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FULL TEXT!! This volume publishes for the first time an untitled anti-Hasidic manuscript, which the editors have called Reshit Hokhmah (The Origin/Beginning of Wisdom), from the Joseph Perl Archive in Tarnopol. The manuscript was copied... more
FULL TEXT!! This volume publishes for the first time an untitled anti-Hasidic manuscript, which the editors have called Reshit Hokhmah (The Origin/Beginning of Wisdom), from the Joseph Perl Archive in Tarnopol. The manuscript was copied in 1819, the year that Perl’s Megale Temirin was published. It is housed today in the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. The identity of the author is unknown, but he probably came from Galicia and was associated with Mitnagdim and Maskilim. The book expresses harsh and detailed criticism of the hagiographic work, Shivhei ha-Besht (In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov, Kapost 1815), which is the first extensive engagement with this book. Moreover, the work is erudite and anticipates the views of Isaac Baer Levinson in his work Te‘udah be-Yisrael (A Warning to Israel, Vilna and Grodno 1828). The manuscript was read by many Maskilim in Galicia and it seems to have influenced both Joseph Perl and Isaac Baer Levinson. This work is therefore of great importance as an example of anti-Hasidic literature, which influenced nineteenth-century Haskalah literature. A transcription of the manuscript is presented in this volume, accompanied by explanatory notes, references to literature that influenced the author, references to anti-Hasidic literature, and an introduction that describes the character of the work and its reception.
Table of Contents
Early Manuscripts in Joseph Perl Archive / Jonatan Meir
Introduction / Shmuel Werses
Reshit Hokhmah (1819): Critical Edition
Introduction • The History of Heresy • In Praise of Wisdom and The Sages • On the Ways of the Fools • Hasidic Tales and their Secrets • On the Besht’s Path • The Besht’s Family • The Secret of Healing a Barren Woman • A Hasidic Sermon on Wine and Sons • Another Question and a Sermon on the Secrets • A Question and Sermon on Hasidic Tales • A Story about the Wonders of the great Tzaddik • On the Besht and a Priest who had an Accidental Emission • Another Story on the Besht and a Priest • The Besht and Wine • The Besht and Adultery • The Besht and the Messiah • Exaggerated Praise Concerning the Besht and the Origins of Praise • An Elegy on the Heretics, the Besht, and the Hasidim • A Reproach against the Besht’s Sayings Concerning the Messiah • Stories of False Tzaddikim • Two Types of Hasidic Rabbis • On the Tzaddikim and the Damage They Cause • Praising Wisdom and Work
Bibliography
Indexes
Table of Contents
Early Manuscripts in Joseph Perl Archive / Jonatan Meir
Introduction / Shmuel Werses
Reshit Hokhmah (1819): Critical Edition
Introduction • The History of Heresy • In Praise of Wisdom and The Sages • On the Ways of the Fools • Hasidic Tales and their Secrets • On the Besht’s Path • The Besht’s Family • The Secret of Healing a Barren Woman • A Hasidic Sermon on Wine and Sons • Another Question and a Sermon on the Secrets • A Question and Sermon on Hasidic Tales • A Story about the Wonders of the great Tzaddik • On the Besht and a Priest who had an Accidental Emission • Another Story on the Besht and a Priest • The Besht and Wine • The Besht and Adultery • The Besht and the Messiah • Exaggerated Praise Concerning the Besht and the Origins of Praise • An Elegy on the Heretics, the Besht, and the Hasidim • A Reproach against the Besht’s Sayings Concerning the Messiah • Stories of False Tzaddikim • Two Types of Hasidic Rabbis • On the Tzaddikim and the Damage They Cause • Praising Wisdom and Work
Bibliography
Indexes
"Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), ed. Jonatan Meir, Three volumes, Mosad Bialik, Jerusalem Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), first published in Vienna in 1819, is one of the sharpest and wittiest pieces of Jewish literature... more
"Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), ed. Jonatan Meir, Three volumes, Mosad Bialik, Jerusalem
Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), first published in Vienna in 1819, is one of the sharpest and wittiest pieces of Jewish literature written in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is perhaps the most important piece of Hebrew prose composed before the stories of Mendele Mocher Seforim. A sly and complex story deriding Hasidism and Hasidim, it is told through the correspondence between the beadles of Hasidic courts and contemporary rabbis, and it presents a dark picture of avaricious frauds and swindlers whose main concern was control over territory and the souls of believers, a goal achieved by beguiling the authorities and attacking all opponents. Perl lends his book a ‘Hasidic’ feel both in its physical design and in its language, presenting a Maskilic version of In Praise of the Ba’al Shem Tov that lays Hasidism bare so that no reader will ever be able to look at that, or any other Hasidic book, in the same way again. In addition to the book’s satiric sting, which would have been enough to bring its readers a dual pleasure, Perl’s hints at contemporary people and places, hidden within anagrams and numerological tricks. With the unraveling of these clues, which also include the use of actual Hasidic sources, the book is a valuable, contemporary view of historical reality. A meticulous reading of the book may therefore open a window on the hidden worlds of Hasidism and the Haskalah at the start of the nineteenth century.
