August 6, 2012 On Hasidic Growth
The average Hasidic family, according to Wikipedia, has 8 children. That’s a growth rate nearly four times higher than the average American family!
Based on these growth trends I expect that Hasidim will grow to startling proportions in the next fifty years. I’m not sure if family sizes are getting smaller, because when I was a child many of us were from families of 12, and that number seems to have gone down somewhat, but even if there’s some family planning, families are still VERY large.
Hasidic women age 30 often already have 6 children or more — that’s before their biological clock even ticks at ripe. If these trends continue, we can figure that the average family of 8 will have multiplied by eight in a mere thirty years.
The economic implications of a continued growth explosion like that are only to be seen. With a need for housing within close proximity of parents and shuls, and the subsequent rising real estate value, homes in Hasidic neighborhoods are bound to become more and more expensive. That’s only the beginning of Hasidic economic burden; there are many mouths to feed and twice the feet to clothe, many diapers and then weddings to fund. With little economic preparation in terms of college and vocational training, how will this growth spurt be sustainable?
And if the breadwinners won’t have enough on their heads, they’ll have handsome shtreimels that’ll brush against the moon, that’s how speedily the shtreimel is multiplying in height. I still remember the times a shtreimel closely resembled a frisbee. Long, long, LONG ago.
JK
Posted at 23:14h, 06 AugustAnd so did the growth of Prozac increase accordingly within the Chasidic motherhood.
Why the need of a condom if there’s Prozac?
Devorah
Posted at 23:33h, 06 AugustThere is definitely a trend of smaller families. Chasidic families seem to be getting smaller. Also, education is becoming more accepted in the community, there are so many frum degree mill programs. All this is probably a reaction to the economic realities.
Free Thinker
Posted at 08:55h, 07 AugustI agree with Devorah (] am proof), but the problem is still far from resolved. The main issue is that the – so called – leadership is busy with meetings on the burning issues such as proper length of skirts and denier of stockings and no one cares about this issue at all. What is their plan?
shpitz, you wrote ” I still remember the times a shtreimel closely resembled a frisbee. Long, long, LONG ago.” Are you th that old???? Lol.
SB
Posted at 10:21h, 07 AugustR’ Elyashiv a”h had about 1400 descendants at his passing, which sounds like a lot but isn’t – he was a centenarian (granted, most of us will not be) and 5 generations of 6 children to a family = 1296. 6 is less than the average family size of 8, so with multiples of 8 you get over 4000 after 5 generations.
Even if the chasidic growth rate shrinks dramatically to 5 kids per family, there will still be startling growth of a more-than-doubling of the chasidic populace every 15-20 years.
Devorah
Posted at 13:34h, 07 AugustFree Thinker, of course the problem is far from resolved. But the way I see it is that more and more people are taking matters into their own hands and are tired or despairing of waiting for the leaders to take action on important issues.
Frieda, this is a very clever cartoon.
Moshys
Posted at 14:21h, 07 AugustWith little economic preparation in terms of college and vocational training, how will this growth spurt be sustainable?
do you really think if you don’t have education you can’t succeed? i know someone you grew up with who runs a very succesful buisines which a lot of ppl with education never came close, i got no idea what you are talking about, i would say percentage wise chasidish ppl very succesful business ppl,
about being able to pay bills for so much kids. the good part of being a yid is we have “faith” that hashem who blesses us with lechtige kids will make sure we have enough money for them as well, so we have fewer worries. the money issue is the last issue anyone in the chsidishe oilem takes in consideration about having kids.
Btw Thanks for worrying. its really appfriciated………….
Miriam
Posted at 14:43h, 07 AugustMoshys, spoken like a true zombie. Just repeating all the crap you’ve been force-fed since yo were born. No, Chassidish people don’t all have successful businesses and the way of the world is that an education is the ticket to get you places. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but most people are average.
And if we have “faith” and Gd sends money with every child, why are so many of them starving? Why are so many of them poorly clothed, or too hot, or too cold, or too sickly? Again, there are very few miracles in this world. We have to do what we have to do. Maybe you should take your head out of the sand, grow up a bit and start thinking for yourself.
Moshys
Posted at 15:26h, 07 August@Miriam
I said percentage wise they’re succesful, not that everyone is. in any community only a small percent is succesful the rest make wages, some make more than others. but a big chunk of americans struggle to pay bills same by chasidish ppl.
About faith, Thats my point. if you have no faith life is much harder becasue when someone has faith even if he has a chalenge in life we dont give up, we still believ its for a good reason but we cant see it all the time, when you dont have faith youve got nothing to easy your pain with.
Realist
Posted at 16:51h, 07 AugustMoshys “i know someone you grew up with who runs a very succesful buisines”
Wow, you know someone! All the problems don’t exist then, because one guy beat the odds.
See, the problem is, there doesn’t need to be someone, there needs to be *thousands* of such people for this to work economically. There are always a few inner city kids who will become massive rap stars, there are a few farm girls in depressed middle American meth towns who will become super models instead of Walmart cashiers, and there are always a few uneducated Yiddish speaking Chassidim who become successful businessmen. But this is not an economic plan.
There is a reason why education correlates with economic success, and lack of education with economic failure. No, education is not everything. But it is important.
You know as well as I do that today, this very minute, the Chassidish communities are relying on government assistance to get by, much more so than the handful of successful businessmen who have a limited number of jobs to give out. What will the Chassidishe community do if, for example, the government decides that recipients of public assistance can be required to limit the number of children they have? I’m not saying it will happen, but it can happen. What’s the plan then? Suddenly every new couple will just have two kids instead of eight? There is no planning for anything other than what is happening now. Things are getting tighter. Staying uneducated is poor planning.
itzy bee
Posted at 18:59h, 07 August“he average Chasidic family, according to Wikipedia, has 8 children.”
is it for this reason they call it “section 8”?
if so, the they need more Obama’s, and they are covered for life….
Moshys
Posted at 10:39h, 08 AugustWow, you know someone! All the problems don
Devorah
Posted at 11:46h, 08 AugustWow Moshys. Do you know anything about statistics? The average salary of someone that’s educated is more than the average salary of someone who is not educated. This doesn’t mean that there are no successful uneducated people or unsuccessful educated people. It means that you have a much better chance at earning a decent living with less risk that’s inherent in entrepreneurship if you have an education. I don’t know which chasidish community you’re living in, but in my surroundings, most of my friends and family are really struggling to make ends meet. They all rely on the government for aid and most of them really need the help. Their children would not have what to eat without the help. A lot of it would have been alleviated with a better education. Yes, hard work and ethics matter, but so does an education.
I never understood what the chassidish community has against preparing our boys to know the basics, like the girls. Aren’t the men the ones who in the end go out to work? I personally know of a few cases where bright and hard working young men had a hard time finding work because of their lack of basic education. I’m not event talking about higher education here. There really is no excuse to cripple our children like this
Realist
Posted at 13:16h, 08 August“wo you really got me
Pini Friedman
Posted at 15:45h, 08 AugustMoshey, moving beyond the fact that unqualified government subsidy is part and parcel of the economic infrastructure in the community, and that most young high-rollers thrive on businesses that are a federal raid away of going out of business, what is the average community person
bentzy
Posted at 18:22h, 09 AugustI see you are running out of ideas. Like all anti chassidim bloggers, for a while you repackage all the old jokes into your way of saying it and then you run out of ideas.