The Hasidic Jews are strict followers of the 18^th century moral and religious codes of behaviour. They keep themselves apart from the rest of the world and still continue to live a life of domestic bliss. They appear very happy and content within their isolation and I have no doubt that in fact they are, although this seems incomprehensible to the rest of us. But to my opinion, they have chosen the easy way out. They have consciously chosen a path of isolation and ignorance. And as Thomas Gray wrote: “Where ignorance is bliss, / ‘Tis folly to be wise.’”

No one could say that the practice of the Hasidic Jews is not strict and that some things must be sacrificed in order to practice this religion. However, the choice to stay apart from the rest of the world, the wilful isolation of the entire community, the rejection of any other kind of knowledge means that they are taking the easy way out. How very simple it is to walk on a path of least resistance, when you know exactly where it will lead you; school, arranged marriage and children – repeat indefinitely. The difficult move would be to create your own destiny, to choose how you live your life instead of letting people choose it for you. They are a people who spend their lives walking in a dark and narrow corridor, looking straight ahead. They know exactly where the path will lead to, no big surprises, no struggles, and no insecurities.

Their lives can be compared to Plato’s allegory of the cave; the Hasidim live within this cave and are used to a certain truth. But there are always people who bring news of something bigger and more complex. They feel excited to know that there is something more to life that others cannot see, and wish to enlighten other captives, to teach them of other ways; however, those who are on the inside refuse to believe anything other than what their narrow minds see, and stubbornly turn a blind eye. This is the life of the Hasidic Jews, they deal with life in a way where they see what they want to see, and follow the logic that what they cannot see is not there at all.

The Hasidic Jews (and other religious fundamentalists for that matter) close themselves off from any additional information apart from what is really necessary; no television, no internet, no newspapers and no schools other than their own; and they are correct in doing so if they want to keep their followers in the dark, because more knowledge threatens to destabilise their entire foundation of beliefs. The Torah is all they know and all they will ever know. That is why believing is so easy to do; there is nothing to contradict it. It is so much harder to be aware that there is no one answer to life; that there are some things that we may never know and understand; to weigh all sides of an issue rather than blindly believing that there is only one truth, your truth. There is nothing more ignorant than claiming you have the answers to everything.

The Hasidim claim to be very content with their life, and while others might be appalled at their way of life, I don’t find that surprising at all. Theirs is a life of small, tight-knit enclaves, domestic bliss and religious rituals. Period.  If they find happiness in such a life, good for them; what they don’t know can’t hurt them. They lack a certain kind of knowledge and the ability to critically observe the world and weigh certain truths against one another. And “superior” knowledge comes at a certain price and with a greater degree of responsibility and disheartenment. And they will never need to feel this “burden”.