Rutgers University Press Studying Hasidism: Sources, Methods, Perspectives

Hasidism, a Jewish religious movement that originated in Poland in the eighteenth century, today counts over 700,000 adherents, primarily in the U.S., Israel, and the UK. Popular and scholarly interest in Hasidic Judaism and Hasidic Jews is growing, but there is no textbook dedicated to research methods in the field, nor sources for the history of Hasidism have been properly recognized. Studying Hasidism, edited by Marcin Wodzinski, an internationally recognized historian of Hasidism, aims to remedy this gap. The work's thirteen chapters each draws upon a set of different sources, many of them previously untapped, including folklore, music, big data, and material culture to demonstrate what is still to be achieved in the study of Hasidism. Ultimately, this textbook presents research methods that can decentralize the role community leaders play in the current literature and reclaim the everyday lives of Hasidic Jews. Review "Impressive..readers will learn new things about Hasidism even while their horizons broaden to see new ways of thinking about sources." --Naomi Seidman "author of The Marriage Plot or, How Jews Fell in Love with Love, and with Literature ""The contributors to Studying Hasidism are the academic equivalent of an all-star team while the topics covered are the wish-list of anyone interested in Hasidism. Up to date, original and comprehensive-there is nothing like it." --Shaul Stampfer "author of Lithuanian Yeshivas of the Nineteenth Century: Creating a Tradition of Learning ""Marcin Wodzinski has assembled eleven respected scholars for this work on Hasidism. Much more than an excellent textbook, it focuses on a wide range of important issues not generally emphasized in histories of this pious movement whose membership even now amounts to nearly a million people, roughly seven percent of the world's Jewish population. Intellectually challenging and engagingly written, the book should appeal to everyone interested in the history of modern Jewry." --Abraham Ascher "Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus, Graduate Center, City University of New York " About the Author MARCIN WODZINSKI is a professor of Jewish history and literature at the University of Wroclaw, Poland. He is the author or editor of many books, including Historical Atlas of Hasidism and Hasidism: A New History.