Studying Hasidism: Sources, Methods, Perspectives (Paperback)
Hasidism, a Jewish religious movement that originated in Poland in the eighteenth century, today counts over 700,000 adherents, primarily in the U.S., Israel, and the UK. Popular and scholarly interest in Hasidic Judaism and Hasidic Jews is growing, but there is no textbook dedicated to research methods in the field, nor sources for the history of Hasidism have been properly recognized. Studying Hasidism, edited by Marcin Wodziński, an internationally recognized historian of Hasidism, aims to remedy this gap. The work’s thirteen chapters each draws upon a set of different sources, many of them previously untapped, including folklore, music, big data, and material culture to demonstrate what is still to be achieved in the study of Hasidism. Ultimately, this textbook presents research methods that can decentralize the role community leaders play in the current literature and reclaim the everyday lives of Hasidic Jews.
MARCIN WODZIŃSKI is a professor of Jewish history and literature at the University of Wrocław, Poland. He is the author or editor of many books, including Historical Atlas of Hasidism and Hasidism: A New History.
"Impressive..readers will learn new things about Hasidism even while their horizons broaden to see new ways of thinking about sources."
— Naomi Seidman
"The contributors to Studying Hasidism are the academic equivalent of an all-star team while the topics covered are the wish-list of anyone interested in Hasidism. Up to date, original and comprehensive–there is nothing like it."
— Shaul Stampfer
"Marcin Wodzinski has assembled eleven respected scholars for this work on Hasidism. Much more than an excellent textbook, it focuses on a wide range of important issues not generally emphasized in histories of this pious movement whose membership even now amounts to nearly a million people, roughly seven percent of the world’s Jewish population. Intellectually challenging and engagingly written, the book should appeal to everyone interested in the history of modern Jewry."
— Abraham Ascher
"Comprised of thirteen erudite and informative articles by experts in Hasidic culture and customs, Studying Hasidism: Sources, Methods, Perspectives is an extraordinary, unique, and impressively informative contribution to the growing library of Hasidic literature and an invaluable addition to personal, community, and academic library Judaic Studies collections."
— Midwest Book Review
"Studying Hasidism is certainly a valuable tool for both scholars and advanced students of Hasidism. It goes beyond the editor’s previous works in not only laying out a vision of what direction the historical analysis of Hasidism can take, by actually providing systematic tools with which to do so."
— Tradition
— Naomi Seidman
"The contributors to Studying Hasidism are the academic equivalent of an all-star team while the topics covered are the wish-list of anyone interested in Hasidism. Up to date, original and comprehensive–there is nothing like it."
— Shaul Stampfer
"Marcin Wodzinski has assembled eleven respected scholars for this work on Hasidism. Much more than an excellent textbook, it focuses on a wide range of important issues not generally emphasized in histories of this pious movement whose membership even now amounts to nearly a million people, roughly seven percent of the world’s Jewish population. Intellectually challenging and engagingly written, the book should appeal to everyone interested in the history of modern Jewry."
— Abraham Ascher
"Comprised of thirteen erudite and informative articles by experts in Hasidic culture and customs, Studying Hasidism: Sources, Methods, Perspectives is an extraordinary, unique, and impressively informative contribution to the growing library of Hasidic literature and an invaluable addition to personal, community, and academic library Judaic Studies collections."
— Midwest Book Review
"Studying Hasidism is certainly a valuable tool for both scholars and advanced students of Hasidism. It goes beyond the editor’s previous works in not only laying out a vision of what direction the historical analysis of Hasidism can take, by actually providing systematic tools with which to do so."
— Tradition