“Hasidic Judaism developed during a period of intense misery for most Jews in eastern Europe. By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Jewish populations of Poland and the Ukraine had endured a century of intermittent poverty, persecution, and pogroms.”[21] It was against this backdrop that the Hasidic movement began, and its origins in the eighteenth century can be traced directly to a highly charismatic, Ukranian-Jewish mystic, born as Israel ben Eliezer, but later known as the Baal Shem Tov (meaning, “Master of the Good Name,” or, according to some, “Good Master of the Name”). Born in 1698 and orphaned as a very poor, young child, his life is shrouded in legend. According to tradition, even as a boy, he would go out by himself into the fields and woods to get alone with God—this was not a common Jewish practice—but from all reports, it seems that he was not recognized as a Jewish leader of note—in fact, he seems not to have impressed people at all—until 1734 when, according to his followers, he “revealed himself” by working miracles and demonstrating his holiness. (The title given to him, the Baal Shem Tov—abbreviated as the Besht—referred to his use of the divine name to work miracles.)
As his fame grew, he began to attract a wide range of disciples, both learned and unlearned, but his reputation was primarily that of a miracle worker and mystic rather than a scholar, and his teachings emphasized joyful relationship with God more than erudition. In this, he made a break with much of the traditional Jewish focus in his day, which placed a disproportionate emphasis on excelling in Torah study. (By Torah study, I refer here primarily to the study of the oral traditions; see #3 and #7.) In contrast, the Baal Shem Tov taught that even the most ignorant Jewish peasant could experience divine intimacy, even encouraging some level of deviation from the detailed, fixed system of Jewish daily prayers.
According to Dr. Gerhard Falk,
The Baal Shem Tov taught that G-d is everywhere, not only in synagogues. He taught that G-d wants us to approach Him and His Torah with joy and gladness. . . . The poor and ignorant Jews of Russia . . . were astonished to hear this message. The Baal Shem Tov was happy in his poverty. He rejected the formalities of his opponents ([called] Misnagdim) and emphasized Jewish optimism and joy. . . .
Believing that the highest form of prayer was an attitude of joy and happiness, of singing and dancing, he taught his followers that a good deed was worth more than all the adherence to the 613 Mitzvoth [commandments]. He also taught that the humble and the ignorant have a better chance of enjoying the World to Come than the arrogant and the learned.
These lectures created great excitement among the miserable masses of Slavic Jews. Treated worse than the blacks in Mississippi before the civil rights movement, the Jews of Europe had no joy. Yet, the Besht taught them optimism and laughter amidst pogroms [organized, violent attacks on the Jewish people] and hatred. He literally rose above the content of daily life and became an enormous inspiration to his people. His movement was called Hasidism or Piety. Nearly one half of all Jews [meaning, in that part of the world] subscribed to his message despite the opposition of the formalists in Lithuania and elsewhere.[22]
These formalists, however, still constituted the communal majority in most all of the major Jewish cities—in terms of social status, influence and recognized Jewish leadership—and the greatest scholar of the era, an extraordinary genius, Rabbi Elijah, the Vilna Gaon (that is, “the genius of Vilna”), pronounced a ban on Hasidic Jews in the harshest of terms. This caused them much suffering, and it is believed that upon the Vilna Gaon’s death—remember that he was the greatest Jewish scholar of his day—many Hasidim danced on his grave in jubilation. This underscores how intense the initial conflict was!
The teachings of the Baal Shem Tov were passed on through his leading disciples, and over time, as Hasidic Jews increasingly came in line with traditional Jewish practices, even becoming famous for their exceptional devotion, the animosity between the opponents (called Misnagdim or Mitnagdim in Hebrew) and the Hasidic Jews lessened dramatically, although it still exists today. Their emphasis on mysticism stands out among other Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews, but it is not entirely unique, in that study of the Zohar and other mystical texts is considered to be part of mainstream, traditional Judaism.
One of the most unique aspects of Hasidic Judaism—indeed, it is found only among Hasidic Jews—is the mystical importance placed on the person of the rebbe, the grand rabbi of the Hasidic community, and with that, the importance of having a spiritual connection with the rebbe. The rebbe, whose position is generally passed on in direct descent to the eldest son—hence, the reference to “Hasidic dynasties”—is believed to have a special and unique relationship with God and to be a miracle worker, a man whose blessings are to be coveted and whose guidance is sought by the members of his community, some of whom revere their rebbe out of all human proportion. In fact, in some Hasidic circles, telling stories about one’s rebbe is considered a form of worship.
