Course Name and Number

Course Name and Number: Introduction to Hasidic Thought 03-457-83 03-457-84 Type of course: Lecture Year of Studies: 2009-2010 Semester: Fall & Spring Hours/credits: 4 Course Description: The course will offer an introduction to the rich world of Hasidic thought, called by Prof. Gershom Scholem: “The last great mystical movement in Judaism.” Though drawing on basic ideas from Kabbalah, the Hasidic movement developed its own unique approach to the central questions of life. Each class will examine a different issue in hasidic philosophy, addressing such issues as the purpose of life, the nature of the Torah, the significance of the mitzvot, prayer, Shabbat and holidays, etc. The history and customs of the Hasidic movement as well as its major personalities will also be discussed.

Second semester will focus in on the teachings of some of the more radical thinkers of the movement, with an analysis of the writings of R. Nachman of Breslov, R. Mordechai Leiner of Izhbitz, R. Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin, and R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Gur, as well as some contemporary Hasidic teachers.

Texts will be read in the original Hebrew, with English translation. Several seforim will need to be purchased for the class.

Among the topics to be discussed in the course of the year:

1. The social origins of Hasidism 2. The personality of its founder, the Baal Shem Tov. 3. G-d and man. 4. The Purpose of Creation. 5. The Order of Creation. 6. Constriction (Tzimtzum). 7. Good and Evil. 8. The Human Soul. 9. Man as a Microcosm. 10. Free Will and G-d’s Foreknowledge. 11. Israel – the Chosen People 12. the Patriarchs 13. The Exodus 14. Revelation at Sinai 15. The Primeval Torah 16. The Hebrew Language

1 17. Israel and the Nations 18. Speech 19. Prayer 20. Mitzvot 21. Kashrut 22. Torah study 23. The Shabbat 24. Holidays 25. Charity 26. Sin and Repentance 27. Clothing and Hasidic garb 28. The Shekhinah. 29. Devekut 30. The Messianic Age 31. The Resurrection 32. Reward and Punishment 33. The World-to-Come

Course requirements Texts Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah, R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov Likutey Moharan, R. Nachman of Breslov Mei HaShiloach, R. Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izhbitz Tzidkat HaTzadik, R. Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin Sefat Emet, R. R. Yehudah Aryeh Leib of Gur

Grade Components - Number grade. Midterm 35% Final paper 35% Attendance and participation 30%

Bibliography: Primary Sources: R. Dov Baer of Mezhirech. 1981. Likutim Yekarim. Lemberg: Yehuda Shlomo Rapaport, 1792; Yeshivat Toldot Aharon. R. Elimelekh of Lyzhansk. Noam Elimelekh. Lemberg:1788; Mosad HaRav Kook, 1978. R. Jacob Joseph Ha-Kohen of Polenoye. Ben Porat Yosef. Korez: Zvi Hirsh ben Aryeh Leib & Shemuel ben Yisakhar Baer Segel, 1781. ______. Toldot Yaakov Yosef. Korez: Zvi Hirsh ben Aryeh Leib, Yisakhar Baer Segel, 1780; Wagshal, 1973. R. Kalonymos Kalman Epstein. Ma’or va-Shemesh. Vol. 3, Braslau:1842; Ohr Yisrael, 1988. R. Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk. Pri ha-Arez. Kopys:1911; HaMesorah, 1989. R. Menahem Nahum of Chernobyl. Me’or Eynayim. Jerusalem:. R. Moshe Haim Ephraim of Sidilkov. Degel Mahane Ephraim. Korzec:1810.

2 R. Nahman Goldstein of Tcherin. Derekh Hasidim. Lemberg:1876; Ben Adam, 1983. ______. Lashon Hasidim. Lemberg:1876; Ben Adam, 1983. R. Shneur Zalman of Liady. Likutey Amarim, Tanya. Slavuta: Dov Baer ben Yisrael & Dov Baer ben Pesah, 1796; Kehot, 1982.

Secondary Sources:

Berger, David. The Rebbe, The Messiah and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference. London: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001. Brill, Alan. “The Intellectual Mysticism of Rabbi Zadok Hakohen of Lublin.” Doctoral diss., Fordham University. 1994.

