Haredi Judaism
Haredi Judaism is not an institutionally cohesive or homogeneous group, but comprises a diversity of spiritual and cultural orientations, generally divided into a broad range of Hasidic sects, Litvishe-Yeshivish streams from Eastern Europe, and Oriental Sephardic Haredim. These groups often differ significantly from one another in their specific ideologies and lifestyles, as well as the degree of stringency in religious practice, rigidity of religious philosophy, and isolation from the general culture that they maintain.
Heresy in Orthodox Judaism
The Greek term ἁίρεσις originally denoted "division," "sect," "religious" or "philosophical party," and is applied by Josephus to the three Jewish sects: Sadducees, Pharisees, and Essenes. The specific rabbinical term for heresies, or religious divisions due to an illegitimate spirit, is מינים ("minim") (lit. "kinds [of belief]"; the singular מין ("min") (literally, "a kind") for heretic or Gnostic is coined idiomatically, like "goy" and "`Am ha-aretz"). An alternative term, אפיקורוס (Apiqoros/Apikoros), which may have a different status, and is often used for apostates who turned towards agnosticism or atheism, is derived from Epicurus and the philosophy of Epicureanism.