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Contraversions: Critical Studies in Jewish Literature, Culture, and Society #5
Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov (Volume 5)
This book goes farther than any previous work in uncovering the historical Israel ben Eliezer―known as the Ba'al Shem Tov, or the Besht―the eighteenth-century Polish-Jewish mystic who profoundly influenced the shape of modern Judaism. As the progenitor of Hasidism, the Ba'al Shem Tov is one of the key figures in Jewish history; to understand him is to understand an essential element of modern Jewish life and religion.
Because evidence about his life is scanty and equivocal, the Besht has long eluded historians and biographers. Much of what is believed about him is based on stories compiled more than a generation after his death, many of which serve to mythologize rather than describe their subject. Rosman's study casts a bright new light on the traditional stories about the Besht, confirming and augmenting some, challenging others. By concentrating on accounts attributable directly to the Besht or to contemporary eyewitnesses, Rosman provides a portrait drawn from life rather than myth. In addition, documents in Polish and Hebrew discovered by Rosman during the research for this book enable him to give the first detailed description of the cultural, social, economic, and political context of the Ba'al Shem Tov's life.
Because evidence about his life is scanty and equivocal, the Besht has long eluded historians and biographers. Much of what is believed about him is based on stories compiled more than a generation after his death, many of which serve to mythologize rather than describe their subject. Rosman's study casts a bright new light on the traditional stories about the Besht, confirming and augmenting some, challenging others. By concentrating on accounts attributable directly to the Besht or to contemporary eyewitnesses, Rosman provides a portrait drawn from life rather than myth. In addition, documents in Polish and Hebrew discovered by Rosman during the research for this book enable him to give the first detailed description of the cultural, social, economic, and political context of the Ba'al Shem Tov's life.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published May 26, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 26, 2014
An interesting book, but extremely scholarly -- not for the reader more interested in a biography of the Besht's life. Most of the book is devoted to an in depth analysis of the various sources of evidence available to us that relate to the Besht. The take away is more what we don't know, than what we do.
October 22, 2014
Many legends have arisen around Israel ben Eliezer (the "Baal Shem Tov" or "Besht"), a 18th-century mystic often described as the founder of Hasidim. But the Besht left behind only a few letters, so we don't really know as much about him as we do about other Jewish leaders. In this book, Rosman seeks to put the Baal Shem Tov in historical context.
First of all, he explains what the phrase "Baal Shem" (literally, "Master of the Name") meant in the early 18th century- a mystic who manipulated the names of God to achieve good results in everyday life, comparable to today's faith healers.
He then explains the meaning of the term "hasidim." Because of the Besht's association with hasidim, one might think that the term was unknown. Rosman shows otherwise- that long before the Besht, the term "hasidim" was often used to describe mystics and ascetics. Although a hasid could be a rabbi, hasidim were different than typical rabbis, insofar as they focused less on scholarship and more on other forms of piety such as ascetic practices. While the early hasidim were a kind of spiritual elite like Christian monks, the Besht and his successors used the term "Hasidim" to describe somewhat different spiritual practices- practices that retained the mystical emphasis of the early hasidim, but were less focused on suffering and more accessible to the common man.
The middle of Rosman's book focuses on a few letters written by and to the Besht himself. One letter, to an apparent disciple, criticizes excessive fasting and urges concentration on the letters of sacred texts instead. According to Rosman, this letter highlights where the Besht broke from earlier hasidim.
A second letter, signed by the Besht and another man, asks a rabbi whether a rabbi in the Besht's own community ruled correctly about a technical question involving Jewish dietary laws. Because the community rabbi made a lenient ruling, Rosman infers that the Besht disagreed with it; he therefore suggests that the Besht was not a populist who always favored halachic leniency. (Though I wonder whether Rosman is overinterpreting the letter; asking a question about a ruling is not the same as opposing it).
Another letter, by the rabbi to the Besht, praises him as one who "provides balm and medicament to the person without strength" (i.e. a healer) and refers to "his colleagues, all of them beloved rabbis", implying that the Besht was someone who stood on a social par with rabbis and was thus a respected member of the community, but that his followers were a small group of rabbis rather than the populace as a whole. Another letter refers to the Besht's mystical visions, reaffirming Rosman's view that the Besht's prestige was the result of his mystical emphasis rather than erudition.
Finally, Rosman discusses real estate tax rolls that mention the Besht, and listing numerous people as relatives of the Besht. According to the tax rolls, he lived tax-free in a house owned by the Jewish community. To Rosman, this indicates that the Besht was a substantial citizen in his community, one who was part of its religious leadership.
So how do the legends surrounding the Besht compare to the reality? Rosman suggests that they are accurate insofar as they focus on the Besht's commitment to prayer and mysticism, but less so to the extent that they treat him as a populist insurgent opposed to his town's religious and secular leadership.
First of all, he explains what the phrase "Baal Shem" (literally, "Master of the Name") meant in the early 18th century- a mystic who manipulated the names of God to achieve good results in everyday life, comparable to today's faith healers.
He then explains the meaning of the term "hasidim." Because of the Besht's association with hasidim, one might think that the term was unknown. Rosman shows otherwise- that long before the Besht, the term "hasidim" was often used to describe mystics and ascetics. Although a hasid could be a rabbi, hasidim were different than typical rabbis, insofar as they focused less on scholarship and more on other forms of piety such as ascetic practices. While the early hasidim were a kind of spiritual elite like Christian monks, the Besht and his successors used the term "Hasidim" to describe somewhat different spiritual practices- practices that retained the mystical emphasis of the early hasidim, but were less focused on suffering and more accessible to the common man.
The middle of Rosman's book focuses on a few letters written by and to the Besht himself. One letter, to an apparent disciple, criticizes excessive fasting and urges concentration on the letters of sacred texts instead. According to Rosman, this letter highlights where the Besht broke from earlier hasidim.
A second letter, signed by the Besht and another man, asks a rabbi whether a rabbi in the Besht's own community ruled correctly about a technical question involving Jewish dietary laws. Because the community rabbi made a lenient ruling, Rosman infers that the Besht disagreed with it; he therefore suggests that the Besht was not a populist who always favored halachic leniency. (Though I wonder whether Rosman is overinterpreting the letter; asking a question about a ruling is not the same as opposing it).
Another letter, by the rabbi to the Besht, praises him as one who "provides balm and medicament to the person without strength" (i.e. a healer) and refers to "his colleagues, all of them beloved rabbis", implying that the Besht was someone who stood on a social par with rabbis and was thus a respected member of the community, but that his followers were a small group of rabbis rather than the populace as a whole. Another letter refers to the Besht's mystical visions, reaffirming Rosman's view that the Besht's prestige was the result of his mystical emphasis rather than erudition.
Finally, Rosman discusses real estate tax rolls that mention the Besht, and listing numerous people as relatives of the Besht. According to the tax rolls, he lived tax-free in a house owned by the Jewish community. To Rosman, this indicates that the Besht was a substantial citizen in his community, one who was part of its religious leadership.
So how do the legends surrounding the Besht compare to the reality? Rosman suggests that they are accurate insofar as they focus on the Besht's commitment to prayer and mysticism, but less so to the extent that they treat him as a populist insurgent opposed to his town's religious and secular leadership.
October 3, 2019
Quite scholarly. Well researched. Often had to read a sentence or paragraph more than once to be sure I understood it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews