Torah Study in Early Hasidism

Summary

The new position occupied by the miṣvah of Torah study (Talmud Torah) with the rise of Hasidism has been discussed by scholars under headings such as “Judaism of the emotions as opposed to Judaism of the intellect” and so on. It has been called by some “the revolt of the people,” a thing far removed from the truth. Nevertheless, these attempts at categorization are on the right track in that they indicate the poor status of Torah learning at the beginning of the movement (but not from the first half of the nineteenth century onward, when a decisive change took place). The lack of the light of Torah learning has been noted by modern historians, as it was indeed by the “opponents” (mithnaggedim) of the time, who talked of the contempt for the Torah in the Hasidic camp. And this is, in fact, a historical phenomenon that needs to be explained. The problem may be clarified by a look at some of the criteria involved.

The question of the method of Torah learning in the new religious movement was important for the daily conduct of every one of its adherents who was affected by the Hasidic notion of “the fear of Heaven,” since Torah study was considered incumbent upon every Jew. The differences between the complex of values in classical Judaism and those of Hasidism sorely troubled the first Hasidim when they came to establish their life pattern, because they advocated constant devekuth (spiritual adherence), an activity that is contemplative, and perhaps emotional, but is certainly not merely intellectual.

The basic works of Jewish mysticism already note a discrepancy between Torah study as a supreme value and the imposition of devekuth. Devekuth is not an invention of Hasidism but is derived with some changes of meaning from the Cabbala. By way of generalization, it can be said that medieval cabbalists resolved the contradiction between devekuth and Torah study by imposing a strict separation between the periods of time that had to be devoted to devekuth and those which were for Torah study. The time scale was measured in hours, on the basis of the well-known mishnah about the early Hasidim, who would wait one hour before praying (Mishnah, Berakhoth 5,1), a fundamental text. The cabbalist manuals explain this delay as an expression of devekuth.