Editing Hasidic Judaism (section)

===Consolidation===
[[File:Shivchei besht.jpg|thumb|right|''Shivchei HaBesht'' (Praises of the [[Baal Shem Tov]]), the first compilation of Hasidic hagiographic storytelling, was printed from manuscripts in 1815.]]
Israel ben Eliezer gathered a considerable following, drawing to himself disciples from far away. They were largely of elitist background, yet adopted the populist approach of their master. The most prominent was Rabbi [[Dov Ber of Mezeritch|Dov Ber]] the ''[[Maggid]]'' (preacher). He succeeded the former upon his death, though other important acolytes, mainly [[Jacob Joseph of Polonne]], did not accept his leadership. Establishing himself in [[Mezhirichi]], the Maggid turned to greatly elaborate the Besht's rudimentary ideas and institutionalize the nascent circle into an actual movement. Ben Eliezer and his acolytes used the very old and common epithet ''[[Hasidim]]'', "pious"; in the latter third of the 18th century, a clear differentiation arose between that sense of the word and what was at first described as "New Hasidism", propagated to a degree by the Maggid and especially his successors.<ref name="Ros">Moshe Rosman, ''Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba'al Shem Tov''. University of California Press (1996). pp. 37–38.</ref>

Doctrine coalesced as Jacob Joseph, Dov Ber, and the latter's disciple, Rabbi [[Elimelech of Lizhensk]], composed the three magna opera of early Hasidism, respectively: the 1780 ''Toldot Ya'akov Yosef'', the 1781 ''Maggid d'varav le-Ya'akov'', and the 1788 ''No'am Elimelekh''. Other books were also published. Their new teaching had many aspects. The importance of devotion in prayer was stressed to such degree that many waited beyond the prescribed time to properly prepare; the Besht's recommendation to "elevate and sanctify" impure thoughts, rather than simply repress them during the service, was expanded by Dov Ber into an entire precept, depicting prayer as a mechanism to transform thoughts and feelings from a primal to a higher state in a manner parallel to the unfolding of the ''[[Sephirot]]''. But the most important was the notion of the ''Tzaddiq'' – later designated by the general rabbinic honorific [[Rebbe#The hasidic rebbe|''Admor'' (our master, teacher, and rabbi) or by the colloquial Rebbe]] – the Righteous One, the mystic who was able to elate and achieve communion with the divine, but, unlike kabbalists past, did not practice it in secret, but as leader of the masses. He was able to bring down prosperity and guidance from the higher ''Sephirot'', and the common people who could not attain such a state themselves would achieve it by "clinging" to and obeying him. The ''Tzaddiq'' served as a bridge between the spiritual realm and the ordinary folk, as well as a simple, understandable embodiment of the esoteric teachings of the sect, which were still beyond the reach of most just as old-style Kabbalah before.

The various Hasidic ''Tzaddiqim'', mainly the Maggid's disciples, spread across Eastern Europe with each gathering adherents among the people and learned acolytes who could be initiated as leaders. The Righteous' "courts" in which they resided, attended by their followers to receive blessing and council, became the institutional centers of Hasidism, serving as its branches and organizational core. Slowly, various rites emerged in them, like the Sabbath ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|Tisch]]'' or "table", in which the Righteous would hand out food scraps from their meals, considered blessed by the touch of ones imbued with godly Light during their mystical ascensions.<ref>Dynner, pp. 34-39, 42.</ref> Another potent institution was the ''[[Shtibel]]'', the private prayer gatherings opened by adherents in every town which served as a recruiting mechanism. The ''Shtibel'' differed from the established synagogues and study halls, allowing their members greater freedom to worship when they pleased, and also serving recreational and welfare purposes. Combined with its simplified message, more appealing to the common man, its honed organizational framework accounted for the exponential growth of Hasidic ranks.<ref>{{cite book|title=Stampfer, Why Hasidism Spreaf|last=Stampfer|first=Shaul|publisher=The Hebrew University of Jerusalem|location=Jerusalem|pages=203–207}}</ref> Having ousted the old communal model, and replaced it with a less-hierarchical structure and more individually-oriented religiosity, Hasidism was, in fact, the first great modern – albeit not modernist; its self-understanding was grounded in a traditional mindset – Jewish movement.<ref>For example: Murray Rosman, ''[https://www.academia.edu/19681639 Hasidism – Traditional Modernization]'', Simon Dubnow Institute Yearbook 6 (2007).</ref>

