Tzadeikis, or “Holy Woman” is a short film set in Boro Park’s Hasidic community. “A magical realist dark comedy about mortality, mysticism, and the metaphysics of facial hair” Tzadeikis is written and directed by NYU film student Emily Cheeger as her thesis project.

After eating the same fish that kills a rebbe when he chokes on a bone, Neshama, the film’s protagonist, becomes possessed by the rebbe’s spirit. Tzadeikis traces Neshama’s journey and changing views of her community as her body and mind transform under a supernatural influence. This Yiddish-language film is largely driven by an intensity in representing the Hasidic community with affection and dignity with fastidious attention to detail and accuracy.

Cheeger, who was raised in a secular Jewish environment, has always felt an emotional response and curiosity about Hasidic culture. A resident of Boro Park since 2013, Cheeger felt many Hasidim films didn’t bother to do their research to fully represent the intricacies of the culture with authenticity. “You’ll see men wearing floppy hats!” she explains.

Hyperaware of her status as an outsider, and the Hasidic communities’ hesitancy in dealing with media, Cheeger tells Jewcy, “I want to tell stories that reach across boundaries. Stories that are accessible and would resonate with the people in these communities.”

A self described polyglot, who spent her childhood between Finland and New York, Cheeger draws inspiration from Russian modernism, mentioning the melancholic quality and dark humor of writers like Nabokov as much in line with her own sensibilities. Her creative pursuits are often based in an interrogation of boundaries. Although Cheeger isn’t Ultra-Orthodox, Tzadeikis is influenced by her own experiences. For example, in a particular scene, Neshama looks through the partition to the men’s side, which is a personal memory of Cheeger from years ago.

As a musician as well, Cheeger was particularly interested in exploring the Halachic law of kol isha, prohibiting men from hearing women sing. “For me, self-expression is such a huge part of spirituality and creativity and how I engage with the divine, so this law was something I had to grapple with. Why is the burden of potential arousal placed on women?” She’s also fascinated by the many binaries she sees in Hasidic culture, be it meat and milk, the sacred and the profane, or shabbos and the rest of the week.

Shooting for Tzadeikis is scheduled to start at the end of February with 15 people in the crew, 13 cast members and multiple location changes. The film will be approximately twenty-five minutes.   

The film’s Kickstarter, which has reached its initial $35,000 goal is a great starting point, but Cheeger is hopeful funding will continue to rise (the campaign ends February 5) as she has big plans for the future of Tzakeikis. The film will have a running time of approximately 25 minutes.  

Although firmly set in this world, Tzadeikis takes place in a magical landscape which Cheeger says is more native to her imagination, a type of dream reality where magic and reality meet.

To donate or for more information visit Tzadeikis here.

Concept Illustration of The Rebbe of Kolnitz, digital collage by Emily Cheeger

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First there was “Hasid or Hipster?” Then there was the Beyonceder. And now the latest Jewish pop cultural mashup you didn’t know you needed is “Korean or Hasidic.”

The website (Can you believe KoreanOrHasidic.com wasn’t taken yet?) is mainly there to present a single quiz: Ten clips from either Korean pop or Hasidic music. You have to figure out which it is. It’s harder than you think; the average quiz-taker gets about 6 out of 10 right. Who knew that k-pop would make such a good hora?

As you make each of your guesses, you also get fun factoids about where Korean and Jewish culture intersect (did you know you can buy kosher kimchi?). You can also, if you so desire, buy a t-shirt (or mug) with a minimalist Hasidic face that reads “Chief Rebbe of Seoul.” Sure! (Though for the record, the Chabad rabbi stationed in Seoul is one Osher Litzman.)

The mastermind behind the website is Ezra Yellin, who is neither Korean nor Hasidic (though he has since heard from academics interested in similarities between the two cultures, as well as religious Jews who have lived in South Korea— and still had trouble with the quiz).

“My brother noticed that one of the songs on a k-pop playlist he was listening to sounded surprisingly Hasidic,” he told Jewcy via email. “I thought it would be fun to put together a quiz challenging the player to distinguish between the two genres of music.”

Because the Internet is a magical, weird place, that’s just what he did. And now you, dear reader, may reap the benefits.

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Ah, the melting pot of Williamsburg, where hipsters and the ultra-Orthodox collide.

Last summer, seven Hasidic store owners in Brooklyn put up signs forbidding low cut necklines, shorts, and the scantily-clad like, to the great dismay of the NYC’s Human Rights Commission. The commission found the signs unjust and sued the stores for up to $75,000 for discriminately targeting women.

Two days ago, an agreement was reached. Yeshiva World News reported:

“The commission decided to withdraw the lawsuit Tuesday after the city and representatives from the stores came to an agreement that if they were to post new signs in their windows, they would note that while modest dress is appreciated, all individuals are welcome to enter the stores free from discrimination.”

The seven stores involved in the dispute are Sander’s Bakery, Lee Avenue Clothing Center, Tiv Tov Stores, Greenfield’s Foods, Friedman’s Depot Inc. and Etty’s Handbags.

Jay Lefkowitz, an Orthodox Jewish politician representing the businesses, said the exact wording of the new signs are still being finalized.

“The shopkeepers always said that nobody was actually excluded from the stores,” he said. “Any future signs will make clear that everybody is welcome, which was the reality.”

Next time you head to Lee Avenue for some babka, make sure you grab a sweater–as if you didn’t already have one on you.

(Photo by Getty/Failed Messiah)

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American Apparel, famous for its sticky, sparkly onesies, is bordering obsessive in regard to Yiddish culture (see: American Apparel’s Black Nail Polish Color is Called ‘Hassid’). The store’s Tumblr page, typically adorned with heroin-chic models sportin’ side ponytails and see-through blouses, has a new face —a face with payos.

Meet Yoel Weisshaus. Yoel, a Chasidish Jew who grew up in a Yiddish speaking home in Brooklyn, attended Yeshiva at an early age. Yoel is a peasant with chutzpa known for suing the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey over its controversial toll hikes, at prices that exceed twofold what one earns per hour under the minimum wage. Yoel is talented and drafts his own pleadings because he cannot afford an attorney, his case is still ongoing. He freelances in sales of American made braidings and ribbons for local garments and hat manufactures. Yoel has an accent because English is not his first language, but he is still striving to learn English writing.

Props and daps to Weisshaus for a job well done in the garment industry. Maybe “Peasant with Chutzpa” will be the company’s next look—shtreimels and Deep V Tee’s.

Meet Yoel Weisshaus [American Apparel]

(Photo by Bloomberg/Getty)

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