{"id":72202,"date":"2016-03-08T05:46:36","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T10:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2016\/03\/08\/jewish-beliefs-and-practices\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T23:58:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T03:58:20","slug":"jewish-beliefs-and-practices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/religion\/2016\/03\/08\/jewish-beliefs-and-practices\/","title":{"rendered":"5. Jewish beliefs and practices"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The differences in religious commitment among subgroups of Israeli Jews are reflected in their religious beliefs and practices, including observance of the Sabbath. For example, virtually all Haredim surveyed say they avoid handling money or riding in a car, train or bus on the Sabbath. Hilonim are much less likely to observe these customs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divisions between secular and religious Jews also are seen in many other Jewish beliefs and practices. For example, almost all Haredim \u2013 but just three-in-ten Hilonim \u2013 say they fasted all day last Yom Kippur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Hilonim in Israel consistently show lower levels of adherence to Jewish customs and traditions, the survey finds substantial proportions of Hilonim practice some aspects of Judaism, whether for cultural or religious reasons. For example, a large majority of Hilonim say they held or attended a Seder last Passover. Roughly half say they light candles before the start of the Sabbath at least some of the time, including one-in-five who say they usually or always do this. And about one-third of Hilonim say they keep kosher in their home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Differences in religious observance by gender are also apparent. Overall, Israeli Jewish women are less observant of certain aspects of Jewish traditions than are men. For example, fewer women abstain from traveling on the Sabbath. And fewer women than men say they frequently read religious texts \u2013 a pattern seen among Haredim and Datiim as well as among Masortim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian-speaking Jews in Israel stand out for relatively low levels of observance of Jewish beliefs and practices. A majority of Russian speakers say they personally handle money on the Sabbath, for example, and roughly half say they eat pork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide differences in observance of the Sabbath<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Haredim and Datiim refrain from handling money on the Sabbath<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Most<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For observant Jews, handling money is among the activities and behaviors traditionally forbidden on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath, which takes place each week from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday). Religious Jews also generally avoid traveling by car, bus or train, operating devices powered by batteries or electricity, igniting or extinguishing a flame, writing, ripping or tearing paper and many other activities prohibited by Jewish law on the day of rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of Israeli Jews say they personally handle money on Shabbat (55%), while 41% say they avoid doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Haredim and Datiim in the survey say they handle money on the Sabbath, but the vast majority (88%) of Hilonim do. Masortim are more divided on this question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Masortim, observance of this tradition is somewhat more common among men than women. Most Masorti men (58%) say they refrain from handling money on the Sabbath, compared with a somewhat smaller share of Masorti women (48%). There are no significant differences between men and women within the other Jewish subgroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Jews who received their highest level of education from a religious institution, observance of this Sabbath prohibition is nearly universal. By contrast, among those who completed their education at a secular institution, 58% say they handle money on the Sabbath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian-speaking Jews and Jews of Ashkenazi ancestry are more likely than other Jewish subgroups to say they handle money on Shabbat, a pattern also seen in other areas of religious practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Israeli Jews \u2013 but not Haredim and Datiim \u2013 travel by car, bus or train on the Sabbath<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
\"Nearly<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A majority of Jews in Israel say they ride in a car, bus or train on Shabbat (62%), but about a third (35%) say they refrain from traveling on the Jewish holy day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Orthodox Jews surveyed travel on the Sabbath, while the vast majority of Hilonim (95%) say they do travel by car, bus or train on the Jewish day of rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masortim are somewhat more apt to say they travel on the Sabbath (53%) than to avoid such activity (41%), while 6% say it depends on the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women are somewhat more likely than men to say they travel on Shabbat (65% vs. 59%). This gap stems largely from Masortim; women in this group are considerably more likely than men to say they travel on the Sabbath (61% vs. 46%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli Jews with a college degree are considerably more likely to say they travel on Shabbat than are Jews with less education. And a majority of Jews who earned their highest degree from a secular institution say they travel on the Sabbath (65%), compared with just 8% of those who received their highest education at a religious institution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"About<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As with other aspects of religious observance, Ashkenazim are somewhat less observant by this measure than are Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slim majority of Israeli Jews always or usually light Sabbath candles<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

