Laws of the spirit : ritual, mysticism, and the commandments in early Hasidism / Ariel Evan Mayse.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mayse, Ariel Evan, author.

Series:

Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hasidism--History--18th century.

Hasidism.

Judaism--Liturgy--History.

Judaism.

Mysticism--Judaism--History.

Mysticism.

Commandments (Judaism).

Jewish way of life.

Jewish law.

Judaism--Liturgy.

Mysticism--Judaism.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

xix, 400 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, [2024]

Summary:

"This book investigates a fundamental tension in Hasidic studies: How did a religious movement known to be radical in its views about God, revelation, and personal religiosity simultaneously produce commitment to the structures and obligations of Jewish law? Exploring the movement from its emergence in the mid-1700s until 1815, Ariel Evan Mayse argues that nomos, eros, and mystical piety merged in Hasidism to produce a daring and highly original theory of the commandments and their significance. The novum of Hasidism is visible not in whether its leaders broke or upheld rabbinic norms, but in the movement's vivid attempt to rethink the purpose of ritual. Shedding allegiance to the notion of law, Mayse claims that the methods and vocabulary of ritual studies are better suited to helping us understand the contradictions and tensions of this religious movement as well as its remarkable intellectual vitality. Delving into the full range of Hasidic sources (legal writings, sermons, regimen vitae, theological treatises, responsa, letters, and hagiography) and reading them together with studies of ritual across the past three decades, this book argues that Hasidism offers a sophisticated intellectual vision that pushes beyond a host of hopelessly insufficient binaries such as law and spirit, nomos and eros, mind and body, tradition and innovation"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Thinking matters : mind, body, action

Wrestling with God's word : text, study, practice

Dwelling with connection : ritual, commandment, and the everyday

God-making : connectivity and revelation

Thine own self : individual, community, leadership

The ever-changing path : renewal and diversity

Once and future commandments : the Torah before Sinai, and the end of the mitsvot

Conclusion : mysticism, Orthodoxy, and renewal.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Mayse, Ariel Evan. Duties of intimacy

ISBN:

9781503638273

1503638278

OCLC:

1397327273