
A photojournalist who grew up in an ultra orthodox Jewish home in Israel has revealed the intriguing rituals, ceremonies and customs performed by his community in a series of images.

Yaakov Naumi’s fascinating photographs include a man lying in a grave to prolong life, a chicken being walked on a piece of string and men tying a rope to a bride and dancing around her.

Naumi, 32, who was raised in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak and educated in an ultra orthodox school, admitted that some of the rituals, when viewed with the eyes of an outsider, ‘look strange’.

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A Jewish man lies in an open grave that's had a body removed from it in a ritual that he believes will help prolong his life

A strictly orthodox rabbi dances the 'mitzvah tantz' at the wedding of his grand-daughter in Bnei Brak. He's not allowed to touch the bride at any point

According to the Jewish holy Torah, it is prohibited to touch a woman to whom you are not married

A ceremony - known as a ‘tisch’ - to commemorate Jews being rescued from a genocidal act in ancient Persia

A Jewish woman walking a chicken with a piece of rope. She will then have swung the chicken over her head in a ritual to transfer her sins of the past year to the animal

Writing for Flash90.com, he said: ‘Over time I learned to step out of my perspective and look at them [rituals and customs] with different eyes, with the eyes of an outsider. Then, even the simplest ceremony looks strange.

‘But no doubt, I was born and raised haredi [ultra orthodox] which allows me to understand and follow external appearances and corresponding behaviours.

‘Over time I realised that when Western culture touches upon haredi culture, then the haredim appear to themselves as strange.’

Naumi trained as a photojournalist with the haredi press, Behadrey Haredim, and revealed that despite his ultra orthodox background, his work there meant he encountered rituals and traditions that he’d never seen before.

Hundreds of orthodox Jews snaking around in a dance in Jerusalem to protest against a government proposal to make military service in the Haredi community compulsory

Dozens of hands reach for a baby in a ritual known as ‘pidyon ha ben’. It's taking place in Bnei Brak and its purpose is to redeem the baby

Jewish men perform the Tashlich ritual, where they throw food into a body of water to cast out their sins

This ceremony is called the 'Redemption of the first born donkey' and sees a donkey and a sheep decorated in pearls

Thousands of orthodox Jews gathered at the funeral of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in Jerusalem

The wedding ceremony of Rabbi Shalom Rokach to Hana Batya Pener was attended by tens of thousands of orthodox Jews

The Israeli flag is burnt at the 'Lag Ba'Omer ritual which commemorates the death of the 2nd-century Jewish miracle worker Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

He added: ‘My purpose with this series is not to show the haredi as odd, but instead to empower the essence of their rituals.’

One of the most striking images in the series is that of a rabbi dancing the ‘mitzvah tantz’ at a wedding.

The ritual sees a rope tied to a bride and a rabbi, plus the fathers and brothers of the groom, dance around her.

It’s important that they don’t come into contact with her at any point, as they follow a teaching in the Jewish holy Torah that says that touching a woman you’re not married to is prohibited.

Another image shows a Jewish woman walking a chicken with a piece of rope. She will then have swung the chicken over her head in a ritual to transfer her sins of the past year to the animal.

Four plant species - palm stalk, citrus, myrtle and willow branches - are held during the 'Hoshana Rabbah' ritual

Strictly Orthodox children of the chassidic Nadvorna dynasty attend a “chumash” party celebrating receiving the first book of the ‘Torah’, the Jewish written law

A young boy peers through the stands where strictly Orthodox Jews gathered for the traditional Jewish wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the town of Bnei Brak

Strictly Orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding of Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the great-grandson of the Rabbi of the Wiznitz Hasidic followers, in the town of Bnei Brak

Strictly Orthodox Jews follow an ancient Biblical command and harvest wheat with a hand sickle in a field near the central Israeli town of Modi’in. They will store the wheat for almost a year and then use it to grind flour to make unleavened bread for the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover

A strictly Orthodox Jew of the Lelov Chassidic dynasty whips another strictly orthodox man with a leather strap as a symbolic punishment for their sins as they perform the traditional Malkot ceremony in a synagogue in the town of Bet Shemeshm

Strictly Orthodox Jewish women wearing full covering as a means of modesty walk through the neighborhood of Meah Shearim

To Westerners, lying in an open grave, meanwhile, would be shocking behaviour. But for strictly orthodox Jews, it’s a practice they believe will lengthen life.

Naumi photographed a man in white overalls peacefully lying in an open grave from which a body had been taken out.

The photojournalist also produced pictures of a dance taking place during the Jewish holiday of ‘Purim’.

He caught the performers kneeling head to head on a table and it seems at first that they may be wrestling.

They are in fact taking part in a ceremony – known as a ‘tisch’ - to commemorate Jews being rescued from a genocidal act in ancient Persia.

A dance is also the subject of another image that’s just as captivating.

It shows hundreds of orthodox Jews snaking around in a dance in Jerusalem to protest against a government proposal to make military service in the Haredi community compulsory.