The Nature of Hasidism: Guest Post by HH

What is Hassidisim (the Beshtian Judaic movement as opposed to the modern societal subculture)? There seem to be inconsistencies about the nature of Hassidism.

Hassidism is generally thought of as a folk movement, but the early-generation disciples (Hassidim) were strictly scholars. The romantic and archetypical future Hassidic leader is tortured by a poignant hankering to an eluding spirituality his young soul cannot achieve through Torah study alone until it finds contentment with the teachings of a Hassidic court. And Hassidic leaders are said to have plied their prowess to lure the elite, and many a strife erupted over the seduction of the rabbi’s-prodigal-son into the cult. Stories do abound about charismatic rebbes traversing the shtetels to inspire peasants, and profound maxims that ennoble the value of the simple Jewish soul are quoted. However, those were merely services provided by the movement to the populace. Hasidism has not, it seems, invited those peasants into its own ranks, leastways not during its early stages.

Documentary Recommend: Waiting For Superman

I don’t know who most of the readers of this blog are, but I suspect that few have gone to a U.S. public school or have sent/are sending their kids there. Still, it’s important to be aware of the sobering reality of our public school system, particularly how it fails minorities and those without decent financial resources. These people—the ones strapped in this morass of failure from which it is exceedingly difficult to climb out of—are our neighbors, our fellow passengers on the trains, our checkout cashiers, our deliverymen. They are also the ones we’re terrified of. The ones who burglarize our homes, taunt our kids in their schoolyards, even occasionally beat us to the point of needing hospitalization. To understand their reality, it is worthwhile to check out David Guggenheim’s documentary, Waiting for Superman. It may not make us less terrified, but it will at least give us some insight. And it may possibly help dispel bigotry and hatred and narrow-mindedness.

Food for Thought

I often have lunch at a particular restaurant and nearly every time I go, I spot a woman there. She appears to be in her 50s. She is tall, thin, beautiful, with that regal graciousness that certain women seen to inherently possess. She is always alone, always reading a book or magazine, and always orders the identical dish. She eats slowly and elegantly, as if she is savoring each spoonful. One time, just after she left, I struck up a conversation with the waiter. He informed me that this woman has been coming in for lunch every single day and eating the same exact dish for at least twenty-two years, which is when he started working at this restaurant.

This astounds me. What does this say about a person that she follows a specific regimen for more than two decades, never varying any part of it? And what does it say about me that I’m so, so curious about her?

Doublethink

When people (both laymen and scholars) want to analyze a certain mindset or behavior of an Orthodox Jew, they look to the Torah* for validation of their analysis. For example, if they are trying to understand why a mega-store like B&H in Manhattan would shut down their entire operation at 1pm on Friday plus all of Saturday, they will look to the Torah for an explanation. And they will find one (or more likely, more than one).** They will then cite the Torah’s precept, thus validating their reasoning.

The Torah does, indeed, serve as the Jew’s guidebook in a lot of ways. Which is why it makes sense theoretically to base an analysis of a Jew’s behavior on its contents. However, in actuality, this is not always a credible methodology. Orthodox Jews are part of western society and as such, cannot help but be influenced by its material and moral norms. When people who are raised Orthodox encounter a contemporary viewpoint, their minds instinctively filter it through the already inculcated viewpoints they have been raised with. If the new viewpoint contradicts their previous one, they may do one of four things: reject the new view; reject the old view; develop cognitive dissonance; or engage in doublethink.