Founded in Eastern Europe in the eighteenth century, the Hasidic movement and its religious thinking have dramatically transformed modern Judaism. The figure of the Ba'al Shem Tov (known in acronym form as the BeSHT)--the purported founder of the Hasidic movement--has fascinated scholars, Jewish philosophers, and laypeople interested in popular Jewish mysticism in general and the contemporary Hasidic movement in all its variety.
In this volume, Etkes enters a rich and heated debate over the origins of the movement, as well as the historicity of its mythic founder, Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov, who lived much of his life as a miracle worker. The eighteenth century, as Etkes vividly portrays, was the heyday of the kabbalists, who dabbled in the magical power of letters and words to solve personal and communal problems--and to earn a living. Etkes sheds light on the personality of the Besht, on his mysticism, and on his close circle of followers. But equally important, he challenges the popular myth of the Besht as a childlike mystic, wandering the fields in prayer, seeing visions and engaging in acts of godliness and piety. Although Etkes shows great empathy for his subject, the Besht who emerges in these pages is much more down to earth, much more a man of his times. Indeed, according to Etkes, it was never the intention of the Besht to found a religious movement.
Etkes looks at the Besht's mystical roots, examining him not only from the vantage point of a social historian, but as a religious figure. Moshe Rosman, author of Founder of Hasidism, a biography of the Besht, claims that In Praise of the Besht--a volume published about the Besht in 1814, many years after his death, which portrayed his character by means of stories told by his close followers--could not be a reliable source. Etkes, disputing this claim, shows definitively that this well-known text (translated and interpreted by, among others, Martin Buber) may indeed offer trustworthy accounts of the Besht's life and thinking.

Jacob Katz (1904-1998) was one of the greatest Jewish historians of the twentieth century. A pioneer of new foci and methods, Katz brought extraordinary insights to many aspects of Jewish life and its surrounding contexts.

With a keen eye for both "forests" and "trees," Katz transformed our understanding of many areas of Jewish history, among them: Jewish-Christian relations in the Middle Ages, the social-historical significance of Jewish law, the rise of Orthodoxy in Germany and Hungary, and the emergence of modern antisemitism. In this volume, ten leading scholars critically discuss Katz's work with an appreciation for Katz's importance in reshaping the way Jewish history is studied.

Israel Salanter was one of the most original and influential Jewish leaders and thinkers of Eastern European Jewry in the modern period. This biography makes available to the English-speaking public - for the first time - a systematic discussion of his thought and deeds, which had a profound impact on traditional Judaism. One of Salanter's most striking innovations was the transformation of the issue of ethics from the domain of theology to the realm of psychology. Immanuel Etkes traces Salanter's unique view of Mussar doctrine, especially his introduction of modern psychology to the traditional understanding of personal ethical development. The author begins by tracing Salanter's predecessors - the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Hayyim of Volozhin, and Rabbi Zundel of Salant, Rabbi Israel's teacher. He then places the Mussar movement within its historic and cultural context: on the Jewish scene, with Hasidism and the Haskalah; and on the Russian scene, with the dual pressures of political repression and the cultural lure of secular assimilation. One can see the establishment of the Mussar Movement as a reaction to the increased strength of the Haskalah movement and the secularization that came with it. In fact, Salanter is portrayed as one of the first leaders of Eastern Europe's Jewish Orthodoxy - orthodoxy in the sense of a traditional society gaining awareness of the threat against tradition, preparing to defend it. This struggle itself, however, often assumed a modern character, not unlike the phenomena it was combating. This characterization befits Salanter, who made use of modern methods, like psychology, in his struggle for the triumph of tradition. Etkes's notes make accessible some of thetechnical terms that may be unfamiliar to readers new to this chapter of Jewish history.

A legendary figure in his own lifetime, Rabbi Eliahu ben Shlomo Zalman (1720-1797) was known as the "Gaon of Vilna." He was the acknowledged master of Talmudic studies in the vibrant intellectual center of Vilna, revered throughout Eastern Europe for his learning and his ability to traverse with ease seemingly opposed domains of thought and activity. After his death, the myth that had been woven around him became even more powerful and was expressed in various public images. The formation of these images was influenced as much by the needs and wishes of those who clung to and depended on them as by the actual figure of the Gaon. In this penetrating study, Immanuel Etkes sheds light on aspects of the Vilna Gaon's "real" character and traces several public images of him as they have developed and spread from the early nineteenth century until the present.