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Orthodox Jews of Hackney
Andrew Aitchison

Orthodox Jews of Hackney

Photos
20
Status
Public
Created
Apr 16, 2015
Updated
Feb 09, 2022
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Photos (20)

Cover
A young Orthodox Jewish boy surrounded by hundreds of Orthodox Jewish men wearing black coats and hats. The men are gathered to see their spiritual leader who has arrived from Antwerp.
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In a Stamford Hill Skwer synagogue Jewish men watch the Skwer Rebbe visiting from New York carry the new Sefer Torah (five books of Moses) into the Shul. Hundreds of men and women gathered to see the event take place.
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Between the houses of a Jewish street in Stamford Hill the figure of Haman in suspended in the sky during the festival of Purim. A young girl dressed as a fairy for Purim try’s to hit it with her wand. Purim is one of the most entertaining Jewish holidays. It commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination from a massacre by Haman.
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3 generations of women from the same family watch the Purim events from a safe distance. Purim is one of the most entertaining Jewish holidays. It commemorates the time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination from a massacre by Haman due to the courage of a young Jewish woman called Esther. It is customary for men dress up and to hold carnival-like celebrations.
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In Stamford Hill, London, United Kingdom on the 3rd birthday of a Orthodox Jewish boy he has his first ever hair cut leaving his peyos (sideburns) to grow. Here his Grandfather cuts the main part of his hair away watched closely by the boy, his father and family. He will now begin to learn the Torah.
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On the 3rd birthday of a Orthodox Jewish boy he has his first ever hair cut leaving his peyos (sideburns) to grow. His Grandfather then places a kippah on his head for the first ever time. A kippah is said to be ‘A blessing on the head’ and is perhaps the most instantly identifiable mark of a Jew. With both his Grandfathers either side he now begins to learn the Alpha bet so he can read the Torah.
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Pidyon Haben is a rite of passage in Judaism that is known as ‘the redemption of the first born son’. It takes place when a baby is at least 31 days old, and involves ‘buying him back from a Cohen.’ Here the baby is draped in gold by the mother, grandmother and family and then bought back from a Cohen for 5 pieces of silver.
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A 13 year-old Orthodox Jewish boy sits waiting for his Bar Mitzvah to begin in a Parces hall, Stamford Hill. The Bar Mitzvah signals the coming of age for a young Jewish boy, they become responsible to observe the commandments of the Torah. It coincides with physical puberty and they begin to participate in all areas of Jewish life.
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Mr Leibowitz and his 3 sons reading (learning) the Torah inside their sukkah during Sukkot, the feast of Tabernacles. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. In honor of the children of Israel in the wilderness, men dwell in temporary shelters.
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Rabbi Herschel Gluck eating a takeaway meal in his Sukkah during the festival of Sukkot, the feast of Tabernacles. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. In honor of the children of Israel in the wilderness, men dwell in temporary shelters.
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The Orthodox Jewish festival of Tu Bishvat is celebrated as the New Year of trees with a symbolic eating of different varieties of fruit. Here in a Stamford Hill synagogue the Chassidic Skver Rebbe visiting from New York blesses the fruits in front of the entire synagogue.
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The coffin of Rabbi Josef Dunner who died on the 1st of April 2007 is surrounded in the Adath Yisroel synagogue, Stamford Hill, London for his funeral. Rabbi Dunner was one of the last German Jewish Orthodox Rabbis ordained before the holocaust and well respected within the local community, hundreds of people attended his funeral.
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Tashlikh is a Jewish practice that is performed during Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). Men and women gather near a large body of flowing water and symbolically ‘cast off’ the previous year’s sins by throwing pieces of bread into the water while reading a prayer (the last verses from the prophet Micah). In Stamford Hill the nearest flowing water is river Lea, Hackney, London.
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A group of Orthodox Jewish boys from the Viznitz Yeshiva (school) travel around on the back of a flat bed lorry. The boy in the centre of the image is dressed as a Rabbi for the festival of Purim, he is surrounded by his class mates. Dressed in fancy dress for the Jewish festival of Purim they sing and dance to Yiddish music.
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During the Jewish festival of Purim a group of Orthodox Jewish boys from the Viznitz Yeshiva (school) in fancy dress celebrate the festival with a feast. The evening quickly moves onto dancing on the tables that sends food flying everywhere. The school boys drink large amounts of alcohol throughout the day and night.
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Orthodox Jewish schoolboys from the Bobov School enjoy an ice cream while watching their Lag B’Omer bonfire being put out by local fire fighters after it became out of control. Lag B’Omer is the holiday celebrating the thirty-third day of the (counting of the) Omer.
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The process of baking unleavened matza bread for Passover finishes with the uncooked dough being put in a brick oven on a long wooden stick. The baking process from start to finish has to be completed within 18 minutes for it to be Kosher. They are baking matza bread for the festival of Passover out the back of Bethune Road synagogue.
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Teams of Orthodox Jewish teenage boys use rolling pins to flatten the matza bread for Passover before it goes into the oven in a room at the back of Bethune Road synagogue. The baking process from start to finish has to be completed within 18 minutes for it to be Kosher.
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Yom Tov takes place when Passover has finished, Orthodox Jews return to the local supermarkets (Morrisons) to buy leavened products e.g.: cereal, biscuits, cake, and anything that contains yeast. Shopping hours are extended until 3 AM to allow this to happen.
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Hundreds of Orthodox Jews gathered today (8th of April 2009) in Springfield park, Stamford Hill, to celebrate the festival of Birkat Hachama (blessing of the sun). It is a Jewish blessing that is recited in appreciation of the Sun once every twenty-eight years, when the vernal equinox as calculated by tradition falls on a Tuesday at sundown.
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