If you’re visiting Jerusalem and are interested in people and their ways of life, don’t miss the city’s Mea Shearim quarter.

Jerusalem is a city of neighborhoods. Secular and religious groups generally live apart in their own sharply defined areas. The contrast between these neighborhoods can be as dramatic as the contrast between Israelis and Palestinians.

In one all-Jewish neighborhood called Ramot, for example, the inhabitants are mainly secular, or nonobservant, Jews. Nearby, in Mea Shearim, live ultra-Orthodox Jewish fundamentalists, some so radical they are referred to as ultra ultras.


Founding Mea Shearim

Five local Jewish figures founded Mea Shearim in 1874. They were hoping to escape the crowded Old City, and their settlement was one of the first urban communities outside the Old City walls.

The five founders were citizens of five countries England, Germany, Austria, Russia and Turkey. Their founding charter called for a planned, well-disciplined community for the 114 families setting up home there. A majority vote could banish any resident who brought about “intrigue, disorder and quarrel, God-forbid.”


The ultra-Orthodox ways of life

Mea Shearim represents a living museum. Its residents have preserved the traditional ways of life that existed for centuries among ultra-Orthodox Jews in the ghettos of Northern and Eastern Europe. They live and dress in the same somber style as did their European ancestors.

Their centuries-old ways flourish because they see change as evil. The new and modern are of little or no interest. Television, for instance, has no place in their lives — but most have accepted radios.

In many ways Mea Shearim’s residents live in a medieval world, complete with poverty. Every aspect of daily life has its solemn rules that amount to rituals. The quarter has one of Jerusalem’s highest population densities, and life is demanding, intense, public and ceremonious. Houses tend to be small, airless and shabby. The people have little privacy — about a third live more than three to a room.

The sexes are strictly segregated. Even customers in line at a shop stand in separate queues designated for males and females.

Many men in Mea Shearim are talmidei hakhamim — disciples of the learned and wise. They engage full time in study and worship, while their wives raise large families — typically seven or eight children since birth control is forbidden. They depend on charity for support.

Ultra-Orthodox communities, though, are close knit, and they have a well-developed welfare and mutual aid system.

The ultra-Orthodox Jews, or Haredi, maintain strong religious convictions. They are uncompromising in their views of Jewish faith and principles, and they have a fanatical intolerance of other beliefs and ways of life.

Judaism has a detailed code of behavior covering all aspects of life. To maintain their culture, enforcing its values and norms, the ultra-Orthodox creed requires they segregate themselves from less-observant Jews, so they choose to live in their own separate neighborhoods.

Children are raised so as to minimize the outside world’s impact. A child’s upbringing is so strict that many have never seen Jaffa Road — a main thoroughfare — or even a non-religious neighborhood.

Strict, authoritarian education is the primary tool for instilling values in their young, and children spend most of their time in school. Curriculum is devoted almost exclusively to religious studies.


The ultra-Orthodox are not a united group

The residents of Mea Shearim are not a cohesive religious group. They are splintered into rabbinical sects and Hasidic movements. Discord, strife and conflict mark their relations with each other.

Each sect dresses a bit differently. Typically, though, men and boys wear heavy, multi-layered black suits and a black dress hat, regardless of the season. Peyot, or side curls, are characteristic.

Women must dress modestly. Married women must cover their hair. Some ultra ultra-Orthodox sects require married women to cut their hair short and wear scarves.

The daily language for many ultra ultra-Orthodox Jews is Yiddish, a German-Jewish dialect. They refuse to speak Hebrew, Israel’s official language. They view it as a sacred tongue, to be used in prayer and learning, not debased in daily, irreverent use. The more moderate, however, will speak Hebrew.

Most Mea Shearim inhabitants see Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land as an outrageous sin since the Messiah and the End of Days have not yet arrived. They see the State of Israel as premature and in violation of holy scripture.

They consider the state to be in the hands of sinners and impostors. They shun Israel’s Orthodox establishment, headed by the chief rabbinate. They view the Orthodox ritual baths as unclean, its slaughterhouses as not kosher enough, its chief rabbis as flawed and their rulings deviant.

