The Inner World
Of Chasidim
What they believe, how they differ
amongst themselves (sometimes
violently), and how they deal with
modern secularism.
LEHMAN WEICHSELBAUM
Special to The Jewish News
I
t was a case involving two of the
most venerable elements of Jewish
life: family and books. And in the
inadvertent gesture, it directed the
glare of public attention upon the
confrontation between contemporary
American society and Jewish tradition —
some of it dating back to the 18th century
— that is played out every day among the
diverse sects of Chasidic life in the United
States.
The dispute over books, fought out in the
U.S. District Court of Appeals in New York
City, pitted the Lubavitcher Rebbe against
his nephew over a hotly disputed, extreme-
ly valuable library that had belonged to the
Rebbe's predecessor, his father-in-law, who
was the nephew's grandfather.
In a rare litigation that stepped outside
the usual confines of the Lubavitcher's
own beis din, or religious tribunal, the
family became embroiled"in a bitter battle,
both in and outside of court. The nephew
denounced his uncle's religious group as a
"cult." In turn, it is alleged that an angry
Lubavitcher broke into the home of the
nephew and severely beat up his elderly
mother.
When the verdict of the federal judge
was heard, awarding the library to the
Lubavitch movement, there was dancing in
the street outside the Rebbe's shul.
The entire story, from the beginning of
the dispute over the rebbe's books to the
dancing in the streets, was covered in detail
by the New York Times, The public's
curiosity was aroused.
Who are these people who become so
passionate over books, who dress accord-
ing to a code established in 18th century
Poland and yet are known for their savvy
political skills in 1980s America, who focus
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
on the spiritual and yet dominate the dia-
mond industry, who are steeped in the
study of ancient writings yet operate corn-
puter and camera businesses at the cutting
edge of 20th century technology?
No other contemporary social group is
riven with such rich paradoxes. Their
austere black-and-white exteriors conceal
the ecstatic core of a passionate, revolu-
tionary faith. They serve God within their
self-defined ghettos, even as they propel
themselves into the boiling centers of
political controversy. They cleave unwaver-
ingly to deep-rooted articles of faith, yet
they attract to their ranks the most
creative seekers of a new, adventurous
spirit. They exalt the spiritual over the
physical, but rival gangs of the faithful oc-
casionally brawl in rumbles on the streets
of Brooklyn.
_In numerical terms, Chasidim occupy a
very small place in Jewish life, but their
presence is widely and deeply felt.
History Of Chasidism
Chasidism, Judaism's sect of joy, was
born in an epoch of despair. In the 1600s,
the Jewish world was devastated in the
flesh by the Chmielnicki massacres, and in
the spirit by the false messiah, Shabbetai
Zvi.
The first stirrings of Chasidism had
already been felt in response to this dark
night of the collective soul, but it took
Israel ben Eliezer — better known as the
Baal Shem Tbv (1700-1760) — to turn it in-
to a movement.
Beginning his mission as an assistant
teacher in his native Ukraine, leading
children in song on their way to school, the
Baal Shem preached an immediacy of kin-
ship with God, sidestepping intercessions
by rabbinical institutions, leaping beyond