The first volume (Imagined Hasidism) serves as an introduction to the complex satirical writings of Josef Perl of Tarnopol (1773-1839). At the center of the book stands an analysis of the satires, Megaleh Temirin (1819) and Bochen Tzadik (1838), including a systematic treatment of the ‘characters’ in the central works and a discussion of the dozens of manuscripts to be found in the Perl Archive in Jerusalem. Perl’s writings are analyzed here in the fuller context of Hebrew and Yiddish literature in general and Maskilic and Hasidic literature in particular, as well as other polemical writings and governmental records critical of Hasidism. The study thus presents a complex and nuanced picture of the relationship between literature and history, between the anti-Hasidic reports and the more complicated historical reality, and lays the groundwork for further research into the genre of nineteenth-century Maskilic satire.
The second and third volumes (Megaleh Temirin) present for the first time an annotated edition of Megaleh Temirin. It is based on the first edition and the scattered manuscripts and it includes a comparison to its Yiddish translation. The book is accompanied by appendices on its origins and contents, including fundamental treatments of several passages: an explication of the encoded names, the Hasidic sources used by the author, and the variants found in the manuscripts and in the only edition of the book in Yiddish.
The editor of the book, Professor Jonatan Meir, teaches in the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University. He has published several articles on the Haskalah of Eastern Europe, Hasidism, and a number of varied topics in twentieth-century Kabbalah.
Contents
Volume 1 - Critical Edition
Concerning this edition
Key personalities
Sefer Megale Temirin – Critical Edition
Volume 2 - Appendixes:
1. Glossary, Abbreviations, Acronyms
2. Explanation of the Speaking Names
3. Perl’s Hasidic Sources
4. Manuscripts of Sefer Megale Temirin
5. Yiddish Introduction to Sefer Megale Temirin
Bibliographic Abbreviations
-------------------------------
Reviews:
(1) Dan Meron, 2013, ‘Megaleh Temirin’, Kivunim Hadashim 29, 55 pages (Hebrew)
(2) David Assaf, 2014, ‘Hasidim will not Read it but Tear it’, Haaretz, Tarbut ve-Sifrut, p .6 (Hebrew) http://onegshabbat.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/blog-post_18.html
(3) Eliezer Brodt, 2014, 'New book Announcement- Megale Temirin', The Seforim Blog http://seforim.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/new-book-announcement-megale-temirin.html
(4) Matan Hermoni, 2014, הסבתא המופקרת של הספרות העבריתHaaretz, Sfarim (Hebrew) http://www.haaretz.co.il/.premium-1.2382365
(5) Shinichi Yamamoto, 2015, 山本 伸一, "ヨナタン・メイール編著『想像のハシディズム』", ユダヤ・イスラエル研究 第28号 http://www.waseda.jp/assoc-jsjs/jistudies.html
(6) David Biale and David Assaf,, 2015, 'Revealer Revealed', Jewish Review of Books, pp. 17-21 http://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/1454/revealer-revealed/
(7) Hillel Halkin, 2015, "Sex, Magic, Bigotry, Corruption- and the First Hebrew Novel', Mosaic Magazine, http://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2015/05/sex-magic-bigotry-corruption-and-the-first-hebrew-novel/
(8) Tomer Persico, 2015, "Interview", Lula'at haEl Blog, http://tomerpersico.com/2015/08/10/meir_perl/
Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), first published in Vienna in 1819, is one of the sharpest and wittiest pieces of Jewish literature written in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is perhaps the most important piece of Hebrew prose composed before the stories of Mendele Mocher Seforim. A sly and complex story deriding Hasidism and Hasidim, it is told through the correspondence between the beadles of Hasidic courts and contemporary rabbis, and it presents a dark picture of avaricious frauds and swindlers whose main concern was control over territory and the souls of believers, a goal achieved by beguiling the authorities and attacking all opponents. Perl lends his book a ‘Hasidic’ feel both in its physical design and in its language, presenting a Maskilic version of In Praise of the Ba’al Shem Tov that lays Hasidism bare so that no reader will ever be able to look at that, or any other Hasidic book, in the same way again. In addition to the book’s satiric sting, which would have been enough to bring its readers a dual pleasure, Perl’s hints at contemporary people and places, hidden within anagrams and numerological tricks. With the unraveling of these clues, which also include the use of actual Hasidic sources, the book is a valuable, contemporary view of historical reality. A meticulous reading of the book may therefore open a window on the hidden worlds of Hasidism and the Haskalah at the start of the nineteenth century.
The first volume (Imagined Hasidism) serves as an introduction to the complex satirical writings of Josef Perl of Tarnopol (1773-1839). At the center of the book stands an analysis of the satires, Megaleh Temirin (1819) and Bochen Tzadik (1838), including a systematic treatment of the ‘characters’ in the central works and a discussion of the dozens of manuscripts to be found in the Perl Archive in Jerusalem. Perl’s writings are analyzed here in the fuller context of Hebrew and Yiddish literature in general and Maskilic and Hasidic literature in particular, as well as other polemical writings and governmental records critical of Hasidism. The study thus presents a complex and nuanced picture of the relationship between literature and history, between the anti-Hasidic reports and the more complicated historical reality, and lays the groundwork for further research into the genre of nineteenth-century Maskilic satire.
The second and third volumes (Megaleh Temirin) present for the first time an annotated edition of Megaleh Temirin. It is based on the first edition and the scattered manuscripts and it includes a comparison to its Yiddish translation. The book is accompanied by appendices on its origins and contents, including fundamental treatments of several passages: an explication of the encoded names, the Hasidic sources used by the author, and the variants found in the manuscripts and in the only edition of the book in Yiddish.
