Hasidim

Ha·sid

or Has·sid also Chas·sid C0258100 (KHä′sĭd, KHô′-, hä′-)n. pl. Ha·si·dim or Has·si·dim also Chas·si·dim (KHä-sē′dĭm, KHô-, hä-) A member of a Jewish mystic movement founded in the 18th century in eastern Europe by Baal Shem Tov that reacted against Talmudic learning and maintained that God's presence was in all of one's surroundings and that one should serve God in one's every deed and word.

[From Hebrew ḥāsîd, pious, from ḥāsad, to be kind; see ḥsd in Semitic roots.]

Ha·si′dic adj.Ha·si′dism n.

Thesaurus

Noun

Hasidim - a sect of Orthodox Jews that arose out of a pietistic movement originating in eastern Europe in the second half of the 18th century; a sect that follows the Mosaic law strictlyChasidim, Chassidim, Hasidism, HassidimJewish Orthodoxy, Orthodox Judaism - Jews who strictly observe the Mosaic law as interpreted in the TalmudChasid, Chassid, Hasid, Hassid - a member of a Jewish sect that observes a form of strict Orthodox Judaism

Hasidim

Chassidim

(both: häsē`dĭm, khä–) [Heb.,=the pious], term used by the rabbis to describe those Jews who maintained the highest standard of religious observance and moral action. The term has been applied to movements at three distinct times. The first Hasidim, also called the Assideans or Hasideans, were an ancient Jewish sect that developed between 300 B.C. and 175 B.C. They were the most rigid adherents of Judaism in contradistinction to those Jews who were beginning to be affected by Hellenistic influences. The Hasidim led the resistance to the hellenizing campaign of Antiochus IV of Syria, and they figured largely in the early phases of the revolt of the MaccabeesMaccabees
or Machabees
, Jewish family of the 2d and 1st cent. B.C. that brought about a restoration of Jewish political and religious life. They are also called Hasmoneans or Asmoneans after their ancestor, Hashmon.
..... Click the link for more information. . Their ritual strictness has caused some to see them as forerunners of the Pharisees. Throughout the Talmudic period numerous figures were referred to as Hasidim. During the 12th and 13th cent., however, there arose in Germany a specific group known as the Hasidei Ashkenaz. Influenced by Saadia ben Joseph and with messianic and mystical elements, it held as its central ideology the unity of God, the application of justice in all situations, social and economic equality, and martyrdom at the hands of the crusaders rather than compromise of any kind. The chief ethical work that derived from the group was the Sefer Hasidim (tr. Book of the Pious, 1973). The third movement to which the term Hasidim is applied is that founded in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov and known as HasidismHasidism
or Chassidism
[Heb.,=the pious], Jewish religious movement founded in Poland in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov. Its name derives from Hasidim. Hasidism, which stressed the mercy of God and encouraged joyous religious expression through music and dance, spread
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See S. Lieberman, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (1962); S. G. Kramer, God and Man in the Sefer Hasidim (1966); A. L. Lowenkopf, The Hasidim (1973). See also bibliography under HasidismHasidism
or Chassidism
[Heb.,=the pious], Jewish religious movement founded in Poland in the 18th cent. by Baal-Shem-Tov. Its name derives from Hasidim. Hasidism, which stressed the mercy of God and encouraged joyous religious expression through music and dance, spread
..... Click the link for more information. .

Hasidim

Ha·sid

Hasidim

Hasidim

Chassidim

Bibliography

Hasidim

Synonyms for Hasidim

noun a sect of Orthodox Jews that arose out of a pietistic movement originating in eastern Europe in the second half of the 18th century

Synonyms

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