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13 Hasidic Background: Sources and Trends from Early Hasidism

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Holiness and Law
This chapter is in the book Holiness and Law
13 HasidicBackground: Sources andTrendsfromEarlyHasidismHasidismperceivesitself as followingin thefootstepsof theKabbalah,butit isdoubtful whetherits attitudetowardssexualitywasindeed consistentwithitspredecessor.InhisErosandtheJews,David Bialecommentsthat18th-and19th-centuryHasidism,in contrastto the18th-centurycirclesofkabbalists thatpreced-ed it,clearlyfavoredrestrictivenessandeven abstinence:“Despiteits properimageas arevolutionarymovement,Hasidism actually took aconservative positionwithrespectto theseradicalpreachers.”³⁶⁸On the otherhand,MosheIdel hasidentifiedthreedifferent modelsof hasidicapproachesto femininebeauty(whichalsoim-pliesfeminineeroticattractiveness):Thefirstapproachviewsfemininebeautyas originatinginadefiledsource, andthereforeendowsit withanegativevalue;thesecondapproachviewsfemininebeautyas areflectionof thebeautyof theShekhinah,and thereforeendowsit withapositive value; andthethird ap-proachviewsfemininebeautyas theproductof holysparksthathave fallenintothehandsof thepowersof Evil,suchthat thekabbalistis taskedwithreturningthemto thesphereofthe holy.³⁶⁹Idelrefers, however,toperspectivesfoundonlyinearlyHasidism,i.e.,mainlythe Hasidismof the18thcentury.Fromthelate19thcenturyonward, it is difficultto findexpressionsof thelatter,morepos-itive attitudes.Even prior to the19thcentury,wefindaglorificationof abstinentfigures.TheBa’al ShemTovhimselftestifiedthathe practicedabstinencewith his wifefor 14years,andthathis sonHershelewasborn“by the[Divine] Word.”³⁷⁰R. DovBer,theMaggid of Mezeritch,exhortedmento lovetheirwivesastheylovetheirtefil-lin,since“in this worldoneneedsawife onlytoserveGod,andthusreachtheworldto come”andin truthone“shouldabhorherin hismind.”³⁷¹R. Avraham“theAngel”(1741–1776), theonlyson of theMaggid of Mezeritch,wasso namedbe-cause,accordingtolatertestimonies,he hadsexualintercoursewithhis wifeonly368Biale,Erosandthe Jews,130.369MosheIdel,“Yofyah shelIshah:Le-Toldotehashelha-Mystikaha-Yehudit”[“FemaleBeauty:AChapter in theHistory of JewishMysticism”], inBe-Ma’aglei Hasidim,326–327.370In Praiseof the BaalShemTov,§249, 258. Thetranslators notethat“thisstatementwasomittedfromthesecondeditionof thebookprintedinBerdichev,1815.”Onemight thinkthatthiswasdueto its Christiantone; in truth,however,the Hebrewexpressionusedhere—’al pi ha-dibbur—actual-ly means“followingadivinedecree.”371Anonymous,Tzavaatha-Rivash(Zholkev,1795), 46.https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111359052-017
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