The editor of the book, Professor Jonatan Meir, teaches in the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University. He has published several articles on the Haskalah of Eastern Europe, Hasidism, and a number of varied topics in twentieth-century Kabbalah.
Contents
Volume 1 - Critical Edition
Concerning this edition
Key personalities
Sefer Megale Temirin – Critical Edition
Volume 2 - Appendixes:
1. Glossary, Abbreviations, Acronyms
2. Explanation of the Speaking Names
3. Perl’s Hasidic Sources
4. Manuscripts of Sefer Megale Temirin
5. Yiddish Introduction to Sefer Megale Temirin
Bibliographic Abbreviations
-------------------------------
Reviews:
(1) Dan Meron, 2013, ‘Megaleh Temirin’, Kivunim Hadashim 29, 55 pages (Hebrew)
(2) David Assaf, 2014, ‘Hasidim will not Read it but Tear it’, Haaretz, Tarbut ve-Sifrut, p .6 (Hebrew) http://onegshabbat.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/blog-post_18.html
(3) Eliezer Brodt, 2014, 'New book Announcement- Megale Temirin', The Seforim Blog http://seforim.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/new-book-announcement-megale-temirin.html
(4) Matan Hermoni, 2014, הסבתא המופקרת של הספרות העבריתHaaretz, Sfarim (Hebrew) http://www.haaretz.co.il/.premium-1.2382365
(5) Shinichi Yamamoto, 2015, 山本 伸一, "ヨナタン・メイール編著『想像のハシディズム』", ユダヤ・イスラエル研究 第28号 http://www.waseda.jp/assoc-jsjs/jistudies.html
(6) David Biale and David Assaf,, 2015, 'Revealer Revealed', Jewish Review of Books, pp. 17-21 http://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/1454/revealer-revealed/
(7) Hillel Halkin, 2015, "Sex, Magic, Bigotry, Corruption- and the First Hebrew Novel', Mosaic Magazine, http://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2015/05/sex-magic-bigotry-corruption-and-the-first-hebrew-novel/
(8) Tomer Persico, 2015, "Interview", Lula'at haEl Blog, http://tomerpersico.com/2015/08/10/meir_perl/
Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), first published in Vienna in 1819, is one of the sharpest and wittiest pieces of Jewish literature written in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is perhaps the most important piece of... more
Megaleh Temirin (Revealer of Secrets), first published in Vienna in 1819, is one of the sharpest and wittiest pieces of Jewish literature written in the first half of the nineteenth century, and is perhaps the most important piece of Hebrew prose composed before the stories of Mendele Mocher Seforim. A sly and complex story deriding Hasidism and Hasidim, it is told through the correspondence between the beadles of Hasidic courts and contemporary rabbis, and it presents a dark picture of avaricious frauds and swindlers whose main concern was control over territory and the souls of believers, a goal achieved by beguiling the authorities and attacking all opponents. Perl lends his book a ‘Hasidic’ feel both in its physical design and in its language, presenting a Maskilic version of In Praise of the Ba’al Shem Tov that lays Hasidism bare so that no reader will ever be able to look at that, or any other Hasidic book, in the same way again. In addition to the book’s satiric sting, which would have been enough to bring its readers a dual pleasure, Perl’s hints at contemporary people and places, hidden within anagrams and numerological tricks. With the unraveling of these clues, which also include the use of actual Hasidic sources, the book is a valuable, contemporary view of historical reality. A meticulous reading of the book may therefore open a window on the hidden worlds of Hasidism and the Haskalah at the start of the nineteenth century.
The first volume (Imagined Hasidism) serves as an introduction to the complex satirical writings of Josef Perl of Tarnopol (1773-1839). At the center of the book stands an analysis of the satires, Megaleh Temirin (1819) and Bochen Tzadik (1838), including a systematic treatment of the ‘characters’ in the central works and a discussion of the dozens of manuscripts to be found in the Perl Archive in Jerusalem. Perl’s writings are analyzed here in the fuller context of Hebrew and Yiddish literature in general and Maskilic and Hasidic literature in particular, as well as other polemical writings and governmental records critical of Hasidism. The study thus presents a complex and nuanced picture of the relationship between literature and history, between the anti-Hasidic reports and the more complicated historical reality, and lays the groundwork for further research into the genre of nineteenth-century Maskilic satire.
The second and third volumes (Megaleh Temirin) present for the first time an annotated edition of Megaleh Temirin. It is based on the first edition and the scattered manuscripts and it includes a comparison to its Yiddish translation. The book is accompanied by appendices on its origins and contents, including fundamental treatments of several passages: an explication of the encoded names, the Hasidic sources used by the author, and the variants found in the manuscripts and in the only edition of the book in Yiddish.