I can remember meeting some Hasidic Jews in New York in the 1970s who informed me that the only sin their rebbe ever committed was causing his mother pain in childbirth, although they assured me that he had since taken care of that issue. I kid you not![23] Other Hasidim I have met emphasized the great learning of their rebbe, while others pointed to their rebbe’s alleged supernatural knowledge of people, places and events (received, it is believed, by divine revelation). Not surprisingly, it is common to see pictures of a community’s rebbes (both past and present) prominently displayed in the homes of the Hasidim. This emphasis on the rebbe continues to draw criticism from other forms of Judaism, some of which see this as cultlike and, contrary to mainstream Jewish tradition, putting an overemphasis on man rather than God.
Although a large percentage of Hasidic Jews was slaughtered by the Nazis, a number of their leaders survived and reconstituted their movements in America, which remains the home of as many as several hundred thousand adherents. Hasidic groups are known by the place of their origin, the most prominent today being:
Lubavitch, from Lyubavichi in Belarussia. This movement, also known as Chabad, an acronym for chokmah, wisdom, binah, understanding and da‘at, knowledge, enjoyed exceptional growth under the leadership of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–94), the seventh and last in his dynastic succession (he had no children), and hailed by many of his followers as the Messiah. Schneerson, who led this movement from Brooklyn and never set foot in Israel, developed a worldwide Jewish outreach program devoted to calling nonobservant Jews back to traditional Judaism, establishing a massive network of children’s schools and adult outreach centers. His success and his teachings about the nearing of the age of redemption, bolstered by some of the mystical beliefs of the Lubavitcher Hasidim, helped create the “Rebbe is the Messiah” movement, and to this day, billboards proclaiming him as King Messiah can be seen in many parts of Israel. Those directly or loosely affiliated with Lubavitch number as many as 200,000 and, contrary to popular expectations, Lubavitch has enjoyed significant growth since the death of their rebbe, who has not been succeeded.[24] Note, however, that the actual number of committed Lubavitch Hasidim is far below 200,000.
Satmar, from Satu Mare (meaning “Saint Mary”!) in Romania (originally, Szatmarnemeti, Hungary). The Satmar are more strict in their observance than the Lubavitchers—in fact, they have had numerous interfamily clashes over the years—and, in distinct contrast with Lubavitchers, they are completely ingrown, commonly speaking Yiddish and Hungarian before English, despite being based primarily in Brooklyn and upstate New York. A “model” Satmar community, called Kiryas Joel and located in the town of Monroe, “is a community where traditional values and the centrality of family are still the guiding principles of community life. It is a place where parents and children participate jointly in the beautiful ritual and customs of Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish life. To preserve these unadulterated values, Kiryas Joel is a community without television or radio. A few weeklies and other periodicals, published in Yiddish, are sold in the Village.”[25] Satmar’s most prominent rebbe was Yoel Teitelbaum (1887–1979), after whom Kiryas Joel is named. A heroic survivor of Auschwitz, where he lost most of his family, he was an ardent opponent of the modern state of Israel, believing that it was a nation founded by irreligious and atheistic Jews and that its presence stood in the way of the Messianic age, since it was the Messiah alone who was to regather the exiles and reestablish the nation of Israel. The Satmar number approximately 120,000, making them the largest Hasidic movement in terms of adherents from birth (whereas many Lubavitchers are either loosely affiliated or recent converts to Hasidic Judaism).
Breslov, from Bratslav, in the Ukraine. This was founded by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810), who was a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. What makes this Hasidic movement unique is that they have been a community without a rebbe for almost two hundred years, basing themselves on their rebbe’s teachings (including many parables and stories) and legendary accounts, along with the teachings of his disciples and their disciples. They are known for their outwardly joyous worship (common to all Hasidic worship is an intense expression of joy and fervor) and can be seen in Israel publicly dancing in the streets, part of their “outreach” to the secular community.[26] Their influence is disproportionate to their small numbers.
Other significant groups include Bobov, now headquartered in Borough Park, Brooklyn. It is perhaps the second-largest Hasidic group in America, after Satmar. In Israel, significant Hasidic groups include Ger, Vishnitz and Beltz.
A note about the term Hasidic: The Hebrew word hasid means “pious one, godly one,” and it occurs 34 times in the Hebrew Bible, sometimes with reference to the Lord (see Psalm 145:17; Jeremiah 3:12) but normally with reference to godly people (see 1 Samuel 2:9; 2 Samuel 22:26; Micah 7:2; the word occurs most frequently in the Psalms; see Psalms 4:4; 12:2; 16:10; 37:28; 85:9; 116:15; 145:1, 5, 9). In the second century b.c., the godly Jews who opposed the onslaught of Hellenism were called Hasideans, or “godly ones.” Until the 1700s, however, the term Hasid was, for the most part, used to describe godly individuals rather than specific Jewish groups, and there was no such thing as “Hasidic Judaism.” Note also that an alternative spelling is Chasidic, reflecting the pronunciation of the opening Hebrew letter, heth, which is guttural, similar to the Scottish ch in Loch Ness. Also found are the spellings Hassidic (or Chassidic). The noun Hasidut (or Chasidut) refers to the practice of Hasidic Judaism.