Hasidism

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Two of the Ba'al Shem Tov's disciples, in particular, were responsible for the astonishing successes which this new movement achieved after the master's death in 1760. The first, Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye, was also the first Ḥasidic author; his work, Toledot Ya'akov Yosef (1780), quoted the maxims of the Ba'al Shem Tov and served as the model for a host of later writings in the spirit of Ḥasidism. The second disciple, Dov Baer, the "Maggid" of Mezhirech, deserves to be considered the real founder of the movement. He gathered around him a remarkable group of disciples who were themselves to become Ḥasidic masters in Volhynia, Poland, Russia, and Lithuania. Despite---perhaps even because of---the opposition of the Mitnaggedim, traditionalist rabbis and communal leaders who branded Ḥasidic doctrine as rank heresy, the movement expanded so rapidly that by the beginning of the 19th century it had won over perhaps half the Jewish population of Eastern Europe.

"A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; it then divided and became four branches" (Gen. 2:10). This verse was applied to the spread of Ḥasidism to Poland. "Eden" was the Ba'al Shem Tov; the "river" stood for the Maggid of Mezhirech; the "garden" represented ELIMELECH OF LYZHANSK; and the "four branches" were Menahem Mendel of Rymanow, israel of kozienice, Meir of Apta (Opatow), and jacob isaac, the "Seer" of Lublin. Other preeminent Ḥasidic leaders of this period included LEVI ISAAC OF BERDICHEV, NAḤMAN OF BRATSLAV, SHNEUR ZALMAN OF LYADY, and MENAHEM MENDEL OF KOTSK. Each Tsaddik or Rebbe (the title distinguishing this new type of leader from the traditional Rav; see also ADMOR) had his own "court," the center to which his own devoted followers journeyed so as to be near him, especially on the festivals. At the earliest stage, a prominent disciple succeeded to the leadership when the Rebbe died; later on, however, the sons or near relatives of the Rebbe took over the succession, with the result that dynastic Tsaddikim became the norm. There were often fierce rivalries between the various Ḥasidic dynasties, and struggles within them over the succession. When Mordecai of Chernobyl died in 1837, each of his eight sons founded a new dynasty, as did his sons-in-law.

For all the novelty of its approach, Ḥasidism is less an entirely new philosophy of Judaism than a number of fresh emphases on certain ideas found in the talmudic literature, and especially in the zohar and kabbalah. The movement has been described as "mysticism for the masses." While there is some truth in this description---Ḥasidism was initially a revolt against dry intellectualism and it did succeed in bringing prayerful joy (SIMḤAH) and intense religious enthusiasm (hitlahavut) to ordinary Jews---it conveys only half the picture. There was an elitist side to Ḥasidism from its very inception. Ḥasidism was not only a popular movement; it appealed also, and in some versions especially, to the earnest God-seekers willing to be guided by the Tsaddik to saintly heights. Considerable tension between these two aims is frequently to be observed in the literature of the movement. On the one hand, it was frequently emphasized that all God demands of the Ḥasid is simple faith; on the other hand, the demands of high, saintly conduct could only have been intended for the few.

Two ideas in particular are common to every version of Ḥasidism: the doctrine of the Tsaddik and that of DEVEKUT. Ḥasidism maintains that the Tsaddik is the channel through which Divine grace flows. Only through close association with the Tsaddik can the Ḥasid approach God. By observing the Tsaddik's conduct, the Ḥasid learns how God is to be worshiped---not only through Torah study and prayer but also in everyday behavior and worldly affairs. A typical Ḥasidic story tells of a disciple of the Maggid of Mezhirech who confessed that he did not go to the Maggid to study Torah but to witness how he tied his shoes. Devekut, "attachment," means having God constantly in mind whatever one does. This very exacting ideal (which maimonides thought beyond the reach of most human beings) is attainable only by the Tsaddik, but the Ḥasid can approach it by being close to his Rebbe. In Ḥasidism the concept of devekut rests upon another idea, that God is immanent in the universe, that (as the Zohar phrases it) "no space is void of Him." This notion has been called "pantheism" ("all is God"), but it would be more accurately described as "panentheism" ("all is in God"). At every step, the true Ḥasid sees the Divine energy pervading the material universe. Provided he uses the world in a spirit of holiness, he worships his Creator even when eating, drinking, and attending to his other physical needs. This is what Ḥasidism refers to when it speaks of avodah be-gashmiyyut, "worship in the material."