The editor of the book, Professor Jonatan Meir, teaches in the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University. He has published several articles on the Haskalah of Eastern Europe, Hasidism, and a number of varied topics in twentieth-century Kabbalah.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contents
Introduction
Scholarship on the anti-Hasidic writings of Josef Perl • Hasidic hagiography and the emergence of satire • Two-fold reading of Perl’s writings and the gematriyot • Satire, literature, and history • ‘Holy Books’ and subversive books
Chapter 1: Josef Perl, Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov, and the ‘Holy Books’
Prayer of the fall of Hasidism and the expungement of their books • Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht and the critique of hagiography • Sefer Sipurey Ma‘asiyot and the parodic response to it • Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov, ‘heretical books’ and the ‘Holy Books’ • In praise of the true Tsaddikim • ‘Laughter of the heretics’: testimonies about the polemics against Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • ‘Holy Books’, ‘sacredness of hagiography’, and parodies of hagiography • Appendix: Parodic manuscript about an opponent of the ‘Holy Books’ who was reborn as a horse
Chapter 2: Speaking Names in Sefer Megale Temirin
Time of the composition of Megale Temirin, censorship, and a note on the Buch • Hasidic books and the emergence of parody • Structure of Sefer Megale Temirin • The Introduction to Sefer Megale Temirin • Main Hasidic courts • The court in Żołyń (Łożne) and the peregrinations of the Buch • The court of Dishpal (Międzyboż), moneyboxes of the Besht, the holy relics • The court in Aklo (Olika) and the ritualized reading of Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • Function of the footnotes and the parodic hagiography • History of the rabbis – clandestine opponents of Hasidism • The Besht in Tarnopol • Rabbi Meir Jacob of Zasław and the letters from Galicja • Zaddikim in Galicja • Ciphered stories • ‘Holy Places’: reincarnations of a praise from Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • The revelation of the Buch and the death of the secretary • ‘Gang of criminals’: another death and an escape to the Land of Israel • The End: Ovadia Ben Petahia and the rabbi of Opatów
Chapter 3: Joseph Perl, Hirsh of Zydaczów, and the Polemics of Gematriyot
Reb Zevi Hirsh of Zydaczów and Hasidism in Galicja • Maskilic opposition to the Zydaczówer • Letters concealed in Sefer Megale Temirin • A manuscript about the misdeeds of the Hasidim • Books, education, and a note on Reb Nathan of Nemirov • Zydaczówer’s ban on the Maskilim and the first Gematria • Parodic letter of Perl and the second Gematria • About the parodic letter and the jumble of gematriyot • Denunciation and expulsions of R Zevi Hirsh • ‘Father of impurity’: Joseph Perl and the writings of the rabbi of Komarno • Final note • Appendix: Parodic letter against the Zydaczówer
Chapter 4: Speaking Names in the Book of Sefer Bohen Zaddik
The manuscript of Sefer Bohen Zaddik and the difficulties with its publication • Structure of the book • In search for the true Zaddik and the rabbi of Opatów • Travels of Ovadia Ben Petahia between the towns of Galicja • Kromcza Ruska (Zaleszczyki) or the entrance to Galicja • ‘Briks’ (Tarnopol): Rabbi Jehoshua Heschel Babad and the school • ‘Bicik’ (Lemberg) Rabbi Jacob Orenstein and a ban on the Maskilim • ‘Abdera’ (Brody) Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot and Sefer ha-Zoref • The explanation of the names of the rabbis • Utopia and dystopia • The hidden butcher and his kabbalistic writings • The discovery of the colonies • The image of the disciples of the Gaon and the ‘true Hasid’ • ‘The solution for the East’ or heterotopia • The will to flee and the emissary
Chapter 5: The Imaginary Influence of Sefer Megale Temirin
The myth about the success of the book • Pamphlet Megale Sod • The manuscript about the misdeeds of the Hasidim • Dialogues about Sefer Megale Temirin • For whom Sefer Megale Temirin was intended and who read it • Note concerning Sefer Megale Temirin in Yiddish • Influence real and imagined • Was Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht written by a parodist? • Temerl Bergson and Sefer Megale Temirin • Writ of defense of Hasidism • Sefer Megale Temirin and the Hebrew literature • Appendix: writ of defense of Joseph Judah Lob Sossnitz
Afterword: Note on the Anti-Hasidic Outlook
Bibliographic Abbreviations
Reviews:
(1) Dan Meron, 2013, ‘Megaleh Temirin’, Kivunim Hadashim 29, 55 pages (Hebrew)
(2) David Assaf, 2014, ‘Hasidim will not Read it but Tear it’, Haaretz, Tarbut ve-Sifrut, p .6 (Hebrew) http://onegshabbat.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/blog-post_18.html
(3) Eliezer Brodt, 2014, 'New book Announcement- Megale Temirin', The Seforim Blog http://seforim.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/new-book-announcement-megale-temirin.html
(4) Matan Hermoni, 2014, הסבתא המופקרת של הספרות העבריתHaaretz, Sfarim (Hebrew) http://www.haaretz.co.il/.premium-1.2382365
(5) Shinichi Yamamoto, 2015, 山本 伸一, "ヨナタン・メイール編著『想像のハシディズム』", ユダヤ・イスラエル研究 第28号 http://www.waseda.jp/assoc-jsjs/jistudies.html
(6) David Biale and David Assaf,, 2015, 'Revealer Revealed', Jewish Review of Books, pp. 17-21 http://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/1454/revealer-revealed/
(7) Hillel Halkin, 2015, "Sex, Magic, Bigotry, Corruption- and the First Hebrew Novel', Mosaic Magazine, http://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2015/05/sex-magic-bigotry-corruption-and-the-first-hebrew-novel/
(8) Tomer Persico, 2015, "Interview", Lula'at haEl http://tomerpersico.com/2015/08/10/meir_perl/
(9) Ariel Evan Mayse, 'Review', Jewish History (2015)ת http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10835-015-9245-2
(10) Review - Gal-Ed
The first volume (Imagined Hasidism) serves as an introduction to the complex satirical writings of Josef Perl of Tarnopol (1773-1839). At the center of the book stands an analysis of the satires, Megaleh Temirin (1819) and Bochen Tzadik (1838), including a systematic treatment of the ‘characters’ in the central works and a discussion of the dozens of manuscripts to be found in the Perl Archive in Jerusalem. Perl’s writings are analyzed here in the fuller context of Hebrew and Yiddish literature in general and Maskilic and Hasidic literature in particular, as well as other polemical writings and governmental records critical of Hasidism. The study thus presents a complex and nuanced picture of the relationship between literature and history, between the anti-Hasidic reports and the more complicated historical reality, and lays the groundwork for further research into the genre of nineteenth-century Maskilic satire.