The more radical sects do not even recognize the State of Israel. They refuse to pay taxes, serve in the armed forces or accept aid from the government. Although it’s common to pray for one’s country and its people, the ultra ultras do not include Israel and its citizens in their prayers. Some go so far as to believe the Holocaust was God’s retribution for Zionist efforts to create a Jewish state.

One ultra ultra sect in Mea Shearim, Neturei Karta (Guardians of the City), raises black flags on Israeli national holidays. During the 1948 Arab siege of Jerusalem, Mea Shearim was only about 100 yards from the Jordanian-Israeli front line. And Neturei Karta leaders were preparing to go over to the Arab side, feeling that life under Moslem rule would be preferable to life under a godless Jewish government. Only the threat of summary execution prevented them from hoisting a white flag.

The more moderate ultra-Orthodox, however, take a pragmatic view of Israel. They will vote, form political parties and run for office. Their deputies in the Knesset (the legislature), will support any government in return for exempting their youth from military service and for state subsidies for their yeshivas — an academy where men and boys pursue religious studies. Yeshivas are Mea Shearim’s dominant institution.


Secular-religious clashes

Tension often arises between ultra-Orthodox and non-religious Jews. Many secular Israelis see the ultra-Orthodox as trying to push their religious values on the rest of the country.

One short-sleeved and short-skirted Israeli woman parked her car a block from the Education Ministry on the edge of Mea Shearim. When she returned, her car had been egged and its tires slashed. Taped to a nearby wall was a flyer saying: “Parking in immodest dress is forbidden.” Haredi men, women and children have also spat on and thrown stones at the Education Ministry’s female employees.

Motorists who drive on the sabbath are particular targets for ultra-Orthodox stones.

Problems occur, too, when the high ultra Orthodox birth rate forces them to expand their enclaves into adjacent secular neighborhoods. Recently, in one Jerusalem neighborhood, newly arrived Haredi posted a sign requesting the secular: “Be considerate of our Jewish sensibilities: Dress modestly. Preserve the holiness of the sabbath.”

Instead of consideration, the secular posted their own signs: “This is a secular neighborhood and always will be.” On the sabbath, they blasted religious homes with rock music. One secular resident said, “These people are coming in here and trying to tell us the rules in our own neighborhood.”

As weeks went by, the situation gradually worsened as shouting gave way to arguments, pushing, shoving, punching and tire slashing. Riot police routinely showed up on Saturdays. Eventually, a firebomb burned down the ultra-Orthodox religious school.

This secular-religious clash was not an isolated incident. One recent poll showed that a majority of Israelis see the secular-religious feud as the most dangerous problem facing their country today.


Mea Shearim’s ubiquitous posters

One of Mea Shearim’s prominent features are the posters affixed to walls, fences and doors. Posters are the neighborhood’s common form of social communication. And some say the quarter’s decrepit walls would have collapsed long ago were it not for the posters holding them together.

The posters convey a variety of messages. Some warn of proper dress for women: “Jewish daughters, the holy Torah obligates you to dress modestly at all times, with long sleeves and closed necklines.” Others decry watching television or a Jerusalem pool that allows mixed-sex swimming. Still others denounce another ultra-Orthodox sect for its treason, wickedness or godlessness.


Rules for exploring Mea Shearim

Ultra-Orthodox Jews are intolerant of those not sharing their beliefs. Therefore, as you explore Mea Shearim, you’ll have to dress and behave so as not to give offense. Here’s some guidelines to help you avoid problems while in the quarter. These cautions are not meant to discourage your visiting Mea Shearim, but to layout the rules you need to follow.

• As a general rule, the more modest your attire the more receptive the community will be of your presence. Sometimes Haredi “modesty patrols” police the streets.

• Women should not wear shorts or slacks, but a dress or skirt that comes below the knees. Wear modest, long-sleeve blouses. The higher the neck, the better.

• Men, too, must not wear shorts. Also avoid tank tops or other skimpy clothing. Modest slacks and shirts are the rule. Men should wear a hat.

• Do not be loud or boisterous. The more inconspicuous and conservative your demeanor, the better.

• Do not carry a radio or anything that looks like one. It would be best to leave your camera behind as well.

• Visit with as few other people as possible, so you don’t draw attention as tourists.

• If you want to talk to someone, choose a person of the same sex.

