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'Hasidic Philosophy' or 'Chassidic philosophy' (Hebrew: חסידות, also 'Hassidism', 'Chassidus' or 'Chassidut' or 'Chasidut') is the teachings and philosophy underlying Hasidic Judaism.
Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer (The Baal Shem Tov), introduced these teachings and founded the Hasidic movement in the 18th century. His disciples, most notably Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, spread and developed the philosophy.

Contents

Essentials of Hasidic philosophy

Further elaboration

Hasidic philosophy and the other levels of Torah

Schools of thought

Notable works

Goals of Hasidic philosophy

Hasidism versus Musar

The key to all wisdom

Connection to the Jewish Messiah

See also

External links

Essentials of Hasidic philosophy

★ 'D'veikut': Hasidism teaches that ''d'veikut'' (lit. bonding, Hebrew: דביקות), or bonding with God, is the highest form of God's service and the ultimate goal of all Torah study, prayer, and fulfilling the Mitzvot, or religious commandments. The highest level of d'veikut is ''Hitpashtut Hagashmiut'' (Hebrew: התפשטות הגשמיות), which is an elevated state of consciousness in which one attains high levels of ecstasy in his attachment to the divine. The very act of striving toward d'veikut is meant to elevate one's spiritual awareness and sensitivity, and to add life, vigor and joy to one's religious observance and daily actions.

★ 'Hitbonenut': One of the methods through which to experience ''d'veikut'' is ''hitbonenut'' (Hebrew: התבוננות), which is a method for contemplating God and His greatness (see Jewish meditation) and the inner significance of the Mitzvot.

★ 'Character Refinement': An important element in Hasidic philosophy is the essential task of character refinement and improving interpersonal relationships, known as ''tikun hamidot'', "the rectifying of of the character traits" or ''sh'virat hamidot'' (Hebrew: שבירת המדות), the "breaking of the character traits." Negative character traits, such as arrogance, jealousy, resentment, and the pursuits of wealth or honor, are considered a hindrance in man's ability to achieve a bonding, or ''d'veikut'', with God.

★ 'Godliness in all Matter': Hasidism teaches of the necessity to extract and elevate the divine in all material things, both animate and inanimate. As taught in earlier Kabalistic teachings, all worldly matter is imbued with ''nitzotzot'' (Hebrew: ניצוצות), or divine sparks, which were disseminated through the "breaking of the vessels" (in Hebrew: שבירת הכלים), brought about through the sins of primordial man. The Hasid strives to elevate the sparks in all those material things that aid one's prayer, Torah study, religious commandments, and overall service of God.

A related concept is the imperative to enagage with the divine through mundane acts, such as eating, sexual relations, and other day-to-day activities. Hasidism teaches that all actions can be utilized for the service of God when fulfilled with such intent. Eating can be elevated through reciting the proper blessings before and after, while maintaining the act's intent as that of keeping the body healthy for the continued service of God. Sexual relations can be elevated by abstaining from excessive pursuits of sexual pleasures, while maintaining focus on its core purpose, procreation, a posititive commandment. Business transactions too, when conducted within the parameters of Jewish law and for the sake of monetary gain that will then be used for fulfilling commandments, serves a righteous purpose.

★ 'Joy': Hasidism emphasizes joy as a precondition to elevated spiritual awareness, and teaches the avoidance of melancholy at all costs. Furthermore, Hasidism warns that excessive obsession with trivialities and minutia of Jewish law can become an unnecessary hindrance in the service of God due to its potentially disheartening nature. For the same reason, Hasidism shuns the practice of asceticism known to earlier kabbalists, as having the potential to induce down-heartedness and a weaker spirit for God's service.

★ 'Valuing the Simple Jew': Despite the high intelectual content of Hasidism's core teachings, Hasidism became wildly popular largely for its embrace of the masses, or the "simple Jew". As opposed to the prevailing attitudes of the time that belittled the non-scholar, Hasidism, through its emphasis on d'veikut, or bonding with God, as the ultimate purpose of 'all' commandments, relegated Torah study to being merely one—albeit one supremely important—commandment of many. Furthermore, with its shunning of arrogance, it emphasized the equality of all who approach the service of God with sincere intent, going so far as to elevate the ignorant but sincere simpleton over the haughty scholar.

