Traditional Judaism and the Enlightenment

The Roman destruction of the second temple in 70CE led to the scattering of the Hebrew population, especially those living near Jerusalem. It also led to a significant impact on liturgy. The priest class (Kohanim, כֹּהֲנִים) and their supporters, the wealthy Saducees, had held a monopoly on leadership and religious practice. This authority had gradually waned after the Supreme Court (Sanhedrin) removed the High Priest as its ex officio leader in 191BCE.

The principal group conflicting with the Saducees was the Pharisees. According to the writings of the nearly contemporaneous historian, Josephus, the liturgy of the Pharisees was based on a combination of oral and written law and its interpretation (Halakhah, הֲלָכָה) first by the Sanhedrin and later by rabbis. This is what became the ritualistic basis for Rabbinic Judaism which succeeded the domination of the priests whose main interest was to get followers to attend the Temple and sacrifice (i.e., pay tribute). The last Sanhedrin was dissolved in the 4th century. Maimonides, often considered as the most important rabbinic word, died over eight hundred years ago. To this day, Rabbinic Judaism is a major form of practice with little deviation across continents.

As lay (non rabbinic) scholars began to study these ancient laws and practice, they came to the conclusion that the changes in life that occurred over the centuries had to be addressed. The Enlightenment (Haskalah, השכלה‎) was a movement that started in 18th century Germany for Jews to engage in the secular world and understand the conflict between their adherence to an 1800 year old world view and what was occurring around them. Critical revision in Jewish belief and practice was one of the outcomes of the Haskalah that erupted toward the end of the19th century into outright rejection of Jewish practice including the use of Hebrew in liturgy, the wearing of head covering by men and the segregation and demeaning of woman in religious services and prayer.

The Rise of the Hassid Movement

The Chmielnicki Massacres (1648-49) did not stop the growth of the Jewish presence in the Ukraine, but it did lead to an alteration in the approach of many Jews to the practice of their faith, particularly among the uneducated. Prior to the 18th century a man knowledgeable in Jewish practice led the service- it could be any man. If he were trained in Jewish Law or Halakhah, he could attain the title of rabbi.

The slaughter of over 100,000 Jews led to their withdrawal into self contained areas with little contact with non-Jews. Mysticism grew with the expectation of the coming of the Moshiac. The teachings of Isaac Luria, a tzadik or wise man of the latter part of the 16th century in Galilee, gradually made their way to this area that was further decimated by pogroms. Luria had codified the Kabbalah or signs God gave to Adam through supernatural entities (serpent in  the Garden of Eden) and events (the burning bush, the dividing of the Reed Sea) and ultimately the Torah and Ten Commandments. The proponents believed that only by every person learning Kabbalah would the world come to peace or tikkun olam.

Because so many Jews were illiterate, a new order arose to provide this training. This movement was inspired by one man, the Ba'al Shem Tov, whose teachings were transmitted by adherents to a new class of rabbis, ones more interested in prayer than in law. The proponents became known as Hassids or practitioners of loving-kindness, one of the three tenants of the Lurianic Kabbalah. These rabbis taught that man's role was predestined, that all law was handed down by God, in stark contrast to the teachings of rabbis in western Europe who were influenced by the writings of Spinoza who wrote of free will and that the Torah was written by man.

There is a rich history of the two main branches of contemporary Jewish thought that cannot be more than briefly summarized in this writing and the next on the enlightenment. My reason for discussing this history is to provide insight to the characters of the brothers who were not Hassids, but had to know and respect their world view.