Hasidism Beyond Modernity: Essays in Habad Thought and History (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization) - Softcover

Book 14 of 18: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization

Loewenthal, Naftali

 
9781835539965: Hasidism Beyond Modernity: Essays in Habad Thought and History (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1835539963 ISBN 13: 9781835539965
Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2025

Synopsis

The Habad school of hasidism is distinguished today
from other hasidic groups by its famous emphasis on outreach, on messianism, and
on empowering women. Hasidism Beyond Modernity provides a critical,
thematic study of the movement from its beginnings, showing how its unusual qualities
evolved. Topics investigated include the theoretical underpinning of the
outreach ethos; the turn towards women in the twentieth century; new attitudes
to non-Jews; the role of the individual in the hasidic collective; spiritual
contemplation in the context of modernity; the quest for inclusivism in the
face of prevailing schismatic processes;
messianism in both spiritual and political forms; and the direction of the
movement after the passing of its seventh rebbe,
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1994. Attention is given to many contrasts:
pre-modern, modern, and postmodern conceptions of Judaism; the clash between maintaining
an enclave and outreach models of Jewish society; particularist and
universalist trends; and the subtle interplay of mystical faith and rationality.
Some of the chapters are new; others, published in an earlier form, have been
updated to take account of recent scholarship. This book presents an in-depth
study of an intriguing movement which takes traditional hasidism beyond
modernity.

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About the Author

Naftali Loewenthal is a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies, University College London, and the director of the Chabad Research Unit. He is the author of Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School (1990).

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Publisher
The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Publication date
2025
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1835539963
ISBN 13 
9781835539965
Binding
Paperback
Number of pages
456

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9781906764708: Hasidism Beyond Modernity: Essays in Habad Thought and History (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  1906764700 ISBN 13:  9781906764708
Publisher: The Littman Library of Jewish Ci..., 2020
Hardcover