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The hasidic tale has been an integral part of the hasidic movement from its very beginnings, through every stage of the development and formulation of hasidism, generation after generation. The stories themselves may have appeared in published form only at a relatively late stage; but, irrespective of the differences between one storyteller and another, and among the various collectors of the tales, this literary phenomenon has been inseparable from the history of hasidism from the time of its founder, the Ba'al Shem Tov.
The extensive use of this literary genre expressed a profound psychological need on the part of the early hasidim, who afforded it a prominent place in their thought. Its popularity and longevity are also attributable to the inclination of tsadikim in later generations to sing the praises of their teacher–predecessors, and the desire of the simple hasidim to relate to their children and acquaintances all that their eyes had seen and their ears had heard.
The tale would generally be considered to belong to the halakhic category of devarim betelim (idle matters), or at best that of siḥotḥulin (mundane talk); but in the teachings of the Ba'al Shem Tov the telling of stories was sanctified, on the assumption that through this genre it would be possible to elevate the ‘holy sparks’ dispersed in the world; in this way, the tale could be a way of serving God, just like Torah study, prayer, and the observance of the commandments. This belief intensified in the generations following the Ba'al Shem Tov. The sanctification of the story that is characteristic of hasidic thought has already been the subject of scholarly research, and the discussion in this chapter seeks merely to expand this examination. I will explore the virtues and roles that hasidism assigns to the story, the reasons it offers to justify its intense preoccupation with tales, and the attitude of the tsadikim themselves to the stories that were told about them.
THE POWER OF THE TALE
One of the important attributes that hasidism ascribes to the story is its ability to carry hidden meanings: it was commonly held that with simple words and tales the tsadik could work great wonders.
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