The Chasidic (Hasidic) movement began long before Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov came onto the scene in Eastern Europe during the 1740s.

The roots of Chassidut stem from a Kabbalistic background, as advanced into major, more revealed teaching by the Ari HaKadosh (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, 1534-1572) in his teachings on the Zohar and other books of kabbalistic literature. To go back even further, the Zohar is accredited to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai from the times of the Mishna (roughly around 160 CE) although some opinions doubt this.

However, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem, the Baal Shem Tov, came along, and began to openly teach that which was previously kept concealed. He took the mystical interpretations of the Torah (the Jewish Scriptures) and began to form them into a teachings which were accessible to even an unlearned person. He quickly developed a rustic following all over Eastern Europe. From Lithuania, to Poland, even as far east as Russia and as far south as the Ottoman Empire.

The Baal Shem Tov organized his followers, sarcastically called 'Hasidim' (meaning pious ones) by opponents to this movement, to spread his teachings everywhere they went. They focused on supporting Jewish peasants into economic stability, stressing the commandment to love another as oneself, and serving God with the whole mind, and the whole heart. His teachings on the Torah were said to inspire anyone towards a love of God and a full devotion.

The Baal Shem Tov and his followers were looked down upon by many other Jewish Leaders at the time for their public displays of devotion to God. Many Hasidim would loudly sing during the public prayers, crying with sadness and singing with joy. Some went as far as to cavort and do headstands. For some reason that was frowned on. The cold sterility of Judaism in Europe was coming to a close.

After his death, his appointed successor was the Maggid Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezrtich. He continued in the paths of the Baal Shem Tov, further strengthening the bonds of Judaism, and teaching others the way of full devotion to God. He established centers of Chasidut all over Europe and in Israel. His inner circle of disciples, known as the Chevraia Kadisha ("Holy Brotherhood"), included his son Rabbi Avraham HaMalach (The Angel), Rabbi Nachum of Czernobyl, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rabbi Zusha of Hanipol, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh, Rabbi Aharon (HaGadol) of Karlin, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg and Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.

When the Maggid passed on, leadership of the chassidic movement was organized in the regions where the Maggid had established his disciples. This led to an eventual dispute over the direction that Hasidism would take, and how much of it should be taught. After the death of the Maggid in 1772, these disciples dispersed to their assigned territories. Under the Baal Shem Tov and then the Maggid, Hasidism had flourished in Podolia and Volynia (present day Ukraine) After 1772, under the third generation of leadership, it rapidly spread far and wide, from Galicia and Poland to White Russia (Belarus) in the north. The disciples of the Maggid took different interpretations and qualities of their Master's teachings. This, combined with the new dispersal of their locations, meant that after the Maggid, the Hasidic movement avoided appointing one unifying leader to succeed Dovber.

Eventually, the most authority was placed in the hands of two of The Maggids disciples. Rabbi Elimelech continued the leadership in Poland. His teaching stressed the importance and the nature of a Tzaddik (righteous person) and his role as a leader and intercessor. In Hasidic history, his book Noam Elimelech became the spiritual doctrine for general Hasidism, giving birth to the many leaders, successors and dynasties of mainstream Hasidism, and inspiring the emotional attachment and spiritual bond of the common folk to their Rebbe. Through attachment to the saintly individual, who knew mystical secrets, and interceded in Heaven on their behalf, the followers could connect to Divinity. Where the mainstream role of the Tzaddik was emphasised, it often accompanied belief in the benefit of miracle-working, to channel spiritual and material blessing, and increase fervour. The followers would make pilgrimages to their Masters, where they would gain enthusiasm, receive teachings, or could gain private audiences.

Schneur Zalman of Liadi articulated a different path in Hasidism from the mainstream. The separate school of Habad, begun by Schneur Zalman, stressed the intellectual articulation of Hasidic thought. He developes his ideas of Hasidim in the Tanya, which he subtitled the Hasidic "book for the intermediate person". This mystical philosophy of "Chabad" was named after the intellectual sefirot in Kabbalah: Chochma, Binah, Daas (Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge). The aim of Schneur Zalman was to offer his followers the ability to internalise the mystical philosophy of Hasidism

The most prominent Hasidic movement today are widely considered to be Chabad, Breslov, and Satmar. While there are many other sects and Rebbes to be found, the three are the most well known.

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