Notes for Religious Studies 369:

Introduction to Judaism

Notes compiled primarily by N. Gibbard

In response to several crises during the 1700s, a new mystical form of Judaism appeared called Hasidism.

Hasidism was founded after Israel ben Eliezer (later called the Baal Shem Tov, or Besht) had a hitgalut, or spiritual unveiling, where his soul ascended to heaven and received certain teachings.
He and his successorswere given the title of Rebbe, in contrast to the title of Rabbi given to Talmudic scholars.
Hasidism, as a popular revivalist movement, stressed joy and the sanctification of everyday life, rather than penance and the study of Torah.
The Baal Shem taught that tikkun (repairing the world) and the
coming of the messiah could only be brought about by the active cooperation of every Jew here and now and in joy.
Joy, in this sense, is the delight of doing everything for God.
Redemption could be fulfilled by every Jew regardless of talmudic learning.

Devekut, cleaving to God, is an essential part of the plan of redemption and finds expression in prayer.
Prayer links the "world below" with the "world above" and is more important than even the study of Torah
In classic Hasidic Thought, the Zaddik was considered to embody the Torah by his Hasidic followers, and stood between God and his people as a mediator.
It was through the Zaddik, or Rebbe, that the people could be raised up.

As Hasidism grew in popularity, some traditional Jews became alarmed at Hasidic doctrines and practices and sought to combat Hasidism.

Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman the *Gaon* of Vilna

The combat began in Vilna, Lithuania and was headed by Rabbi Elijah ben Solomon Zalman.
Rabbi Elijah was well versed in secular subjects, especially natural sciences, and had an unparalleled mastery of Jewish sources.
Many of the practices of the Hasidim were seen as dangerous - and even heretical - by Rabbi Elijah, especially what he considered the undermining of the Torah as the foundation of Jewish life for the Hasidim and the threat it posed to Jewish unity.
Excommunicating the Hasidim at Vilna, Rabbi Elijah urged other congregations to follow suit.
His followers were called Mitnagdim, "opponents".

To further combat Hasidism, the Mitnagdim created regional yeshivot in order to train rabbis to oppose the Hasidim.

In an effort to respond to the emotional appeal of Hasidism, the Mitnagdim introduced the study of Musar ("ethics") into the yeshivot's curriculum.

In order to face a new threat of those wanting to reform Judaism to match outside culture, the Mitnagdim and Hasidism gradually became allies.
This was facilitated by the increasing emphasis of Torah study in Hasidism, and the Musar movement among the Mitnagdim.

The Habad movement was founded by Rebbe Shneour Zalman ben Baruch of Liadi, who sought to tone down the importance of the Zaddik as the mediator between God and the human community.
The Habad movement eventually moved its headquarters from Byelorussia to Brooklyn, New York in 1940, where it has had a continuing impact on Jewish contemporary life.
Rebbe Menachem M. Schneersohn helped make New York the center of a worldwide Jewish revival that sought to bring back "nto the fold" lapsed and non-traditional Jews.
Rebbe Schneersohn strove to reach out to non-Jews too, stressing the need to live ethically, and the importance of the Jewish people as divine agents to the world.
Together, united in doing good, the messianic age would arrive.
Following Schneerson's death, a dominant faction in the Habad movement continues to believe that he is the Messiah and will return from the dead to complete his mission.
More radical factions insist that Rabbi Schneerson is an embodiment of the divine.
This has led to some serious controversies in other Orthodox Jewish movements about whether Habad should be viewed as heretical.