Hasidism’s emergence at the dawn of modernity – and the movement’s subsequent, unprecedented success – can be attributed to Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem Tov’s skillful use of surprising sources to weave innovation into the fabric of Jewish tradition, creating a way of life at once old and new

Accounting for roughly half of ultra-Orthodox Jewry, Hasidism is more popular than ever. Even Modern Orthodoxy has been deeply affected by neo-Hasidic trends, including the study of Hasidic texts and the adoption of Hasidic prayer, music, and customs. In addition, virtually the only two points of entry into Jewish observance are the Hasidic sects of Lubavitch and Bratslav. And secular Israelis connect to Judaism largely through lectures on Hasidic literature and depictions of Hasidic life on stage and screen. Martin Buber was right, it seems, when he declared over a century ago that Judaism could never be revived without recourse to the wellsprings of Hasidism.

As a result of this resounding success story, scholars are devoting increased attention to the founder of this 17th-century movement and the historic context of its development from the 19th century onward.

[…] our holy and awe-inspiring rabbi, our teacher Elimelekh of Lizhensk [Leżajsk, Poland], […] grieved terribly at having never met the Ba’al Shem Tov [known by the acronym Besht] and longed to see him. Once, at midnight, there came a knocking at Rabbi Elimelekh’s window, [informing him] that at that moment, he could behold the holy Besht. Opposite his house was a low mountain, on which he saw a great fire burning, and within it a man’s form. This was the holy Ba’al Shem Tov, Rabbi Elimelekh was told. Then the fire exploded into six hundred thousand sparks, each embodying the holy Besht. (Grand Rabbi Yitzhak Isaac Weiss of Spinka, introduction to the Ba’al Shem Tov’s commentary on the Torah, Genesis [1997], p. 10 [Hebrew])

Six hundred thousand is the number of souls traditionally attributed to the nation of Israel at the Exodus. According to the relatively late Hasidic anecdote above, then, every Jew also has his own Ba’al Shem Tov. Indeed, every modern scholar of Hasidism seems to cast the founder of the movement in his own image. If even Rabbi Elimelekh mourned his lack of acquaintance with his famous contemporary, what can we say of the Besht over two hundred years later?

Framing Words | HASID

The Hasidic movement didn’t invent the term hasid. The Bible, and particularly the Psalmist, uses this word to describe someone devoted to God and good deeds; for example, “Keep my soul, for I am a hasid […] who trusts in You” (Psalms 86:2). Nor was Hasidism the first to apply the term to a group. Tannaitic (Mishnaic-era) sources refer to “the early Hasidim,” such as Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the circle-drawer, renowned not for their erudition but for their prayer or devotion to their fellow man. In 12th-century Germany, select sages were also known as Hasidim, the most famous being Rabbi Judah He-hasid, author of Sefer Hasidim. These pietists went well beyond the letter of Jewish law, adopting asceticism and methods of self-isolation derived from Jewish mysticism. They’re generally referred to as “Ashkenazic Hasidim,” as distinct from the 18th-century Hasidic movement.