Mea Shearim and the Old City in search of images. The photogenic Hasidim drew my attention. At the time (early 1980s), they were very suspicious of outsiders. On certain religious holidays, such as Purim, it was easier to photograph freely. On occasion, I would dress as a religious Jew in a suit and a hat, with my small Olympus XA camera hidden inside my tefillin bag.

I could then take photographs surreptitiously through a small hole in the bag. Over the years, my quest for images took me to Bnei Brak, Mount Meron, Safad, and to out-of-the-way burial sites where Hasidim made pilgrimages.
-- Joel Kantor