Apart from the harsh impact of the cantonist system, Russian Jewry by
and large remained minimally affected by Russian rule prior to the 1850s.
The two main religious currents within Russian Jewry were those that had
crystallized at the end of the eighteenth century: Hasidic and Mitnagedic
Judaism. Mitnagedic Judaism, which had begun largely as a movement
opposed to Hasidism, developed during the first half of the nineteenth cen-
tury into a religious movement of its own. Instrumental in its development
were Hayyim of Volozhin and Israel Salanter. Hayyim of Volozhin, a disciple
of Elijah of Vilna, recognized Hasidism as not only a legitimate but also a
permanent feature of Jewish life in Russia.
Accordingly, in an effort not to lose young people to Hasidism, he reinvigo-
rated non-Hasidic traditionalism by revamping its education system. Drawing
on the educational innovations of his mentor, Hayyim of Volozhin introduced a
modicum of secular subjects into the traditional curriculum – to be sure, only
the minimum necessary to enhance and improve the study of rabbinic texts. He
also created a new kind of yeshiva. In contrast to the community yeshiva, which
was funded by the local community, run by the community rabbi, and often
attended by local youth, the Volozhin yeshiva was privately funded and thus
operated independently of the local community. This new kind of yeshiva offered
superior facilities, teachers, and provisions, and attracted a higher caliber of
student. The heads of these yeshivas were not only accomplished rabbinic schol-
ars, but also highly charismatic – akin to the Hasidic rebbe. These changes
narrowed the gap between the world of rabbinic learning in Lithuania and the
world of Hasidism.
Yet non-Hasidic traditionalism still lacked the spiritual allure of Hasidism.
This lacuna was filled by Israel Salanter, a product of the schools and of
Hayyim of Volozhin. Salanter introduced into his yeshiva a new emphasis on
Jewish ethics, known as mussar– the essence of what came to be known as the
Mussar Movement. Whereas Hasidic Jews sought spiritual fulfillment
through prayer, song, and dance, the Mussar Movement promised spiritual
fulfillment through the contemplation of an ethically superior life. Though
largely an intellectual movement, at times Salanter applied his emphasis on
ethics to everyday situations. For example, he refused to approve the Passover
matzoth made in a factory where the women workers were mistreated.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Hasidic and
Mitnagedic Judaism were challenged by the emergence of a third religious
current: the Russian Haskalah. Until the 1850s, this was less a movement
than a few isolated individuals, often barely distinguishable from
Mitnagedic Jews. Alienated from the rest of the Jewish population, these
individuals found employment as government rabbis. During the 1860s,
though, the Russian Haskalah would take a major step forward, buttressed
by the policies of Tsar Alexander II.
Alexander II, the “liberal” tsar ascended to the throne following Nicholas’s
death in 1855. His reign is known as “the great thaw” in Russian history,
The age of enlightenment and emancipation, 1750–1880 175