Chassidism marked a moment of revolutionary change in Jewish life and spiritual engagement of the 18th century. Heavily influenced by the teachings of the Ari, early Chassidic thinkers explored and contributed to the development of Jewish mysticism. In this podcast episode, David discusses the lives and work of several early influential Chassidic figures, including;
- the Baal Shem Tov
- the Maggid of Mezricth
- Rebbe Nachman
- the Alter Rebbe.
David places these figures and their contributions in historical context and unpacks some of their fascinating and complex mystical ideas.
Other concepts discussed in this episode:
- Kabbalah & Jewish mysticism
- Lurianic Kabbalah
- the Zohar
- chassidism
- chochma
- hitbonenut
- hitlahavut
- keter
- otiot
- tzimtzum
- kli
- sovev
- bina
Listeners who find this material new or challenging may wish to refer to the glossary of kabbalistic terms (with illustrative graphics) provided here.
Find part one of the series here
Find part two of the series here
Find more of David Solomon’s podcast, with dozens of lectures on Jewish history, the Bible, Jewish philosophy, and Kabbalah here.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:16:01 — 104.4MB)
This three-part series was recorded in Jerusalem at the OU Israel Center in 2009.