★ 'Bonding with the Righteous': Hasidism teaches that while not all are able to attain the highest levels of elevated spirituality, the masses can attach themselves to the ''tzadik'', or truly righteous one, (in Hebrew: התקשרות לצדיקים) whereby even those of lesser achievement will reap the same spiritual and material benefits. By being in the tzadik's presence one could achieve d'veikut through that of the tzadik. The tzadik also serves as the intercessor between those attached to him and God, and acts as the channel through which divine bounty is passed.

Further elaboration

Hasidic philosophy teaches that knowledge of God is the essence of the Torah and of everything in the world. Hasidic Philosophy (along with Kabbalah) is also known as 'Pnimiyut HaTorah', the Inner Dimension of the Torah.
The first premise of Hasidic Philosophy is God and His unity: That God transcends everything and, yet, is found in everything. God transcends all forms and limitations, even the most sublime. To God all forms are equal, and so His intents can be discovered in all of them equally. All existence is an expression of His Being. In the Baal Shem Tov's words, "God is everything and everything is God."
(This is a very subtle and difficult subject, based on the idea of 'Tzimtzum', and different from both pantheism and panentheism.)
This premise means that everything is an infinite revelation of God, even the smallest and most trivial thing. This basic axiom leads to four points which are the pillars of the Ba'al Shem Tov's approach:
# Torah: According to the Ba'al Shem Tov the Torah is all God's "names." This means that every detail of the Torah is an infinite revelation of God, and there is no end to what we can discover from it. Just as God is infinite so is the meaning of the Torah infinite.

The Ba'al Shem Tov often explains a verse or word in unconventional, and sometimes contradictory ways, only to show how all of these interpretations connect and are one. The Baal Shem Tov would even explain how all of the combinations of a word's letters connect.
# Divine Providence:

a) According to the Ba'al Shem Tov every event is guided by Divine Providence. Even the way a leaf blows in the wind, is part of the Divine plan.

b) Every detail is ''essential'' to the perfection of the entire world. If things weren't exactly this way, the entire Divine plan would not be fulfilled.

c) This Divine purpose is what creates and gives life to this thing. Thus, its entire existence is Divine.

Based on this, the Ba'al Shem Tov preached that one must learn a Godly lesson in everything one encounters. Ignoring His presence in every factor of existence is seen as a spiritual loss.
# Inherent Value: The Ba'al Shem Tov teaches that even a simple Jew is inherently as valuable as a great sage. For all Jews are "God's children" (Deuteronomy 14:1), and a child mirrors his father's image and nature. And, just as God is eternal and his Torah and Commandments are eternal, so are his people eternal. Even the least Jew is seen as a crown that glorifies God.
# Brotherly Love: The command to love another, according to the Baal Shem Tov, does not mean simply being nice. Rather, one must constantly strive to banish negative traits and cultivate good ones. This command encompasses one's entire life.
Other aspects of the Ba'al Shem Tov's approach: One should strive to permanently rectify negativity and not just suppress it. The effort in one's divine service is most important. If God wanted perfection, He would not have created us with faults and struggles. Rather, God desires our effort and struggle and challenges.

Hasidic philosophy and the other levels of Torah

Classic Jewish teachings interpret the Torah (and sometimes, all other Jewish Scriptures) on four levels. They are:

★ 'Pshat': Plain meaning of the text

★ 'Remez': Hinted Meaning, how something in Torah relates to something larger in the world

★ 'Drush': The Mitvos and moral lessons. From the word 'Doresh'-what the Torah demands morally

★ 'Sod': Kabbalah; Deep and mystical secrets of the Torah
Hasidism considers itself the "essence" of all those four levels, appreciating the Godliness in each level and how all the levels connect.
This means that even someone at a low level of appreciation of the Torah (e.g. he is on the level of 'Pshat') can still have an appreciation of Hasidism because it reveals the inherent essence in all the levels. Hasidism also provides the tools for the intellectual and theoretical understanding to be applied to practical life.

