Hardal

Chardal (or Hardal; Hebrew: חרד"ל, acronym for חרדי לאומי, Charedi Le-umi, lit. "National Charedi", plural Chardalim) usually refers to the portion of the Religious Zionist Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Charedi ideology (whether in terms of outlook on the secular world, or is their stringent (machmir) approach to Halacha); however, it is sometimes used to refer to the portion of the Charedi Jewish community in Israel which inclines significantly toward Religious Zionist ideology. It is a term coined by its opponents and therefore still bear a somewhat derogatory tinge. Most member of the communities described call themselves Torani (lit. "Torah-oriented") or Torani-Leumi. Sometimes one also hears the term "Merkaznik", which refers to the outlook of the Merkaz ha-Rav Yeshiva which was founded by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.

Chardal is an initialism of the words Charedi and Leumi. The acronym is easily remembered by Hebrew speakers because it is the same as the Hebrew word for mustard.

The term Chardal is part of a broad process of certain groups of Religious Zionist youth becoming more strict in certain religious observances, and more ideologically driven by the thought of Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook. In the late 1970s, graduates of Yeshivat Merkaz Harav began to reject certain aspects of the Religious Zionist and Bnei Akiva lifestyle. At that time, some of the graduates were already referred to as "plain-clothes Haredim".

According to some sources, the term Chardal was created at a meeting of the youth group EZRA in 1990. (Ezra is the Poalei Agudah youth group associated with Torah im Derech Eretz.) In later years, the term Chardal became a group that actually started separating itself from the broader religious Zionist community in order to dedicate itself to leading a life dedicated to strict Jewish practice, without the influence of outside culture. There was emphasis placed on modesty in dress, and early marriage. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner was a major ideologue for this group.

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