Hasidism

Hasidism (Heb., ḥasidut). Jewish religious movement which emerged in the late 18th cent. Hasidism first arose in S. Poland and Lithuania, with such charismatic leaders as Israel b. Eliezer (Baʿal Shem Tov, the Besht), Dov Baer of Mezhirech and Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye. These leaders drew groups of disciples around them, characterized by popular traditions of ecstasy, mass enthusiasm, and intense devotion to the leader, the Zaddik. Hasidic groups travelled as far as Erez Israel, and hasidic centres were to be found throughout E. Europe. With the great waves of immigration of the 1880s, Hasidism spread to the USA.

Initially there was considerable opposition to the movement from such figures as Elijah b. Solomon Zalman, the Vilna Gaon. Early Hasidism was thought by opponents to be tainted with Shabbateanism and Frankism (see FRANK, JACOB). Its mystical enthusiasm was also thought to detract from the sober study of Torah. However, by the mid-19th cent., despite the different practices and rituals of the movement, the Orthodox acknowledged Hasidism as a legitimate branch of Judaism.

Hasidic social life is centred on the court of the zaddik who is seen as the source of all spiritual illumination (e.g. devekut). Stories of past and present zaddikim are circulated as part of the mythology of the group. As in the root source, Ḥabad, worship is characterized by joy, and is expressed in song and dance as well as prayer. A major goal is the individual bittul ha-yesh (the annihilation of selfhood) in which the worshipper is absorbed into the divine light. The best-known modern expositor of Hasidism is Martin Buber whose Tales of Rabbi Nachman (Eng. 1962), Tales of the Hasidim (1947–8), and Legend of the Baal Shem (Eng. 1969) interpreted the movement in the light of existentialism.