Schools of thought

With the spread of Hasidism throughout Russia, Poland, and Hungary a number of divergent schools emerged within Hasidism.


★ 'Chabad': The Chabad school was formulated by Shneur Zalman of Liadi in his classic work Tanya, in which the principles of Chabad-Hasidic thought are expounded systematically and comprehensively. Chabad emphasized in-depth study of Hasidic philosophy (as opposed to mainstream Hasidic schools, who believed the study of Hasidism to be a tool and a means, rather than an end in itself). Followers of the Chabad school are, generally speaking, those of the Lubavitch sect.

★ 'Breslov': Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, in his general encouragement of emotional intensity, taught the importance of being joyful in the extreme at all times. He advised the practice of ''hitbodedut'' (Hebrew: התבודדות) among his followers; a form of prayer in which the Hasid seeks out solitude and speaks to God in his native tongue about his most personal matters.

★ 'Kotzk': Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk demanded of his followers uncompromising honesty. Placing truthfulness, both toward oneself and others, as the highest value, and self-deceit as the lowest, Kotzk became synonymous among Hasidim with harsh and demanding attitudes, and intolerance for hypocrisy and self-righteousness.

★ 'Satmar': A more recent divergence is the school of Satmar as formulated by Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. An uncompromising traditionalist, he advocated absolute contempt for those who veered from Orthodoxy, and maintained that the slightest association with ''resha'im'', or evil-doers, has the power to cause severe spiritual downgrading. Satmar taught fierce opposition to all modern expressions of Jewish culture that are not strictly within the confines of ultra-traditional Orthodoxy. Teitelbaum's most notable battles were against Zionism and the Orthodox groups (some of them Hasidic) that recognized them.

Notable works

The first published works of Hasidic philosophy were authored by the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov and his successor Dovber of Mezeritch. These include:

★ Toldos Yakov Yosef, by Jacob Joseph of Polnoye (1710-1784)

★ Likutei Amarim (Tanya), by Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812)

★ Meor Einayim, by Menachem Nachum Twerski of Chernobyl (1730-1797)

★ Magid Devarav L'yakov, by Dovber of Mezritch (1704-1772), compiled by Shlomo of Lutzk

★ Noam Elimelech, by Elimelech of Lizhensk (1717-1786)

★ Kedushas Levi, by Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1810)
Notable works of later periods include:

★ Likutei Moharan, by Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810)

★ Be'er Mayim Chaim and Siduro Shel Shabbos, by Chaim of Chernovitz

★ Benei Yisoschor, by Zvi Elimelech of Dinov

Goals of Hasidic philosophy

Hasidic Philosophy has four main goals:
# Revival: At the time when Rabbi Yisrael Ba'al Shem Tov founded Hasidism, the Jews were physically crushed by massacres (in particular, those of the Cossack leader Chmelnitzki in 1648-1649) and poverty, and spiritually crushed by the disappointment engendered by the false messiahs. This unfortunate combination caused religious observance to seriously wane. This was especially true in Eastern Europe, where Hasidism began. Hasidism came to revive the Jews physically and spiritually. It focused on helping Jews establish themselves financially, and then lifting their moral and religious observance through its teachings.
# Piety: A Hasid, in classic Torah literature, refers to one of piety beyond the letter of the law. Hasidism demands and aims at cultivating this extra degree of piety.
# Refinement: Hasidism teaches that one should not merely strive to improve one's character by learning new habits and manners. Rather a person should completely change the quality, depth and maturity of one's nature. This change is accomplished by internalizing and integrating the perspective of Hasidic Philosophy.
# Demystification: In Hasidism, it is believed that the esoteric teachings of Kabbalah can be made understandable to everyone. This understanding is meant to help refine a person, as well as adding depth and vigor to one's ritual observance.
In general, Hasidism claims to prepare the world for Moshiach, the Jewish Messiah, through these four achievements.
In a letter, the Ba'al Shem Tov describes how one Rosh Hashana his soul ascended to the chamber of Moshiach, where he asked Moshiach, "when will the master (Moshiach) come." Moshiach answered him, "when the wellsprings of your teachings, which I have taught you, will be spread out."