The second and third volumes (Megaleh Temirin) present for the first time an annotated edition of Megaleh Temirin. It is based on the first edition and the scattered manuscripts and it includes a comparison to its Yiddish translation. The book is accompanied by appendices on its origins and contents, including fundamental treatments of several passages: an explication of the encoded names, the Hasidic sources used by the author, and the variants found in the manuscripts and in the only edition of the book in Yiddish.
The editor of the book, Professor Jonatan Meir, teaches in the Goldstein-Goren Department of Jewish Thought at Ben-Gurion University. He has published several articles on the Haskalah of Eastern Europe, Hasidism, and a number of varied topics in twentieth-century Kabbalah.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contents
Introduction
Scholarship on the anti-Hasidic writings of Josef Perl • Hasidic hagiography and the emergence of satire • Two-fold reading of Perl’s writings and the gematriyot • Satire, literature, and history • ‘Holy Books’ and subversive books
Chapter 1: Josef Perl, Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov, and the ‘Holy Books’
Prayer of the fall of Hasidism and the expungement of their books • Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht and the critique of hagiography • Sefer Sipurey Ma‘asiyot and the parodic response to it • Rabbi Nathan of Nemirov, ‘heretical books’ and the ‘Holy Books’ • In praise of the true Tsaddikim • ‘Laughter of the heretics’: testimonies about the polemics against Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • ‘Holy Books’, ‘sacredness of hagiography’, and parodies of hagiography • Appendix: Parodic manuscript about an opponent of the ‘Holy Books’ who was reborn as a horse
Chapter 2: Speaking Names in Sefer Megale Temirin
Time of the composition of Megale Temirin, censorship, and a note on the Buch • Hasidic books and the emergence of parody • Structure of Sefer Megale Temirin • The Introduction to Sefer Megale Temirin • Main Hasidic courts • The court in Żołyń (Łożne) and the peregrinations of the Buch • The court of Dishpal (Międzyboż), moneyboxes of the Besht, the holy relics • The court in Aklo (Olika) and the ritualized reading of Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • Function of the footnotes and the parodic hagiography • History of the rabbis – clandestine opponents of Hasidism • The Besht in Tarnopol • Rabbi Meir Jacob of Zasław and the letters from Galicja • Zaddikim in Galicja • Ciphered stories • ‘Holy Places’: reincarnations of a praise from Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht • The revelation of the Buch and the death of the secretary • ‘Gang of criminals’: another death and an escape to the Land of Israel • The End: Ovadia Ben Petahia and the rabbi of Opatów
Chapter 3: Joseph Perl, Hirsh of Zydaczów, and the Polemics of Gematriyot
Reb Zevi Hirsh of Zydaczów and Hasidism in Galicja • Maskilic opposition to the Zydaczówer • Letters concealed in Sefer Megale Temirin • A manuscript about the misdeeds of the Hasidim • Books, education, and a note on Reb Nathan of Nemirov • Zydaczówer’s ban on the Maskilim and the first Gematria • Parodic letter of Perl and the second Gematria • About the parodic letter and the jumble of gematriyot • Denunciation and expulsions of R Zevi Hirsh • ‘Father of impurity’: Joseph Perl and the writings of the rabbi of Komarno • Final note • Appendix: Parodic letter against the Zydaczówer
Chapter 4: Speaking Names in the Book of Sefer Bohen Zaddik
The manuscript of Sefer Bohen Zaddik and the difficulties with its publication • Structure of the book • In search for the true Zaddik and the rabbi of Opatów • Travels of Ovadia Ben Petahia between the towns of Galicja • Kromcza Ruska (Zaleszczyki) or the entrance to Galicja • ‘Briks’ (Tarnopol): Rabbi Jehoshua Heschel Babad and the school • ‘Bicik’ (Lemberg) Rabbi Jacob Orenstein and a ban on the Maskilim • ‘Abdera’ (Brody) Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margaliot and Sefer ha-Zoref • The explanation of the names of the rabbis • Utopia and dystopia • The hidden butcher and his kabbalistic writings • The discovery of the colonies • The image of the disciples of the Gaon and the ‘true Hasid’ • ‘The solution for the East’ or heterotopia • The will to flee and the emissary
