Hasidism: Key Questions

by Marcin Wodziński

Hasidism is one of the most important religious and social movements to have developed in Eastern Europe, and the most significant phenomenon in the religious, social and cultural life of the Jewish population in Eastern Europe from the eighteenth century up to the present day. Innovative and multidisciplinary in its approach, Key Questions discusses the most central features of any social or religious definition, gender, leadership, demographic size, geography, economy, and decline. This is the first attempt to answer those central questions in a single volume.

Genres: Judaism

368 pages, Hardcover

Published July 2, 2018

About the author

Polski historyk i filolog, specjalizujący się w tematyce żydowskiej.

W 1995 obronił pracę doktorską w Śląskoznawczym Studium Doktoranckim przy Instytucie Historycznym Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. W 2003 habilitował się na Uniwersytecie Wrocławskim. Od 2005 kierownik Zakładu Studiów Żydowskich Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego. 1 kwietnia 2011 odebrał nominację profesorską z rąk Prezydenta RP Bronisława Komorowskiego. W 2011 otrzymał Nagrodę Jana Karskiego i Poli Nireńskiej.

Reviews

[Yossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

...neglected perspectives on Chasidut, well presented. ...worth reading for the fresh perspectives even if you may ultimately disagree with some of the conclusions.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of what I have read about pre-WW 2 Hasidim is intellectual history, focusing on the ideas of key rebbes and their conflicts with non-Hasidic leaders. By contrast, this book is a social history- it seeks to answer questions about ordinary Hasidim and how they acted. Some of the author's key findings are:
1. Early East European Hasidim were far less sectarian than some of today's Hasidic groups- that is, they were less close-knit. In the early days of Hasidim, the boundaries between Hasidim and non-Hasidim were permeable; non-Hasidim prayed in Hasidic congregations and vice versa. There were no rites of passage for joining Hasidism, and no strong barriers to entry. However, women were at first excluded from Hasidic life; they often prayed in pre-Hasidic congregations even if their husbands were Hasidim. On the positive side, this reality facilitated intermarriage between Hasidic men and non-Hasidic women.
2. Early Hasidim tended to be middle-class merchants rather than working-class people.
3. The First World War destabilized Hasidic life. Many Hasidic groups were headquartered in small towns in Eastern Europe- towns that often became war zones. As a result, Hasidic leaders fled to big cities, and many of their followers were exposed to alternative ideologies such as Zionism.