Editing Hasidic Judaism (section)

===Background===
In the late 17th century, several social trends converged among the Jews who inhabited the southern periphery of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], especially in contemporary [[Western Ukraine]]. These enabled the emergence and flourishing of Hasidism.

The first, and most prominent, was the popularization of the mystical lore of Kabbalah. For several centuries, an esoteric teaching practiced surreptitiously by few, it was transformed into almost household knowledge by a mass of cheap printed pamphlets. The kabbalistic inundation was a major influence behind the rise of the heretical [[Sabbatean]] movement, led by [[Sabbatai Zevi]], who declared himself [[Messiah]] in 1665. The propagation of Kabbalah made the Jewish masses susceptible to Hasidic ideas, themselves, in essence, a popularized version of the teaching – indeed, Hasidism actually emerged when its founders determined to openly practice it, instead of remaining a secret circle of ascetics, as was the manner of almost all past kabbalists. The correlation between publicizing the lore and Sabbateanism did not escape the rabbinic elite, and caused vehement opposition to the new movement.

Another factor was the decline of the traditional authority structures. Jewish autonomy remained quite secured; later research{{By whom|date=June 2022}} debunked [[Simon Dubnow]]'s claim that the [[Council of Four Lands]]' demise in 1746 was a culmination of a long process which destroyed judicial independence and paved the way for the Hasidic rebbes to serve as leaders (another long-held explanation for the sect's rise advocated by [[Raphael Mahler]], that the [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]] effected economic impoverishment and despair, was also refuted{{By whom|date=June 2022}}). However, the [[Szlachta|magnates and nobles]] held much sway over the nomination of both rabbis and communal elders, to such a degree that the masses often perceived them as mere lackeys of the land owners. Their ability to serve as legitimate arbiters in disputes – especially those concerning the regulation of leasehold rights over alcohol distillation and other monopolies in the estates – was severely diminished. The reduced prestige of the establishment, and the need for an alternative source of authority to pass judgement, left a vacuum which Hasidic charismatics eventually filled. They transcended old communal institutions, to which all the Jews of a locality were subordinate, and had groups of followers in each town across vast territories. Often supported by rising strata outside the traditional elite, whether nouveau riche or various low-level religious functionaries, they created a modern form of leadership.

Historians discerned other influences. The formative age of Hasidism coincided with the rise of numerous religious revival movements across the world, including the [[First Great Awakening]] in [[New England]], German [[Pietism]], [[Wahhabism]] in Arabia, and the Russian [[Old Believers]] who opposed the established church. Hasidism rejected the existing order, decrying it as stale and overly hierarchic. They offered what they described as more spiritual, candid, and simple substitutes. [[Gershon David Hundert]] noted the considerable similarity between the Hasidic conceptions and this contemporary background, rooted in the growing importance attributed to the individual's consciousness and choices.<ref>[[Glenn Dynner]], ''Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society'', Oxford University Press (2006). pp. 3–23.</ref>