A slim majority of Israeli Jews (56%) say they, or someone in their household, either always or usually lights candles to mark the coming of the Sabbath on Friday evenings. But as with most other measures of religious beliefs and practices, when it comes to lighting Sabbath candles, there are many differences among religious and demographic subgroups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting candles shortly before Shabbat is a nearly universal practice among Datiim and Haredim. By comparison, one-in-five Hilonim say they always or usually observe this Sabbath ritual in their home, while nearly half of Hilonim (47%) say they never do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jews who speak Hebrew at home are about twice as likely as Russian speakers to regularly observe this ritual (58% vs. 29%). Among those who speak Yiddish at home, every respondent in this survey says that someone in his or her household always or usually lights Sabbath candles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing religious observance among Jews from the former Soviet Union and their children<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"Children<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First- and second-generation immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) make up roughly one-fifth of Jewish respondents in the Pew Research Center survey; 14% are immigrants and 5% are children of at least one immigrant parent. Overall, Jews who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union are less religious than Israeli Jews as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the survey also finds that second-generation FSU Israelis are considerably more religiously observant than their parents\u2019 generation. When it comes to Jewish subgroups, for example, 60% of those in the second generation say they are Hiloni, compared with 81% of first-generation immigrants. While 4% of first-generation immigrants say they are Haredi, among the second generation, this proportion has climbed to 14%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children of FSU immigrants also are much more likely than their parents to believe in God (70% vs. 55%). On this question, second-generation FSU immigrants are closer to Israeli Jews overall, 77% of whom say they believe in God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, when it comes to Jewish religious practices such as lighting Sabbath candles, keeping kosher, holding or attending a traditional Seder and studying the Torah, children of FSU immigrants are considerably more active than the first generation. For example, children of FSU immigrants are about twice as likely as their parents to keep kosher, both in their home (50% vs. 24%) and outside their home (35% vs. 19%). And while about four-in-ten first-generation immigrants from the former Soviet Union (42%) say they eat pork, only 17% of second-generation FSU immigrants say they personally do so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Most Israeli Jews keep kosher in their home and avoid eating pork<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"All<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"About<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jewish dietary laws, known as kashrut, include several common practices. For example, Jews observing these laws do not eat meat and dairy products together in the same meal, and they do not eat certain types of animal products (including pork and shellfish).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roughly six-in-ten Israeli Jews say they keep kosher in their home. This practice is virtually universal among Haredim and Datiim and very common among Masortim (86%), but it is less common among Hilonim. A third of Hilonim (33%) say they keep kosher at home, while most (63%) do not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The secular-religious divide on keeping kosher is also reflected in differences between Jews who received secular or religious instruction. Jews who received their highest level of education from a religious institution are considerably more likely than Jews who earned their highest degree from a secular school to say they keep kosher at home (95% vs. 61%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are no significant differences between men and women or between older and younger adults when it comes to keeping kosher at home. Jews with less formal education, however, are more likely than others to keep kosher in their home. Among ethnic and linguistic groups, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews and Yiddish-speaking Jews are especially likely to report keeping kosher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fewer Israelis say they keep kosher outside their home (52%) than in their home (63%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Haredim and Datiim, and most Masortim (69%), in the survey say they observe kosher laws outside their home. Among Hilonim, however, only about one-in-five do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with keeping kosher in the home, there are familiar patterns by ethnicity and education level and type in following Jewish dietary guidelines outside the home. For example, Jews with Sephardi or Mizrahi ancestry are much more likely than Ashkenazi Jews to say they keep kosher outside their home (70% vs. 35%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, relatively few Israeli Jews (16%) say they eat pork. An overwhelming majority (82%) do not consume bacon or other pork products, which are not kosher. Even a solid majority of Hilonim (67%) say they refrain from consuming pork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian-speaking Jews are more likely than Israeli Jews overall to eat pork. Roughly equal shares of Jews who speak Russian at home say they eat pork (47%) and refrain from eating pork (49%). No Yiddish speakers interviewed in this survey say they eat pork, and just 12% of Hebrew-speaking Jews in Israel say they, personally, consume pork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashkenazi Jews \u2013 one-quarter of whom speak Russian at home \u2013 are more likely than Sephardi or Mizrahi Jews to say they eat pork (28% vs. 4%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two-thirds<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Most Israeli Jews light Hanukkah candles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Eight-in-ten<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A majority of Jews in Israel (70%) say they always or usually light candles on Hanukkah \u2013 the eight-day festival of lights that commemorates the Maccabees\u2019 rededication of the Temple in 165 B.C.E. after its desecration by the Seleucid Greeks. Roughly one-in-five (19%) say they sometimes light Hanukkah candles, while relatively few (10%) never practice this ritual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lighting candles for Hanukkah is less common among Hilonim than among other Israeli Jews. Still, even among this nominally secular group, 45% say they always or usually light candles during Hanukkah, and an additional 35% say they sometimes do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patterns by primary language, ethnicity and education level and type are similar to other measures of Jewish religious observance. There are no differences by age and gender when it comes to frequency of lighting Hanukkah candles among Israeli Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n