13 HasidicBackground: Sources andTrendsfromEarlyHasidismHasidismperceivesitself as followingin thefootstepsof theKabbalah,butit isdoubtful whetherits attitudetowardssexualitywasindeed consistentwithitspredecessor.InhisErosandtheJews,David Bialecommentsthat18th-and19th-centuryHasidism,in contrastto the18th-centurycirclesofkabbalists thatpreced-ed it,clearlyfavoredrestrictivenessandeven abstinence:“Despiteits properimageas arevolutionarymovement,Hasidism actually took aconservative positionwithrespectto theseradicalpreachers.”³⁶⁸On the otherhand,MosheIdel hasidentifiedthreedifferent modelsof hasidicapproachesto femininebeauty(whichalsoim-pliesfeminineeroticattractiveness):Thefirstapproachviewsfemininebeautyas originatinginadefiledsource, andthereforeendowsit withanegativevalue;thesecondapproachviewsfemininebeautyas areflectionof thebeautyof theShekhinah,and thereforeendowsit withapositive value; andthethird ap-proachviewsfemininebeautyas theproductof holysparksthathave fallenintothehandsof thepowersof Evil,suchthat thekabbalistis taskedwithreturningthemto thesphereofthe holy.³⁶⁹Idelrefers, however,toperspectivesfoundonlyinearlyHasidism,i.e.,mainlythe Hasidismof the18thcentury.Fromthelate19thcenturyonward, it is difficultto findexpressionsof thelatter,morepos-itive attitudes.Even prior to the19thcentury,wefindaglorificationof abstinentfigures.TheBa’al ShemTovhimselftestifiedthathe practicedabstinencewith his wifefor 14years,andthathis sonHershelewasborn“by the[Divine] Word.”³⁷⁰R. DovBer,theMaggid of Mezeritch,exhortedmento lovetheirwivesastheylovetheirtefil-lin,since“in this worldoneneedsawife onlytoserveGod,andthusreachtheworldto come”andin truthone“shouldabhorherin hismind.”³⁷¹R. Avraham“theAngel”(1741–1776), theonlyson of theMaggid of Mezeritch,wasso namedbe-cause,accordingtolatertestimonies,he hadsexualintercoursewithhis wifeonly368Biale,Erosandthe Jews,130.369MosheIdel,“Yofyah shelIshah:Le-Toldotehashelha-Mystikaha-Yehudit”[“FemaleBeauty:AChapter in theHistory of JewishMysticism”], inBe-Ma’aglei Hasidim,326–327.370In Praiseof the BaalShemTov,§249, 258. Thetranslators notethat“thisstatementwasomittedfromthesecondeditionof thebookprintedinBerdichev,1815.”Onemight thinkthatthiswasdueto its Christiantone; in truth,however,the Hebrewexpressionusedhere—’al pi ha-dibbur—actual-ly means“followingadivinedecree.”371Anonymous,Tzavaatha-Rivash(Zholkev,1795), 46.https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111359052-017
© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgments VII
  3. Contents IX
  4. A Note on Interpretation and Transliteration XI
  5. Introduction: The Normative World of Hasidism as a Historical and Theoretical Question 1
  6. Part I: Hasidic Custom and Halakhah— Five Self-Perceptions
  7. 1 Introduction to Part I 15
  8. 2 Hasidic Custom as a Hyper-Halakhic Voluntary Personal Norm: The Early R. Shneur Zalman of Lyadi and R. Ḥayim of Sanz 22
  9. 3 Hasidic Custom as a Communal Norm: R. Moshe Teitelbaum of Uyhel 36
  10. 4 Hasidic Custom as a Full-Fledged Halakhic Norm: R. Yitzḥak Isaac of Komarno and R. Ya’akov of Keidan 48
  11. 5 Hasidic Custom as Custom: R. Avraham Yitzḥak Sperling and R. Shalom of Koidanov 65
  12. 6 Hasidic Custom As a Legitimate Deviation from Halakhah (‘Averah Lishmah): The Seer of Lublin and R. Tzvi Hirsch of Liszka 83
  13. 7 Hasidic Custom and Halakhah: Intermediate Summary 95
  14. Part II: Kedushah: The Sexual Abstinence of Married Men in Three Contemporary Hasidic Groups
  15. Introduction to Part II 103
  16. 8 Kedushah in Gur: The Ordinances of R. Yisrael Alter, the Beys Yisroel 105
  17. 9 Kedushah in Slonim: A Morality of Aspiration 109
  18. 10 Kedushah in Toldes Aaron: The Milder Version 112
  19. 11 Halakhic and Ethical Background (1): The Duty of ‘Onah 115
  20. 12 Halakhic and Ethical Background (2): The Dos and Don’ts of Conjugal Relations 120
  21. 13 Hasidic Background: Sources and Trends from Early Hasidism 127
  22. 14 Kedushah in its Theological Context (1): The Beys Yisroel of Gur 138
  23. 15 Kedushah in its Theological Context (2): The Nesives Sholem of Slonim 143
  24. 16 Kedushah in its Theological Context (3): The Rebbe of Toldes Aaron 150
  25. 17 The Kedushah Polemic 155
  26. 18 Kedushah in its Historical Context: Why the 20th Century? 177
  27. 19 Kedushah and Modern Hasidic Identity: Intermediate Summary and Conclusion 186
  28. Conclusion: Ethos, Custom-in-the-making, Custom, Halakhah-in-the-making, Halakhah: Normative Categories of Jewish Religiosity 188
  29. Appendices 197
  30. Bibliography 212
  31. Index 224
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111359052-017

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgments VII
  3. Contents IX
  4. A Note on Interpretation and Transliteration XI
  5. Introduction: The Normative World of Hasidism as a Historical and Theoretical Question 1
  6. Part I: Hasidic Custom and Halakhah— Five Self-Perceptions
  7. 1 Introduction to Part I 15
  8. 2 Hasidic Custom as a Hyper-Halakhic Voluntary Personal Norm: The Early R. Shneur Zalman of Lyadi and R. Ḥayim of Sanz 22
  9. 3 Hasidic Custom as a Communal Norm: R. Moshe Teitelbaum of Uyhel 36
  10. 4 Hasidic Custom as a Full-Fledged Halakhic Norm: R. Yitzḥak Isaac of Komarno and R. Ya’akov of Keidan 48
  11. 5 Hasidic Custom as Custom: R. Avraham Yitzḥak Sperling and R. Shalom of Koidanov 65
  12. 6 Hasidic Custom As a Legitimate Deviation from Halakhah (‘Averah Lishmah): The Seer of Lublin and R. Tzvi Hirsch of Liszka 83
  13. 7 Hasidic Custom and Halakhah: Intermediate Summary 95
  14. Part II: Kedushah: The Sexual Abstinence of Married Men in Three Contemporary Hasidic Groups
  15. Introduction to Part II 103
  16. 8 Kedushah in Gur: The Ordinances of R. Yisrael Alter, the Beys Yisroel 105
  17. 9 Kedushah in Slonim: A Morality of Aspiration 109
  18. 10 Kedushah in Toldes Aaron: The Milder Version 112
  19. 11 Halakhic and Ethical Background (1): The Duty of ‘Onah 115
  20. 12 Halakhic and Ethical Background (2): The Dos and Don’ts of Conjugal Relations 120
  21. 13 Hasidic Background: Sources and Trends from Early Hasidism 127
  22. 14 Kedushah in its Theological Context (1): The Beys Yisroel of Gur 138
  23. 15 Kedushah in its Theological Context (2): The Nesives Sholem of Slonim 143
  24. 16 Kedushah in its Theological Context (3): The Rebbe of Toldes Aaron 150
  25. 17 The Kedushah Polemic 155
  26. 18 Kedushah in its Historical Context: Why the 20th Century? 177
  27. 19 Kedushah and Modern Hasidic Identity: Intermediate Summary and Conclusion 186
  28. Conclusion: Ethos, Custom-in-the-making, Custom, Halakhah-in-the-making, Halakhah: Normative Categories of Jewish Religiosity 188
  29. Appendices 197
  30. Bibliography 212
  31. Index 224
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