Rabbi Elijah and his followers accused the Hasidim of three misdeeds:
denigration of rabbinic scholars, challenging the authority of the Jewish com-
munity, and engaging in practices that appeared Sabbatean. The last included
the distinct Hasidic dress (Hasidic Jews all wore white); the wildness of
Hasidic prayer, which appeared Frankist; and the widespread use of the prayer
book of Isaac Luria, which disseminated kabbalistic ideas, which since
Shabbetai Zvi had been regarded by rabbis as dangerous and subversive.
Hasidic Jews, aware of comparisons to Sabbateanism, made sure to refute
this damning notion, which they found no less reprehensible than did their
critics. In one story told about the Besht:
Shabbetai Zvi came to the Besht to ask for redemption. ... The Besht
began to establish a connection, but he was afraid, as Shabbetai Zvi was a
terribly wicked man. Once the Besht was asleep, Shabbetai Zvi, may his
name be blotted out [yimach shemo], came and attempted to tempt him
again, God forbid. With a mighty thrust, the Besht hurled him to the
bottom of hell. The Besht peered down and saw that he landed on the
same pallet as Jesus.By 1800, the conflict between Hasidic Jews and the mitnagdimabated to a
point where the two sides were able to reach a compromise. This compromise
was facilitated by five developments. First, Hasidism won, except in
Lithuania. Second, real opposition to Hasidism died with Rabbi Elijah in
1799; his disciples continued to combat Hasidism only indirectly, by trying
to reinvigorate non-Hasidic Rabbinic Judaism. Third, by 1800 it was clear
that Hasidism was well within normative Judaism, that it was a pietistic
movement, but not reformist or sectarian, and definitely not Sabbateanism.
According to Gershom Scholem, this change of heart was made possible by
the way that Hasidism “neutralized” the messianic ideas that had been com-
bustible in the hands of Sabbateans, particularly the Hasidic reorientation of
the aim of tikkunfrom a global to a personal form of perfection. Fourth,
Shneur Zalman of Lyady, the founder of Lubavicher Hasidism, rehabilitated
the study of study under the rubric of Hasidic contemplation, thus curtailing
the denigration of talmudic scholars and study by adherents of Hasidism.
Finally, during the nineteenth century, Hasidic Jews and their opponents
found a new, common threat: the spread of enlightenment.
Hasidism had a major impact on traditional Jewish life in eastern
Europe. Hasidism reinvigorated traditional Judaism in Poland, which was
in midst of a crisis following the rise of Sabbateanism. This newfound spir-
itual vitality would fortify the traditional Jewish world to contend with the
spread of enlightenment and humanism during the nineteenth century. At
the same time, Hasidism was highly disruptive to Jewish family life. The
ideal life of a Hasidic man was to spend extensive periods of time in the
136 World Jewry in flux, 1492–1750