Chapter 5: The Imaginary Influence of Sefer Megale Temirin
The myth about the success of the book • Pamphlet Megale Sod • The manuscript about the misdeeds of the Hasidim • Dialogues about Sefer Megale Temirin • For whom Sefer Megale Temirin was intended and who read it • Note concerning Sefer Megale Temirin in Yiddish • Influence real and imagined • Was Sefer Shivhe ha-Besht written by a parodist? • Temerl Bergson and Sefer Megale Temirin • Writ of defense of Hasidism • Sefer Megale Temirin and the Hebrew literature • Appendix: writ of defense of Joseph Judah Lob Sossnitz
Afterword: Note on the Anti-Hasidic Outlook
Bibliographic Abbreviations
Reviews:
(1) Dan Meron, 2013, ‘Megaleh Temirin’, Kivunim Hadashim 29, 55 pages (Hebrew)
(2) David Assaf, 2014, ‘Hasidim will not Read it but Tear it’, Haaretz, Tarbut ve-Sifrut, p .6 (Hebrew) http://onegshabbat.blogspot.co.il/2014/04/blog-post_18.html
(3) Eliezer Brodt, 2014, 'New book Announcement- Megale Temirin', The Seforim Blog http://seforim.blogspot.co.il/2014/01/new-book-announcement-megale-temirin.html
(4) Matan Hermoni, 2014, הסבתא המופקרת של הספרות העבריתHaaretz, Sfarim (Hebrew) http://www.haaretz.co.il/.premium-1.2382365
(5) Shinichi Yamamoto, 2015, 山本 伸一, "ヨナタン・メイール編著『想像のハシディズム』", ユダヤ・イスラエル研究 第28号 http://www.waseda.jp/assoc-jsjs/jistudies.html
(6) David Biale and David Assaf,, 2015, 'Revealer Revealed', Jewish Review of Books, pp. 17-21 http://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/1454/revealer-revealed/
(7) Hillel Halkin, 2015, "Sex, Magic, Bigotry, Corruption- and the First Hebrew Novel', Mosaic Magazine, http://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/2015/05/sex-magic-bigotry-corruption-and-the-first-hebrew-novel/
(8) Tomer Persico, 2015, "Interview", Lula'at haEl http://tomerpersico.com/2015/08/10/meir_perl/
(9) Ariel Evan Mayse, 'Review', Jewish History (2015)ת http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10835-015-9245-2
(10) Review - Gal-Ed
בין השנים תק"ה–תקל"ז (1745–1777) קרע את קהילת אוסטרהא פולמוס פנימי מר. השלב הראשון של פולמוס זה (1765-1745) החל במאבק על כס הרבנות של העיר, עם הדחתו דה פקטו של רב העיר, ר' דוד היילפרין, שהיה מתלמידי הבעש"ט. למשרה מונה ר' משולם אשכנזי,... more
בין השנים תק"ה–תקל"ז (1745–1777) קרע את קהילת אוסטרהא פולמוס פנימי מר. השלב הראשון של פולמוס זה (1765-1745) החל במאבק על כס הרבנות של העיר, עם הדחתו דה פקטו של רב העיר, ר' דוד היילפרין, שהיה מתלמידי הבעש"ט. למשרה מונה ר' משולם אשכנזי, אחיו הצעיר של ר' יעקב עמדן. בעיר התפתחו מחנות יריבים, שאחד מהם נתמך באופן פעיל על ידי הבעש"ט וחוגו. כחלק מן המאבק נעשה גם נסיון להטיל על הבעש"ט חרם, אך ספק אם נסיון זה צלח.
השלב השני של המאבק (1777-1765) התקיים לאחר שכבר נפטרו רבים ממוביליו. בראש מתנגדיו של ר' משולם ניצב כעת ר' יעקב יוסף מאוסטרהא, המכונה רב ייב"י, מתלמידי המגיד ממזריטש. עקב המאבקים והחובות נאלץ ר' משולם לעזוב את העיר ונפטר בטרם שב אליה. את כס הרבנות של העיר תפס עתה (1777) ר' מאיר מרגליות, תלמיד-חבר של הבעש"ט.
פרשה זו, מלבד העניין שיש בה מצד עצמה, מאירה מחדש את חוג הבעש"ט כקבוצה חזקה, בעלת תווי זהות מוגדרים, שבשעת הצורך הצליחה לתפקד כקבוצת-לחץ פוליטית רבת עוצמה, ושלא היססה לנהל מאבק קהילתי שנמשך עשרות שנים. אנשיה גילו סולידריות פנימית איתנה, כושר עמידה גבוה ואף יכולת לגייס תמיכה ממקומות שונים, ולעיתים מפתיעים. הבעש"ט התגלה כאן לא רק כמנהיגו של חוג זה, אלא אף כמי העמיד דגם חדש של מנהיגות וכמי שנתפס כסיכון מצד ההנהגה הרבנית ואליטת תלמידי החכמים. הוא פעל לא רק כ'בעל שם' אלא כבעל בשורה חדשה בעבודת ה'. אף אם חוג הבעש"ט עדיין לא היה גדול דיו כדי להיקרא תנועה, דומה כי משקיף חד עין שעקב אחר פולמוס אוסטרהא מקרוב יכול היה להעלות בדעתו את האפשרות שהחוג החזק הזה יהפוך לתנועה כבר בעתיד הקרוב.
THE OSTROH CONFLICT AND THE CIRCLE OF THE BA’AL SHEM TOV: A “DRESS REHEARSAL” OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN HASIDIM AND MISNAGDIM?
by Benjamin Brown
Between 1745 and 1777, the Jewish community of Ostroh (Ostróg, Остро́г) was riven by a bitter, protracted conflict that had two major phases.
