Studies in East European Jewish Mysticism and Hasidism

A classic text for all those interested in Jewish religious developments in eastern Europe, this paperback has a new introduction locating Weiss's work in the context of contemporary scholarship and the current resurgence of hasidism.

'Achieved through a skilful and judicious reading of frequently tendentious and contentious Hasidic sources. This work will be of interest to historians of religion in general, and to students of the Jewish experience in eastern Europe in particular.'
John D. Klier, Slavonic Review

'One can savour each essay on its own for its enduring qualitities and perceptions regardless of the passing of time . . . The scholarship is profound, the notes are extensive, but it is also open to all inquiring minds and we must be grateful for its re-publication at this time.'
Albert H. Friedlander, European Judaism

'An impressive collection . . . the authoritative views of one of the leading experts on Hasidism.'
Geza Vermes, Society for Old Testament Study Newsletter

Joseph Weiss (1918–69) showed a single-minded commitment to identifying and describing the mystical element in hasidism and to unravelling the spiritual and historical meaning of the hasidic movement. The studies collected here, most of them written more than forty years ago, are still quoted in every serious study of hasidism. Joseph Dan’s Introduction, written specially for this paperback edition, examines Weiss’s scholarship both in the context of subsequent scholarly research and in the light of the resurgence of hasidism since the Second World War. He concludes that many of Weiss’s detailed, perceptive, and empathetic studies are as relevant to understanding developments in the contemporary hasidic world as they are for understanding the emergence and growth of hasidism in the eighteenth century.

Contents
Note on sources
Note on pronunciation

Introduction to the paperback edition by Joseph Dan: Joseph Weiss Today
Editor's introduction
Publisher's note
Some Notes on the Social Background of Early Hasidism
A Circle of Pneumatics in Pre-Hasidism
Contemplative Mysticism and 'Faith' in Hasidic Piety
Torah Study in Early Hasidism
Via Passiva in Early Hasidism
The Kavvanoth of Prayer in Early Hasidism
Petitionary Prayer in Early Hasidism
Contemplation as Solitude
Contemplation as Self-Abandonment in the Writings of Hayyim Haika of Amdura
R. Abraham Kalisker's Concept of Communion with God and Men
The Authorship and Literary Unity of the Darkhei Yesharim
The Saddik - Altering the Divine Will
The Hasidic Way of Habad
Some Notes on Ecstasy in Habad Hasidism
A Late Jewish Utopia of Religious Freedom
Sense and Nonsense in Defining Judaism - The Strange Case of Nahman of Brazlav

Index

'One can savour each essay on its own for its enduring qualitities and perceptions regardless of the passing of time . . . The scholarship is profound, the notes are extensive, but it is also open to all inquiring minds and we must be grateful for its re-publication at this time.'
Albert H. Friedlander, European Judaism

'A special strength of Weiss's scholarship is his ability to connect the specific to the general . . . All this is achieved through a skilful and judicious reading of frequently tendentious and contentious Hasidic sources. This work will be of interest to historians of religion in general, and to students of the Jewish experience in Eastern Europe in particular.'
John D. Klier, Slavonic Review

'An impressive collection . . . conveys the authoritative views of one of the leading experts on Hasidism.'
Geza Vermes, Society for Old Testament Study Newsletter