The Messianic Secret of Hasidism / / Mor Altshuler.

• Superior document: Brill's Series in Jewish Studies ; 39
• VerfasserIn: Altshuler, Mor,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden; , Boston : : BRILL,, 2006.
• Year of Publication: 2006
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Series in Jewish Studies ; 39.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (452 p.)
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

This book describes a circle of Eastern European Kabbalists that established Hasidism, an important movement that has influenced Jewish Mysticism, Yiddish culture and Hebrew literature. It uncovers the messianic motivation, concealed in Hasidic writings after the failure of their 1740-1781 attempts to hurry redemption. The book opens with the Besht, the legendary founder of Hasidism, and continues with the first Hasidic court, founded by one of his prominent disciples, the preacher of Zlotshov. The group's redemptive activities are revealed through their mystical rituals, their self-image as representatives of the ten Sefirot, and the status of their leader, "the Righteous One," as a vivid symbol of the divine influx. The book is especially important for scholars and students of Judaism as well as scholars of mysticism and messianism, seeking to comprehend the transformation of a messianic circle of devotees into a mass movement that changes the culture of an entire nation.

Table of Contents

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Credits -- Preface -- PART ONE -- Introduction: The Messianic Element in Hasidism -- Chapter One: "Time Does Not Assent to It"-Messianic Strains in the Besht's Holy Epistle -- Chapter Two: The Annals of the Zolochev Dynasty -- Chapter Three: The Beginning of R. Yeẖiel Mikhel's Career In 5532 (1772) -- Chapter Four: Linkage -- Chapter Five: A Tiqqun Leil Shavuʿot in R. Yeẖiel Mikhel's Prayer House -- Chapter Six: On the Character of the Group -- Chapter Seven: Iyyar 5541 (April-May 1781)-The Dissemination of the Torah's Mysteries and the Death of R. Yeẖiel Mikhel -- Chapter Eight: The Sweet Fruit of Messianism -- Chapter Nine: The Hasidic Immigration of 5537 (1777) -- Summary: From Esoteric Group to Mass Movement -- PART TWO -- Anthology: Disciples and Writings -- PART THREE -- Appendix I The Besht's Holy Epistle-Editions And Versions -- Appendix II: Hasidic Conduct Literature -- Introduction -- Chapter One: Descent For The Sake Of The Ascent -- Chapter Two: Equanimity -- Chapter Three: Torah Study -- Chapter Four: Prayer -- Appendix III Family Tree -- PART FOUR -- Bibliography -- Index -- INDEX OF PERSONALITIES -- INDEX OF WRITINGS -- INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND PLACES.