The first phase, spanning two decades (1745–1765), was sparked by a struggle over the post of town rabbi. The chief rabbi, R. David Heilperin, a disciple of R. Israel Ba’al Shem Tov (the Besht), was de facto deposed and R. Meshullam Ashkenazi, the younger brother of R. Jacob Emden, was appointed in his stead. Warring camps developed, one of which was actively reinforced by the Besht and his circle. In the midst of the strife, there was even an attempt, of unclear success, to excommunicate the Besht.
The second phase played out between 1765 and 1777, after leaders on both sides had died. R. Meshullam’s chief antagonist was now R. Jacob Joseph of Ostroh, a disciple of R. Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch. Due to the conflict and his own debts, R. Meshullam was eventually forced out of the city, never to return. A few months after His death in January 1777, R. Meir Margaliot, a familiar personality and a disciple of the Besht, was nominated for the post.
This episode, as interesting as it is in its own right, sheds new light on the Besht’s circle and on the Besht himself. Based on the historical analysis of the conflict, the Besht’s circle turns out to have been a formidable group with a well-marked identity. When necessary, its members could apply intense political pressure and were prepared to wage a lengthy war to look out for their own. They exhibited shoulder-to-shoulder solidarity, exceptional stamina, and a knack for garnering support from diverse and sometimes unexpected quarters. The Besht not only led this circle but established a new model of leadership; consequently, he was considered a menace by the rabbinic leadership and scholarly elite. He was clearly no mere wonderworker (ba’al shem) but the preacher of a new way of serving God. Even if the Besht’s circle was not large enough to be called a movement during this contentious period, a perceptive observer closely following the Ostroh struggle might have been able to predict that it would not be long before this powerful circle picked up enough steam and adherents to become one.
השלב השני של המאבק (1777-1765) התקיים לאחר שכבר נפטרו רבים ממוביליו. בראש מתנגדיו של ר' משולם ניצב כעת ר' יעקב יוסף מאוסטרהא, המכונה רב ייב"י, מתלמידי המגיד ממזריטש. עקב המאבקים והחובות נאלץ ר' משולם לעזוב את העיר ונפטר בטרם שב אליה. את כס הרבנות של העיר תפס עתה (1777) ר' מאיר מרגליות, תלמיד-חבר של הבעש"ט.
פרשה זו, מלבד העניין שיש בה מצד עצמה, מאירה מחדש את חוג הבעש"ט כקבוצה חזקה, בעלת תווי זהות מוגדרים, שבשעת הצורך הצליחה לתפקד כקבוצת-לחץ פוליטית רבת עוצמה, ושלא היססה לנהל מאבק קהילתי שנמשך עשרות שנים. אנשיה גילו סולידריות פנימית איתנה, כושר עמידה גבוה ואף יכולת לגייס תמיכה ממקומות שונים, ולעיתים מפתיעים. הבעש"ט התגלה כאן לא רק כמנהיגו של חוג זה, אלא אף כמי העמיד דגם חדש של מנהיגות וכמי שנתפס כסיכון מצד ההנהגה הרבנית ואליטת תלמידי החכמים. הוא פעל לא רק כ'בעל שם' אלא כבעל בשורה חדשה בעבודת ה'. אף אם חוג הבעש"ט עדיין לא היה גדול דיו כדי להיקרא תנועה, דומה כי משקיף חד עין שעקב אחר פולמוס אוסטרהא מקרוב יכול היה להעלות בדעתו את האפשרות שהחוג החזק הזה יהפוך לתנועה כבר בעתיד הקרוב.
THE OSTROH CONFLICT AND THE CIRCLE OF THE BA’AL SHEM TOV: A “DRESS REHEARSAL” OF THE CONFLICT BETWEEN HASIDIM AND MISNAGDIM?
by Benjamin Brown
Between 1745 and 1777, the Jewish community of Ostroh (Ostróg, Остро́г) was riven by a bitter, protracted conflict that had two major phases.
The first phase, spanning two decades (1745–1765), was sparked by a struggle over the post of town rabbi. The chief rabbi, R. David Heilperin, a disciple of R. Israel Ba’al Shem Tov (the Besht), was de facto deposed and R. Meshullam Ashkenazi, the younger brother of R. Jacob Emden, was appointed in his stead. Warring camps developed, one of which was actively reinforced by the Besht and his circle. In the midst of the strife, there was even an attempt, of unclear success, to excommunicate the Besht.
The second phase played out between 1765 and 1777, after leaders on both sides had died. R. Meshullam’s chief antagonist was now R. Jacob Joseph of Ostroh, a disciple of R. Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch. Due to the conflict and his own debts, R. Meshullam was eventually forced out of the city, never to return. A few months after His death in January 1777, R. Meir Margaliot, a familiar personality and a disciple of the Besht, was nominated for the post.
This episode, as interesting as it is in its own right, sheds new light on the Besht’s circle and on the Besht himself. Based on the historical analysis of the conflict, the Besht’s circle turns out to have been a formidable group with a well-marked identity. When necessary, its members could apply intense political pressure and were prepared to wage a lengthy war to look out for their own. They exhibited shoulder-to-shoulder solidarity, exceptional stamina, and a knack for garnering support from diverse and sometimes unexpected quarters. The Besht not only led this circle but established a new model of leadership; consequently, he was considered a menace by the rabbinic leadership and scholarly elite. He was clearly no mere wonderworker (ba’al shem) but the preacher of a new way of serving God. Even if the Besht’s circle was not large enough to be called a movement during this contentious period, a perceptive observer closely following the Ostroh struggle might have been able to predict that it would not be long before this powerful circle picked up enough steam and adherents to become one.
