Overview

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.

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9781503638273

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Reviews

"""Laws of the Spirit brings profound attention to the 'spirit of the laws' in the legal ritual practices of Judaism, as cultivated by the masters of early modern Hasidism. Integrating a mastery of the sources and contemporary theories of ritual, old polarities fall to the wayside and the inner-world of Jewish spirituality is revealed for all to see."" —Michael Fishbane, author of Fragile Finitude: A Jewish Hermeneutical Theology ""Required reading in Hasidism and Jewish ritual, Laws of the Spirit offers an experiential reinterpretation of many core themes of Jewish thought, and is a groundbreaking contribution to religious studies in general. This is one of those exceptional books in which all the parts are excellent and the whole is greater than their sum."" —Jonathan Garb, author of A History of Kabbalah ""Laws of the Spirit seeks to view Hasidic attitudes towards Halacha not primarily as law but as ritual. Weaving together Hasidic sources with insights drawn from the field of ritual studies, Ariel Evan Mayse shows how spiritual meaning is gleaned from and developed through devotional ritual behavior. This book takes the study of Hasidism into a new dimension in its fresh thinking about halakhah, relevant for our study of the past and towards a future vision."" —Melila Hellner-Eshed, author of Seekers of the Face: Secrets of the Idra Rabba (The Great Assembly) of the Zohar"

""Laws of the Spirit brings profound attention to the 'spirit of the laws' in the legal ritual practices of Judaism, as cultivated by the masters of early modern Hasidism. Integrating a mastery of the sources and contemporary theories of ritual, old polarities fall to the wayside and the inner-world of Jewish spirituality is revealed for all to see."" —Michael Fishbane, author of Fragile Finitude: A Jewish Hermeneutical Theology ""Required reading in Hasidism and Jewish ritual, Laws of the Spirit offers an experiential reinterpretation of many core themes of Jewish thought, and is a groundbreaking contribution to religious studies in general. This is one of those exceptional books in which all the parts are excellent and the whole is greater than their sum."" —Jonathan Garb, author of A History of Kabbalah ""Laws of the Spirit seeks to view Hasidic attitudes towards Halacha not primarily as law but as ritual. Weaving together Hasidic sources with insights drawn from the field of ritual studies, Ariel Evan Mayse shows how spiritual meaning is gleaned from and developed through devotional ritual behavior. This book takes the study of Hasidism into a new dimension in its fresh thinking about halakhah, relevant for our study of the past and towards a future vision."" —Melila Hellner-Eshed, author of Seekers of the Face: Secrets of the Idra Rabba (The Great Assembly) of the Zohar ""Laws of the Spirit is not merely a work of intellectual history and Jewish thought, it is also a reflection of the 'relationship between ritual, devotion and the life of the spirit' that will find meaning with the observant practitioner. The accessible academic book will resonate deeply with scholars and learned readers.""—David Tesler, Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews

"""Laws of the Spirit brings profound attention to the 'spirit of the laws' in the legal ritual practices of Judaism, as cultivated by the masters of early modern Hasidism. Integrating a mastery of the sources and contemporary theories of ritual, old polarities fall to the wayside and the inner-world of Jewish spirituality is revealed for all to see.""—Michael Fishbane, author of Fragile Finitude: A Jewish Hermeneutical Theology ""Required reading in Hasidism and Jewish ritual, Laws of the Spirit offers an experiential reinterpretation of many core themes of Jewish thought, and is a groundbreaking contribution to religious studies in general. This is one of those exceptional books in which all the parts are excellent and the whole is greater than their sum.""—Jonathan Garb, author of A History of Kabbalah ""Laws of the Spirit seeks to view Hasidic attitudes towards Halacha not primarily as law but as ritual. Weaving together Hasidic sources with insights drawn from the field of ritual studies, Ariel Evan Mayse shows how spiritual meaning is gleaned from and developed through devotional ritual behavior. This book takes the study of Hasidism into a new dimension in its fresh thinking about halakhah, relevant for our study of the past and towards a future vision.""—Melila Hellner-Eshed, author of Seekers of the Face: Secrets of the Idra Rabba (The Great Assembly) of the Zohar"

Author Information

Ariel Evan Mayse is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Stanford University.

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