• While activities on the Sabbath (from sunset Friday until about two hours after sunset Saturday) are particularly interesting, the rules are particularly stringent. Unless well-versed in ultra-Orthodox ways, visit on a day other than the Sabbath.

• Transgressions in dress and behavior may be met with antagonism and probably shouting. If this occurs, leave the quarter at once. Any escalation could lead to violence.


Mea Shearim walking tour

Located in the heart of the New City, strolling the streets of Mea Shearim will let you get as close as you can to the ultra-Orthodox culture without actually being a member. The quarter also has many interesting small shops and a meat and vegetable market.

• Start your visit at the corner of Ha-Neviim and Shivtei Yisrael streets — you can get there by bus or taxi.

Head north on Shivtei Yisrael on the west side of the street for one block. On your left you’ll pass the Ministry of Education and Culture building which occupies the former Italian Hospital. Notice its turret, a replica of medieval Italian buildings.

• Bear left onto Mea Shearim Street, not only a main route through the ultra-Orthodox quarter, but one of Jerusalem’s primary traffic roads.

On your right, across the street, the Toldot Aharon Yeshiva occupies a modern white building at the edge of a plaza. It marks the Toldot Aharon neighborhood, home to an ultra ultra-Orthodox sect of the same name. You can spot its members by their clothes. Instead of black, they wear striped robes and large white skullcaps which stick out from beneath their hats. Keep your distance from the yeshiva.

• Turn left onto Salant Street at the massive Chasidei Breslav Yeshiva. A less-intolerant yeshiva, its English-speaking members may even answer your questions.

• Almost immediately, turn right through the gate — the Jerusalem Gate — onto Ein Yaaqov Street. Note the iron bar embedded in the ground, a part of the original Mea Shearim gate. You’ll pass under a large multi-lingual sign warning against immodest dress while in the quarter.

• Continue along to the marketplace, Mea Shearim’s commercial center.

The market helps furnish Mea Shearim with its necessities, thus residents can avoid contact with the outside world. It’s also the one place in Mea Shearim where you can assert yourself — bargaining over the merchandise is the rule.

• After passing the vegetable stands, turn left into the heart of Mea Shearim.

About a block ahead you'll come to a large two-story building called Beit Avraham — Abraham’s House. The building originally housed Mea Shearim’s Great Yeshiva and a religious school for young boys, which still exists.

A free kitchen also served meals to the needy. To keep those in need from feeling shame, a Mea Shearim bylaw requires more well-off residents to occasionally take a meal in a free kitchen.

A synagogue occupies the second floor’s front portion. Frescoes depicting the zodiac and the twelve tribes of Israel decorate the ceiling. Sometimes male travelers are allowed into the synagogue. If refused, don’t push the matter.

The group of buildings opposite Beit Avraham, toward the market street, are known as shtieblach — little synagogues.

Mea Shearim has at least fifty synagogues and about as many Torah schools and yeshivas. Mostly, they are simple and unadorned facilities. Some are just a single street-side room with benches as the only furniture. Others may be in houses or attics. Only a few resemble a typical classroom.

• Walk west, between Beit Avraham and the shtieblach. Just past the alley stands the Hachnasat Orhim (Hospitality House), a hostel for Jewish travelers. It provides free or low-cost lodging for up to a month. Nearby is the mikve, which is well-marked in Hebrew. The mikve is a ritual bath for purifying.

• Turn right at the mikve to double back to the market street.

Here the street is broader and paved with flagstones. Below, lies a large subterranean water cistern. Although plugged up, the cistern provided water during the 1948 Arab siege.

• Turn right again to double back along the market street (Ein Yaaqov Street).

Opposite the shop at 20 Ein Yaaqov St., stands the passageway to Mohammed’s Gate. Its named for an Arab watchman who lived in an adjacent room.

• Pass through the gate to Mea Shearim Street. Turn right, continuing along until you return to Shivtei Yisrael Street, where you started.


For more information

Before leaving, check out the Israeli tourist office Web site at http://www.goisrael.com. Once in Jerusalem, visit the Israeli government tourist information office at 24 King George St., telephone 241-281. Hours: Sunday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in summer, to 5 p.m. in winter, and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.