Hasidism: A New History

by David Biale (Author), Benjamin Brown (Author), David Assaf (Author), Benjamin Brown (Author), David Assaf (Author), David Biale (Author)

New
Hardcover
2017
$70.30

The first comprehensive history of the pietistic movement that shaped modern Judaism This is the first comprehensive history of the pietistic movement that shaped modern Judaism. The book's unique blend of intellectual, religious, and social history offers perspectives on the movement's leaders as well as its followers, and demonstrates that, far from being a throwback to the Middle Ages, Hasidism is a product of modernity that forged its identity as a radical alternative to the secular world. Hasidism originated in southeastern Poland, in mystical circles centered on the figure of Israel Baal Shem Tov, but it was only after his death in 1760 that a movement began to spread. Challenging the notion that Hasidism ceased to be a creative movement after the eighteenth century, this book argues that its first golden age was in the nineteenth century, when it conquered new territory, won a mass following, and became a mainstay of Jewish Orthodoxy. World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Holocaust decimated eastern European Hasidism. But following World War II, the movement enjoyed a second golden age, growing exponentially. Today, it is witnessing a remarkable renaissance in Israel, the United States, and other countries around the world. Written by an international team of scholars, Hasidism is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand this vibrant and influential modern Jewish movement.

Synopsis

The first comprehensive history of the pietistic movement that shaped modern Judaism This is the first comprehensive history of the pietistic movement that shaped modern Judaism. The book's unique blend of intellectual, religious, and social history offers perspectives on the movement's leaders as well as its followers, and demonstrates that, far from being a throwback to the Middle Ages, Hasidism is a product of modernity that forged its identity as a radical alternative to the secular world. Hasidism originated in southeastern Poland, in mystical circles centered on the figure of Israel Baal Shem Tov, but it was only after his death in 1760 that a movement began to spread. Challenging the notion that Hasidism ceased to be a creative movement after the eighteenth century, this book argues that its first golden age was in the nineteenth century, when it conquered new territory, won a mass following, and became a mainstay of Jewish Orthodoxy. World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Holocaust decimated eastern European Hasidism. But following World War II, the movement enjoyed a second golden age, growing exponentially. Today, it is witnessing a remarkable renaissance in Israel, the United States, and other countries around the world. Written by an international team of scholars, Hasidism is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand this vibrant and influential modern Jewish movement.

$70.30

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 896
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 31 Oct 2017
ISBN 10: 0691175152
ISBN 13: 9780691175157

Media Reviews

Hasidism . . . is a tremendous work of research.---Shalom Auslander, Times Literary Supplement
The book is notable for smashing various well-worn myths about Hasidism, and presenting new insights that place the movement at the center of European Jewish history, a major shaper of that history rather than a marginal aberration.---Sue Fishkoff, Jweekly
These eight modern sages managed to produce a fascinating book that embodies their collective wisdom and style in a seamless and highly illuminating work of authorship. This, too, strikes me as something of a miracle.---Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal
Likely to be the definitive work on Judaism's equivalent of charismatic Protestantism.---Marvin Olasky, World
Enormously informative, monumental volume.---George Prochnik, Los Angeles Review of Books
Hasidic Jews are among the most highly visible and fastest growing of all the world's Jewish subcultures. They are also among the least understood and enigmatic of Jewish communities. The veil of obscurity has been lifted thanks to this volume, which represents the very latest and best scholarship on Hasidism's history and culture. A cause for celebration, Hasidism is a magnificent achievement. --John M. Efron, author of German Jewry and the Allure of the Sephardic
A landmark book--the only one that treats the entire history of Hasidism. --Gershon David Hundert, author of Jews in Poland-Lithuania in the Eighteenth Century
Hasidism: A New History . . . is a monumental scholarly achievement and a great contribution to the understanding of one of the most important movements in Jewish life in the modern period.---Moshe Halbertal, New York Review of Books
The world of Hasidism can be enthralling with just the double edge that the word implies. But how did it come into being and how has it survived, this uncanny Jewish cousin of European modernity itself? Hasidism answers that compelling question better than it has ever been answered before. --Jack Miles, general editor of The Norton Anthology of World Religions
This extensive and authoritative volume is unprecedented in its scope, breadth, and depth. It provides the first real comprehensive history of Hasidism that spans the entire movement from its beginnings to the present. --Shaul Magid, author of Hasidism Incarnate: Hasidism, Christianity, and the Construction of Modern Judaism

Author Bio

David Biale is the Emanuel Ringelblum Distinguished Professor of Jewish History at the University of California, Davis. David Assaf is professor of Jewish history at Tel Aviv University. Benjamin Brown is professor of Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Uriel Gellman is lecturer in Jewish history at Bar-Ilan University. Samuel Heilman is Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Moshe Rosman is professor of Jewish history at Bar-Ilan University. Gadi Sagiv is senior lecturer in Jewish history at the Open University of Israel. Marcin Wodzi?ski is professor of Jewish studies at the University of Wroc?aw.