From its original base in [[Podolia]] and [[Volhynia]], the movement was rapidly disseminated during the Maggid's lifetime, and after his 1772 death. Twenty or so of Dov Ber's prime disciples each brought it to a different region, and their own successors followed: [[Aharon of Karlin (I)]], [[Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk]], and [[Shneur Zalman of Liadi]] were the emissaries to the former [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] in the far north, while [[Menachem Nachum Twersky]] headed to [[Chernobyl]] in the east, and [[Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev]] remained nearby. [[Elimelech of Lizhensk]], his brother [[Zusha of Hanipol]], and [[Yisroel Hopsztajn]] established the sect in [[Polish Crown|Poland proper]]. Vitebsk and [[Abraham Kalisker]] later led a small group of followers to [[Ottoman Palestine]], establishing a Hasidic presence in the [[Galilee]].

{{Anchor|Opposition}}The spread of Hasidism also incurred organized opposition. Rabbi [[Elijah of Vilna|Elijah of Vilnius]], one of the greatest authorities of the generation and a ''hasid'' and secret kabbalist of the old style, was deeply suspicious of their emphasis on mysticism, rather than mundane Torah study, threat to established communal authority, resemblance to the Sabbatean movement, and other details he considered infractions. In April 1772, he and the Vilnius community wardens launched a systematic campaign against the sect, placing an [[herem (censure)|anathema]] upon them, banishing their leaders, and sending letters denouncing the movement. Further excommunication followed in [[Brody]] and other cities. In 1781, during a second round of hostilities, the books of Jacob Joseph were burned in Vilnius. Another cause for strife emerged when the Hasidim adopted the [[Lurianic]] prayer rite, which they revised somewhat to [[Nusach Sefard]]; the first edition in Eastern Europe was printed in 1781 and received approbation from the anti-Hasidic scholars of Brody, but the sect quickly embraced the Kabbalah-infused tome and popularized it, making it their symbol. Their rivals, named ''[[Misnagdim]]'', "opponents" (a generic term which acquired an independent meaning as Hasidism grew stronger), soon accused them of abandoning the traditional [[Nusach Ashkenaz]].

In 1798, Opponents made accusations of espionage against [[Shneur Zalman of Liadi]], and he was imprisoned by the Russian government for two months. Excoriatory polemics were printed and anathemas declared in the entire region. But Elijah's death in 1797 denied the ''Misnagdim'' their powerful leader. In 1804, [[Alexander I of Russia]] allowed independent prayer groups to operate, the chief vessel through which the movement spread from town to town. The failure to eradicate Hasidism, which acquired a clear self-identity in the struggle and greatly expanded throughout it, convinced its adversaries to adopt a more passive method of resistance, as exemplified by [[Chaim of Volozhin]]. The growing conservatism of the new movement – which at some occasions drew close to Kabbalah-based antinomian phraseology, as did the Sabbateans, but never crossed the threshold and remained thoroughly observant – and the rise of common enemies slowly brought a rapprochement, and by the second half of the 19th century, both sides basically considered each other legitimate.

The turn of the century saw several prominent new, fourth generation ''tzaddiqim''. Upon Elimelech's death in the [[Partitions of Poland|now-partitioned Poland]], his place in [[Habsburg Galicia]] was assumed by [[Menachem Mendel of Rimanov]], who was deeply hostile to the modernization the Austrian rulers attempted to force on the traditional Jewish society (though this same process also allowed his sect to flourish, as communal authority was severely weakened). The rabbi of Rimanov hearkened the alliance the Hasidim would form with the most conservative elements of the Jewish public. In Central Poland, the new leader was Jacob Isaac Horowiz, the "[[Seer of Lublin]]", who was of a particularly populist bent and appealed to the common folk with miracle working and little strenuous spiritual demands. The Seer's senior acolyte, [[Yaakov Yitzchak Rabinowicz|Jacob Isaac Rabinovitz]], the "Holy Jew" of [[Przysucha]], gradually dismissed his mentor's approach as overly vulgar, and adopted a more aesthetic and scholarly approach, virtually without theurgy to the masses. The Holy Jew's "Przysucha School" was continued by his successor [[Simcha Bunim]], and especially the reclusive, morose [[Menachem Mendel of Kotzk]]. The most controversial fourth generation ''tzaddiq'' was the Podolia-based [[Nachman of Breslov]], who denounced his peers for becoming too institutionalized, much like the old establishment their predecessors challenged decades before, and espoused an anti-rationalist, pessimistic spiritual teaching, very different from the prevalent stress on joy.