The Mitnaggedim attacked Ḥasidism on various grounds, social as well as theological. On social grounds, they objected to the adoption of a new prayer rite and to the fact that Ḥasidim separated themselves from the general community, forming their own conventicles. This posed a challenge to the hegemony of the KahaI (communal council)---the rabbis and lay leaders forming the "Establishment." A particular scandal involved young married men who forsook their wives and families to spend many months at the court of the Rebbe, despite the communal rabbi's ruling that such action was contrary to Jewish law. The real issue here was a conflict of authority between the Ḥasidic Rebbe and the local rabbi. At a later period, the Rebbe became sufficiently influential to have a decisive say in the town rabbi's appointment. Furthermore, the early Ḥasidim adopted the practice of slaughtering animals with honed knives, which the Mitnaggedim declared halakhically impermissible. As a result, the Ḥasidim organized their own SHEḤITAH (ritual slaughter) and contributed nothing to the sizable revenues which the Kahal derived from sheḥitah fees and taxes. In short, Ḥasidism was seen as a rebellion against the community.

Opposition to the theological views of the Ḥasidim was manifold. Firstly, they were suspected of Shabbateanism, of secretly believing in the heretical false messiah SHABBETAI TSEVI, and the charge of sectarianism was leveled against them. Ḥasidic Jews were often derided by the Mitnaggedim as a kat ("sect") or else as shepselekh ("sheep"), a punning Yiddish allusion to the Shabbateans. Secondly, the doctrine of the Tsaddik as an intermediary was also offensive to the Mitnaggedim, who declared such a notion to be un-Jewish and extreme veneration of the Tsaddik to border on the idolatrous. Great opposition was also expressed to the panentheistic doctrines of Ḥasidism. The notion that all things are in God, it was claimed, must inevitably result in a complete blurring of the distinction between right and wrong, the pure and the impure, the sacred and the profane. As the Mitnaggedim put it, such a doctrine leads to "thinking about the words of Torah in unclean places" since, if "all is in God," there are ultimately no unclean places.

The Ḥasidic emphasis on devekut was also a serious cause of offense. To Ḥasidim, the rabbinic ideal of Torah li-shmah---"learning for its own sake"---means that Torah study should be engaged in more as a devotional than as an intellectual exercise. Thus, one who studied in order to win fame, or even because he enjoyed the intellectual challenge, was far removed from the ideal, whereas the comparatively ignorant Ḥasid whose mind was attuned to God while he studied Torah came much closer to the ideal. Moreover, Ḥasidism taught that devekut could be attained more readily in fervent prayer than in study, bringing about a complete reversal of the traditional rabbinic scale of values in which Torah study is the supreme religious act. For the Mitnaggedim, it was axiomatic that (as the talmudic rabbis say) the study of Torah should be pursued irrespective of one's motives and that it is impossible, while studying, to concentrate one's mind on God. The Ḥasidim were therefore charged with denigrating scholars and scholarship and with pandering to the ignorant masses.

During the late 18th century, several bans of EXCOMMUNICATION (ḥerem) were proclaimed against the Ḥasidim in major centers of East European Jewish life such as Brody and Vilna. The Lithuanian opposition was spearheaded by ELIJAH BEN SOLOMON ZALMAN, the Gaon of Vilna, who sternly rejected an attempt at reconciliation made by two Ḥasidic leaders, menahem mendel of vitebsk and Shneur Zalman of Lyady. The height of acrimony was reached after the Vilna Gaon's death, when each side appealed to the Russian government against its opponents. Nor was it rare among the Mitnaggedim for parents to "sit shivah" in mourning when a son of theirs became a Ḥasid.

Opposition to Ḥasidism was also voiced from another quarter. Devotees of the HASKALAH (Jewish Enlightenment) movement in 19th-century Russia vehemently attacked and satirized what they considered to be the obscurantism of the Ḥasidim and their Rebbes. Maskilim accused the latter of encouraging their adherents to reject all secular learning and to rely on the prayers of the Tsaddik instead of taking practical measures to alleviate the poverty and suffering of the Jewish masses. However, since the more radical Maskilim abandoned religious observance and opposed the traditional rabbis as well, both Ḥasidim and Mitnaggedim soon viewed the Haskalah as a common foe, leading them to unite in defense of tradition. This, above all, prevented Ḥasidism from degenerating into a real sectarian movement, and so what had begun as a revolt against socio-religious norms eventually became ultra-conservative in its theory and practice.

Ḥasidism produced a vast literature, both narrative-hagiological and didactic. First, there are the numerous tales of the Tsaddikim. At some early stage, the belief took root that it was highly meritorious to relate stories about the Ḥasidic saints, their miraculous powers, and the manner in which they worshiped God. There was a semi-magical element, too, in the relating of these tales because of a popular belief that the saints' miraculous powers were reawakened as the story unfolded, and that fresh miracles could then be wrought on behalf of the narrators and their audience. Many collections of these stories have been published, especially in the past 100 years: some are no more than fairy tales, others display an acute literary and imaginative skill. Not a few of the Ḥasidim took a skeptical view of the miracle tales. A Ḥasidic saying states, "Whoever believes all these tales is a fool, but anyone who cannot believe them is a heretic."

