Founded in the 18th century by Rabbi Israel Ben Eliezer, several sects of this East European Jewish Mystical movement known as Hasidim still flourish today. This collection of 16 studies, eight of them previously unpublished, deal with the origins of the movement and also with the teachings of some of the earliest disciples of the tradition.
A classic text for all those interested in Jewish religious developments in eastern Europe, this paperback has a new introduction locating Weiss's work in the context of contemporary scholarship and the current resurgence of hasidism.
This book goes back to the early days of Hasidism and retells its beginning with an esoteric circle of messianic Kabbalists that established the first Hasidic court. Paradoxically, their failure to bring redemption enabled the growth of Hasidism from a small group of devotees to a mass movement, still influential throughout the Jewish world.
Offered here for the first time in English translation, Hasidism as Mysticism is a classic in its field. Using the tools of phenomenology, Rivka Schatz Uffenheimer places Hasidism squarely in the context of religious studies. Hasidism's theoretical texts have been largely ignored by historians of the movement, but Schatz Uffenheimer analyzes these materials fully, disclosing the mystical, quietistic tendencies that existed alongside Hasidism's more activist, popular elements. The author carefully reviewed this translation of her work; it includes a revised introduction with much new material, two new chapters, and an appendix containing a translation, history, and literary analysis of one of the few extant texts attributed to the Baal Shem Tov. Schatz Uffenheimer's inquiry covers the full gamut of Hasidic life and thought, embracing such topics as the emphasis on joy and the concomitant ban on sadness and regret in Hasidism, the focus on contemplative rather than petitionary prayer, the subordination of the mizvot (commandments) to the spiritualistic goal of devequt (attachment to God), and the anarchic elements of Hasidism's approach to life within society. Also discussed are the problematic role of Torah study resulting from this spiritualistic emphasis, the movement's neutralization or internalization of the traditional concept of a historical messiah, and the transformation within Hasidism of traditional concepts borrowed from Kabbalah. The author's illuminating hints as to the affinity between Hasidism and Christian Quietism should be of particular interest to scholars in the field. Rivka Schatz Uffenheimer (1927-1992) was the Edmonton Community Professor of Jewish Mysticism at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. One of the outstanding students of Gershom Scholem, she forged her own path in the world of scholarship. Her research encompassed a wide range of areas: Zohar and Lurianic Kabbalah, Sabbatianism, Hasidism, and the typology of Jewish messianism. In addition, she was deeply involved in the ongoing discussion concerning the major spiritual and existential issues confronting contemporary Judaism and the State of Israel. Originally published in 1993. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
It provides a detailed sketch of the historical background of the early Hasidic movement and charts its central ideas within the wider intellectual and historical context of Jewish religious and mystical thought."--BOOK JACKET.
The words 'hasid' and 'hasidism' have become so familiar to people interested in the Jewish world that little thought is given to understanding exactly what hasidism is or considering its spiritual and social consequences. What, for example, are the distinguishing features of hasidism? What innovations does it embody? How did its founders see it? Why did it arouse opposition? What is the essential nature of hasidic thought? What is its spiritual essence? What does its literature consist of? What typifies its leadership? What is the secret of its persistence through the centuries? How have scholars explained its origins? Is hasidism an expression of mystical ideas, or a response to changing social circumstances? What is its connection to kabbalah? To Shabateanism? To messianism? What is its relationship to the traditional structures of authority in the Jewish world? This book aims to answer all these questions in a lucid and accessible manner. Rachel Elior focuses on the fundamental positions and the factors of primary importance: the substantial issues that recur in the hasidic texts, including how hasidim have seen themselves over the centuries, how they have constructed a new spiritual and social ideal, and how that ideal has stood the test of reality. The goal is to present the main characteristics of the hasidic movement and to examine the social implications of its mystical ideas. The text is fully supported by references to the relevant hasidic sources and academic literature. The book concludes with a list of the hasidic texts on which the discussion is based and a comprehensive bibliography of scholarly works on kabbalah and hasidism.
Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav was one of the most celebrated masters of late Jewish mysticism and Hasidism, and his writings have become classics. This volume brings together translations of three seminal studies on Rabbi Nahman in German, Hebrew, and Yiddish with six new studies from scholars in various fields of Jewish studies. The presentation of new scholarly work widens the conversation about Hasidism in general and Rabbi Nahman in particular by viewing his ideology from the perspective of contemporary hermeneutic, philosophical, and literary perspectives incorporating the insights of postmodernism, gender theory, and literary criticism. New ground is covered in essays on Rabbi Nahman's attitude toward death, his approach to gender, his interpretation of circumcision, the impact of his tales on Yiddish literature, and his hermeneutic theory. The combination of classic and new studies in God's Voice from the Void offers a window into the trajectory of scholarship on Hasidism, including ways in which contemporary scholars of Hasidism and Hasidic literature both continue and develop the work of their predecessors.