Hasidism versus Musar

Musar helps a person to appreciate the intellectual and spiritual and Godly matters to decrease attachment to the bodily and physical things. Hasidism responds that as much as one will run from physical things, one can never truly succeed in this because we are found in a physical world. Hasidism teaches that, ultimately, one must have both the spiritual and the physical together to prosper in one's service of God. This is a two step process. First one must be able to appreciate the spiritual and Godly, but then one must connect this inspiration back to seeing Godliness in the mundane world. Therefore, physicality is not suppressed, but transformed, such that it is not differentiated from divinity but is filled with it, as it serves it. [1]

The key to all wisdom

Hasidism offers an analogy to explain the difference between learning Hasidism and other parts of the Torah.
It was once asked: What is the difference between Rambam and Aristotle?
Torah vs. Wisdom. Both are philosophers and scientists.
The answer was that Aristotle is like a person trying to draw a circle and find its center. This is a difficult job. The Torah, by contrast, starts with the center then goes and can make a circle of any size around it, and it will always be in the center. Likewise, once one grasps Hasidism, it is believed that he will have the key to all the other aspects of the Torah because he will understand its underlying message. Once the inner point of the Torah is grasped (the middle of the circle) the only job is then to learn how to put it into practice in daily life which is what the other levels teach a person to do.

Connection to the Jewish Messiah

Hasidism tries to find the good in everything. It does not say that the bad becomes good, but rather that in the bad itself—in the struggle—we find Godliness.
This is synonymous with the concept of the Jewish Messiah which is an era in which even things we saw as being bad we will see as being good. Life before the times of the Jewish Messiah and redemption are compared to characters living within the story. But with Moshiach we will see things from outside of the story and see how we are all like actors and God is directing the show. Outside the story, even the bad is good because the struggle is what makes the story worth reading.
We, like actors playing a role, can express freely, not trapped by the particular character we are playing. Really one can act freely with the mask. We make this self-image, thinking that we have our certain qualities and self-imposed limitations, and this stops us from expressing our true selves.
Hasidism wants us to get in touch with that essence so we are able to act in the world with whatever character is best at the time. In this way a person can come in touch with his real self and be free to choose how to act.
Hasidism tries to give us a taste of Moshiach-and bring this type of awareness into the world which itself will bring Moshiach by bringing a personal redemption to each person.
The Ba'al Shem Tov maintained that God is everything and everything is God. Torah is considered all the names of HaShem (God), not anything definite just the way you call them. So too Torah is considered infinite; one can always see more and more revealing an infinite God.
Hasidic philosophy also reemphasizes and expands upon the Jewish belief in Divine Providence. Before the Ba'al Shem Tov there was the general idea that God is watching over us. The Ba'al Shem Tov said that not only is God watching over everything, but even a feather in the wind and other seemingly minute details have infinite importance and are essential to the entire existence of creation.
Since, according to Hasidism, God is choosing everything that happens in the world without any external influences that he wants exactly like that, therefore everything that goes on is a unique expression of Him.
The purpose of Torah and Mitzvos is seen as only a revealing of that connection, not creating it (like father and son-the son may walk more or less in his father's footsteps, but this will never change the fact that he is his son. This is an essential connection).
Hasidic philosophy also stresses the concept of love of the fellow Jew. According to Hasidic philosophy, loving another fellow Jew is not just a good character trait but rather it should be one's whole life’s work to cultivate good character traits.

See also

★ Jewish meditation

★ Tanya

★ Seder hishtalshelus

★ Chabad

★ Breslov

★ Satmar

★ Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society, , Glenn, Dynner, Oxford University Press, 2006,

★ On the Essence of Chassidus, , Menachem Mendel, Schneerson, Kehot Publication Society, 1998,

External links

★ A website dedicated to the study of hasidic philosophy

★ Hasidism from Chabad.org

★ Breslov teachings Breslov (Hasidic dynasty)