The second and more important type of Ḥasidic literature comprises halakhic, kabbalistic, and ideological writings, as well as the Ḥasidic "Torah," namely, the ideas of the Tsaddikim, which generally take the form of homiletical commentaries on the weekly Torah portion. A few of these works were actually written by the Rebbes themselves, but the more usual practice was for a disciple to make notes of the Rebbe's discourses once the Sabbath had terminated, especially the one he delivered in the highly charged atmosphere of the third meal (se'udah shelishit). Ḥasidic Jews believed that on such occasions the Rebbe was inspired ("the Shekhinah speaking from his throat"), and indeed the Rebbe would later often admit to being unaware of what he had said.

While Ḥasidim first reached Erets Israel in 1777, and others later settled in Western Europe and America, the vast majority remained in Eastern Europe. There, prior to World War II, hundreds of Ḥasidic dynasties flourished, each with its own faithful adherents. After the Holocaust and the destruction of the great European communities, most of the surviving created a new home for themselves in the State of Israel and in the United States, taking care to preserve the names of the towns in which their ancestors had held court. Among the best-known groups active today are the belz, bobov, gur ("Gerer"), Klausenburg-zanz, Lubavich (ḤABAD), satmar, and Vizhnits Ḥasidim.

Although each dynasty preserves its own traditions, Yiddish is spoken widely and certain practices are common to most versions of Ḥasidism. The familiar Ḥasidic garb is really the type of dress worn by Polish noblemen in the 18th century, but Ḥasidism has read into it various mystical ideas. The wide fur hat known as a shtraymeI, for example, with its 13 sable tails, is said to represent the 13 qualities of Divine mercy. Gur Ḥasidim wear a tall fur spodik, however, while members of the Lubavich movement wear neither. Some Ḥasidim wear white socks on the Sabbath as a symbol of purity. All male Ḥasidim don a garteI (girdle) for prayer, in order to separate the upper and lower parts of the body.

Another universal practice among Ḥasidim is the distribution of shirayim ("leftovers") from the Rebbe's table. When presiding over his tish (literally "table"), the sacred meal reserved for Sabbaths and festivals, the Rebbe tastes a little of each course and then distributes the remainder among his Ḥasidim, who believe that eating food that the Tsaddik has already tasted is conducive to holiness. Around the tish, the Ḥasidim listen with bated breath to the Rebbe's "Torah," then sing and dance in fulfillment of the call to "serve the Lord with gladness" (Ps. 100:2). Singing for joy and raising one's feet heavenward in dance is a high mode of worship in Ḥasidism. Some Rebbes composed their own melodies (see NlGGUN), and recordings of these and other Ḥasidic tunes have become extremely popular even in circles otherwise far removed from Ḥasidism.

To eat in a spirit of holiness is also an important religious obligation for the Ḥasid, who thereby rescues the "holy sparks" imprisoned in the kelipot (demonic powers). For the same reason, many of the Rebbes smoked a pipe or cigars. Tobacco was discovered so late in the history of the West, Ḥasidim claim, because the Messiah's advent will not take place until the subtle sparks inherent in the weed are rescued by those smoking while engaged in mystical contemplation (devekut).

In addition to the mass audiences given by the Rebbe, he may receive any of his followers in private. A standard practice is for the Ḥasid to bring a written petition (kvitl), outlining his individual needs and problems, so that the Rebbe can pray to God on his behalf. The theory is that the Rebbe must have some material association with his followers if these prayers are to be answered. Consequently, together with his petition, the Ḥasid hands over a sum of money known as the pidyon ("redemption") for the upkeep of the Rebbe's court.

Several modern writers have helped to popularize---and often idealize---the Ḥasidic movement, its leaders, aspirations, and now vanished milieu. The Neo-Ḥasidism of Martin BUBER is, in reality, an adaptation of Buber's "I and Thou" philosophy. Though valuable in itself, no doubt, this philosophy is basically different from Ḥasidism proper in that it is not mystical, has no room for a particular Rebbe, and derives its inspiration from Ḥasidic tales rather than from the essential Ḥasidic "Torah." Nevertheless, through Buber's writings, especially free versions of Ḥasidic stories and legends, the Western world has become better acquainted with this movement of spiritual striving within Judaism.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: beliefs and practices of a sect of Orthodox Jews
  Synonym: Hassidism