Movement

Hasidism

The Jewish pietist movement founded in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe.

Also called Ḥasidut

A movement of Judaism

Introduction

Hasidism, from ḥasid, “pious”, is a movement of Jewish spiritual revival that arose in Podolia and Volhynia in the eighteenth century and traces itself to the Baal Shem Tov. It brought the ideas of Kabbalah into the devotional life of ordinary Jews, teaching that God fills all the worlds and can be served in joy and in every ordinary act.

At the heart of Hasidism is devekut, cleaving to God, in prayer that is fervent and joyful, and in eating, work and conversation. The holy sparks of Lurianic Kabbalah are present in all things, and every act done for the sake of heaven raises them. Melody, storytelling and community are central to its life.

Hasidism is organized around the rebbe, or tzaddik, “righteous one”, a spiritual leader whose followers seek his blessing, counsel and teaching, and whose court becomes the centre of a community. Leadership often passes within families, and the movement is divided into many dynasties named after towns.

History

Historical

After the Baal Shem Tov’s death in 1760, his disciple Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch, gathered students who spread the movement across Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Hungary. The first Hasidic book, Jacob Joseph of Polonne’s Toledot Yaakov Yosef, was printed in 1780; Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founder of Ḥabad, published the Tanya in 1796.

The movement was fiercely opposed by the Mitnagdim, “opponents”, led by the Vilna Gaon, who issued bans against it from 1772. By the nineteenth century, however, Hasidism had become a major part of Eastern European Jewry, and opposition gave way to coexistence. Among its great figures were Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev and Naḥman of Bratslav.

Hasidic communities were devastated in the Holocaust, but were rebuilt, above all in Israel and the United States, and are today among the fastest-growing Jewish communities. Through Martin Buber and others, Hasidic stories and teachings reached a wide modern readership.

c. 1740–1760The Baal Shem Tov teaches in Międzybóż
1772The first bans of the Mitnagdim
1780Toledot Yaakov Yosef, the first Hasidic book, is printed
1796Shneur Zalman of Liadi publishes the Tanya
1814–1815In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov is printed
1906–1908Martin Buber’s retellings of Hasidic tales

Major thinkers

Key concepts

Important texts

Convergence and divergence

Resemblance and difference, given equal room. Each note is marked with the kind of statement it makes.

Areas of convergence

Immanence, with Sufism
Scholarship
Hasidic and Sufi teaching both stress finding God within daily life and devotion, under a master whose presence and blessing guide the disciple.

Areas of divergence

Devekut, with Kabbalah
Historical
Hasidism made devekut and the raising of sparks the work of every Jew, where earlier Kabbalah reserved them for small circles of the learned; this was one reason for the opposition of the Mitnagdim.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “Hasidism.” Tradition. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/hasidism.
Chicago (note): “Hasidism,” tradition, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/hasidism.
MLA: “Hasidism.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/hasidism.
BibTeX: @misc{traditions-hasidism, title = {{Hasidism}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Tradition. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/traditions/hasidism} }

Also in this tradition

Naḥman of Bratslav1772–1810Hasidic master and storyteller, great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, who taught secluded prayer and joy amid despair.