Short answers, pulled from the story.
Hasidic Judaism was founded by Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, who was born around 1698 and became recognized as a spiritual leader in Podolia by the 1740s. The movement arose as a religious revival in what is now western Ukraine and spread rapidly through Eastern Europe in the 18th century.
A Rebbe is the hereditary leader of a Hasidic court, understood to be a spiritual guide who can commune with God and channel divine blessing to followers. By the early 19th century, the principle emerged that there can be no Rebbe but the son of a Rebbe, and virtually all modern courts maintain this hereditary principle. The Rebbe serves as administrative head, judge, and spiritual intercessor for his community.
A 2016 study by Marcin Wodziński counted 129,211 Hasidic households worldwide, representing about 5% of the estimated total Jewish population. Of those, 62,062 resided in Israel and 53,485 in the United States, with additional communities in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere.
Satmar is the largest Hasidic sect, with some 26,000 member households. It was founded in 1905 in the Hungarian city of Sathmar and is now headquartered in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and Kiryas Joel, New York. The dynasty underwent a schism in 2006, splitting into factions led by brothers Aaron Teitelbaum and Zalman Leib Teitelbaum.
Much of Hasidic dress originated as the ordinary clothing of Eastern European Jews under the influence of Polish-Lithuanian noble fashion. Hasidism preserved and formalized these garments as markers of communal identity and tradition. Items such as the fur shtreimel hat and the long bekeshe jacket carry both cultural and, in some cases, attributed religious significance.
Hasidic communities use Galician Yiddish as a deliberate way to remain distinct and preserve Eastern European Jewish tradition. Some courts, including Satmar and Toldot Aharon, actively oppose everyday Hebrew use, viewing it as too holy for ordinary speech. Yiddish newspapers continue to be published and Yiddish fiction is written primarily for women within these communities.