Buxbaum, Yitzhak, Jewish Spiritual Practices, Northvale, NJ. Aronson,

Dan, Joseph, The language of mystical prayer, Studies in Spirituality 5 (1995), pp. 40–60. [Appeared also in Jewish Mysticism, [by] Joseph Dan, Vol. III, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1999]. Dan, Joseph. “The Mystical Denial of Language.” In Revelation, Reason, and Faith: Essays in Honor of Truman G. Madsen, D. Parry, D. Peterson & S.D. Ricks. 543-563. Provo, Utah: Bringham Young University, 2002.

Dresner, Samuel, The Zaddik: The Doctrine of the Zaddik According to the Writings of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoy, New York, 1960. Dresner, Samuel. The Zaddik. New York: Schocken, 1960.

Dubnow, Simon, The Besht and the Center in Podolia, in Essential Papers on Hasidism, Gershon Hundert (Ed.), New York: New York University Press, 1991, pp. 25–58. Elior, Rachel. Freedom on the Tablets: Hasidic Thought, Mystical Origins, and Kabbalistic Foundations. Israel: Ministry of Defense, 1999. (Hebrew) Etkes Immanuel. Ba’al Hashem, The Besht – Magic, Mysticism Leadership. Jerusalem: Zalman Shazar Center for Jewish History, 2000. (Hebrew)

Etkes, Immanuel, The Zaddik and the Relationship between Religious Doctrine and Social Organization, in Hasidism Reappraised. Ed. by Ada Rapoport-Albert, London: Vallentine, Mitchell (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization), 1996, pp. 159–168. Fishbane, Michael. “To Jump for Joy: The Rites of Dance According to Rabbi Nahman of Bratzlav.” Journal of Jewish Thought (The Netherlands) 6 (1997): 371-387. Green, Arthur. “The Zaddiq as Axis Mundi in Later Judaism.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion (Chamberburg, Pa.) 45, 3 (1977): 327-347. Green, Arthur. Upright Practices, The Light of the Eyes. New York: Paulist Press, 1982. Idel, Moshe. Hasidism, Between Ecstasy and Magic. Albany, N.Y: SUNY Press, 1995. Jacobs, Louis. “The Uplifting of Sparks in Later Jewish Mysticism.” In Jewish Spirituality II, Arthur Green. 99-126. New York: Crossroads, 1987.

3 Jacobs, Louis. Hasidic Prayer. London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1972.

Kaplan, Aryeh, The Light Beyond: Adventures in Hassidic Thought. New York: Moznaim, 1981.

Krassen, Miles, "Devequt and Faith in Zaddiqim: The Religious Tracts of Meshullam Feibush Heller of Zbarazh." Doctoral diss., University of Pennsylvania, 1990.

Loewenthal, Naftali. "Women and the Dialectic of Spirituality in Hasidism." In Within Hasidic Circles, ed. Etkes, Immanuel, D. Assaf, I. Bartal, E. Reiner. 7- 65. Jerusalem: Bialik Inst., 1999. Loewenthal, Naftali. “Lower Union” – The Crux of Habad Mysticism.” Unpublished Rapoport Albert, Ada. “Two Focal Points of Hasidic Worship.” In Essential Papers in Hasidism, D. Hundert. 296-325. New York: New York University Press, 1991. Schatz-Uffenheimer, Rivkah. Hasidism as Mysticism: Quietistic Elements in Eighteenth Century Hasidic Thought. Translated by J. Chipman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1993. Scholem, Gershom. “Devekut, or Communion with G-d.” Chap. in The Messianic Idea in Judaism. 203-227. New York: Schocken, 1971. Scholem, Gershom. “General Characteristics of Jewish Mysticism.” Chap. in Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. 1-39. New York: Schocken, 1941. Travis, Yakov. “Adorning the Souls of the Dead: Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav and Tikkun Ha-Neshamot.” In God’s Voice from the Void, Shaul Magid. 155-192. Albany, N.Y: Suny Press, 2002. Wertheim, Aharon. “Traditions and Customs in Hasidism.” In Essential Papers in Hasidism, ed. G. Hundert. 363-398. New York: New York University Press, 1991.