Spatial Theory in Early Hasidism

• In Event: The Oral and Written Word in the Early Spread of Hasidism

Abstract

This paper will deal with the “lived space” of Hasidism as it was formed in Hasidic thought and in the social structure of the early Hasidic movement. The study of spatial theory throughout Jewish history has intensified recently as part of what is called the “spatial turn” in cultural world history, and it surly can illuminate some essential cultural characteristics of social groups or religious movements such as Hasidism. The formation of Hasidism as a supra-local entity motivated the creation of an innovative spatial perception which owes its origins to kabbalistic myths on the one hand and is modified to fit the geographic realities of Eastern European Jewish communities on the other. Hasidic teachings embrace a new mental map erected upon clear spiritual dimensions inspired by their inclination towards an acosmic world view. The symbolic detachment from real space led to a new interpretation of corporeality and terrestrial surroundings. I will present the traditions that were adapted by early Hasidic thinkers and present how the mystic or charismatic leader personifies a movable territory. In Hasidism, this spatialization of charisma was perceived through the sanctifying of holy entities like the Hasidic court or the deceased rebbes tombs. I will argue that this new imagined geography, which is evident in Hasidic teachings as well as in its history, is one of the elements that enabled the rapid spread of the movement in various localities in Eastern Europe and was the setting for the resurrection of Hasidism in its new regions across the globe.

author

• Uriel Gellman, Bar Ilan University