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... more
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
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
A remarkable biography of the enigmatic BESHT !
The following syllabus was used for an Introduction Judaism taught at Lawrence University in Fall 2013. The class met twice a week, for a session of 110 mins. with a break in the middle. The course follows a historical paradigm, dividing... more
The following syllabus was used for an Introduction Judaism taught at Lawrence University in Fall 2013. The class met twice a week, for a session of 110 mins. with a break in the middle.
The course follows a historical paradigm, dividing the history of Judaism into three major periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages and Modern. Each period is characterized by major figures, texts, regions and languages used. The paradigm is appended at the end of the syllabus.
Students are expected to know basic terms of Judaism, and can observe their progress through a check-off sheet that is distributed in the first class, and is used throughout the course. The final exam consists of providing definitions to terms from this sheet, choosing three from each period, and additional two terms related to Jewish practice. The check-off sheet is also appended to this document.
Jewish practice is not taught in a critical-scholarly mode as the rest of the course. It is presented to students through a series of presentations, so that students are familiar with holidays, rituals and artifacts. In short, it was my intention to avoid a common result of academic study, in which students can talk about Franz Rosenzweig’s philosophy, but have no idea what a shofar looks like, and what it is used for. The presentations on Jewish practice are divided into three categories: daily life, Jewish calendar, cycle of life.
The four books of the course are not read in full, and are intended to provide students with stepping stones to topics that cannot be covered in class. Back to the Sources serves as the backbone of the course, but since it follows canonical/orthodox Judaism it omits reference to Second Temple Judaism and modern advances; Schiffman’s Texts and Traditions includes more rabbinic texts than can be covered in a brief introduction, and provides students with a handy guide to further learn of rabbinic literature; Scheindlin’s Short History includes an episode on the Holocaust that is not studied, since it is part of Jewish history but not part of Jewish religion (I explain this point more elaborately on my blog); and Batnitzky’s chapter on the revival of Hebrew literature is a significant contribution that is not studied in the course, for similar reasons. My conclusion with Zionism and Kaplan in the final week suggests the modern secularization of Judaism, and its transformation into something that is more than a religion. Students are able to question my own hypothesis through Batnitzky’s opposite view – that it is only modernity that saw its transformation into a religion.
Optional readings provide advanced students who are interested in learning more some suggestions from the classic studies of the field. They are purposefully not uploaded to Moodle but kept on the library reserves shelf. Students who are interested in the title therefore need to go to the library and acquaint themselves with the volume of the suggested optional reading. It is my expectation that most students will not consult the optional reading, and thus the Introduction is planned as a multi-layer course: a brief survey for the educated layperson who wishes to know more about Judaism; an introduction to department majors who will use this course as an initial building block in their study of Judaism, and an important stepping stone to someone who wishes to turn Judaism into his major focus of study.
Click link above to view file.
The course follows a historical paradigm, dividing the history of Judaism into three major periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages and Modern. Each period is characterized by major figures, texts, regions and languages used. The paradigm is appended at the end of the syllabus.
Students are expected to know basic terms of Judaism, and can observe their progress through a check-off sheet that is distributed in the first class, and is used throughout the course. The final exam consists of providing definitions to terms from this sheet, choosing three from each period, and additional two terms related to Jewish practice. The check-off sheet is also appended to this document.
Jewish practice is not taught in a critical-scholarly mode as the rest of the course. It is presented to students through a series of presentations, so that students are familiar with holidays, rituals and artifacts. In short, it was my intention to avoid a common result of academic study, in which students can talk about Franz Rosenzweig’s philosophy, but have no idea what a shofar looks like, and what it is used for. The presentations on Jewish practice are divided into three categories: daily life, Jewish calendar, cycle of life.
The four books of the course are not read in full, and are intended to provide students with stepping stones to topics that cannot be covered in class. Back to the Sources serves as the backbone of the course, but since it follows canonical/orthodox Judaism it omits reference to Second Temple Judaism and modern advances; Schiffman’s Texts and Traditions includes more rabbinic texts than can be covered in a brief introduction, and provides students with a handy guide to further learn of rabbinic literature; Scheindlin’s Short History includes an episode on the Holocaust that is not studied, since it is part of Jewish history but not part of Jewish religion (I explain this point more elaborately on my blog); and Batnitzky’s chapter on the revival of Hebrew literature is a significant contribution that is not studied in the course, for similar reasons. My conclusion with Zionism and Kaplan in the final week suggests the modern secularization of Judaism, and its transformation into something that is more than a religion. Students are able to question my own hypothesis through Batnitzky’s opposite view – that it is only modernity that saw its transformation into a religion.
Optional readings provide advanced students who are interested in learning more some suggestions from the classic studies of the field. They are purposefully not uploaded to Moodle but kept on the library reserves shelf. Students who are interested in the title therefore need to go to the library and acquaint themselves with the volume of the suggested optional reading. It is my expectation that most students will not consult the optional reading, and thus the Introduction is planned as a multi-layer course: a brief survey for the educated layperson who wishes to know more about Judaism; an introduction to department majors who will use this course as an initial building block in their study of Judaism, and an important stepping stone to someone who wishes to turn Judaism into his major focus of study.
Click link above to view file.