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Men of Silk

The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society

Glenn Dynner author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press Inc

Published:8th Jan '09

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Men of Silk cover

Hasidism, a kabbalah-inspired movement founded by Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (c1700-1760), transformed Jewish communities across Eastern and East Central Europe. In Men of Silk, Glenn Dynner draws upon newly discovered Polish archival material and neglected Hebrew testimonies to illuminate Hasidism's dramatic ascendancy in the region of Central Poland during the early nineteenth century. Dynner presents Hasidism as a socioreligious phenomenon that was shaped in crucial ways by its Polish context. His social historical analysis dispels prevailing romantic notions about Hasidism. Despite their folksy image, the movement's charismatic leaders are revealed as astute populists who proved remarkably adept at securing elite patronage, neutralizing powerful opponents, and methodically co-opting Jewish institutions. The book also reveals the full spectrum of Hasidic devotees, from humble shtetl dwellers to influential Warsaw entrepreneurs.

Dynner's book represents an important contribution to the previously understudied historiography of nineteenth-century Hasidism. His thorough and careful archival research, combined with his nuanced analysis of important zadikim, their ideology, and their social power, sets a new standard for the study of Hasidism. This is an indispensable volume for scholars and enthusiastic students of nineteenth-century East European Jewish culture and society. * American Historical Review *
Men of Silk is an original research study which contextualizes the emergence of Hasidism as a wide ranging popular movement taking place throughout central Poland between the years 1754 and 1830. The book presents recently discovered archival material from Poland pertaining to the social and cultural aspects of the Hasidic movement and introduces new questions concerning the internal and external dimensions of the development of Hasidism. The author contributes to a better understanding of the challenge offered to the social historian in the presentation of Hasidic Jewry in its social and political context, while not losing insight into inner Jewish life. * Rachel Elior, author of The Mystical Origins of Hasidism *
With precision and learning, Glenn Dynner manages to cut through so much of the multi-layered mythology surrounding the etiology, the organization, and the spread of hasidism in Poland. He provides a new, lucid account of its leaders, the lives of its devotees, and its relationship with government and Jewish society. He extracts much historical insight from seemingly recalcitrant hasidic hagiography, and draws on the widest range of sources -- hasidic, anti-hasidic, travelers' accounts, official, and more -- in what is a fascinating, fresh account of one of the most resonant Jewish religious ideologies in modern times. * Steven J. Zipperstein, author of Imagining Russian Jewry: Memory, History, Identity *
The story of Hasidism has been told by both fervent believers and sworn secularists. This great east-European religious movement stood for several generations in the center of modern Jewish Historiography, and yet its diverse nature has been reduced to fit changing cultural modes, as well as long-forgotten political agendas. Men of Silk revises the story of Polish Hasidism. It offers a critical reading of inside and outside contemporaneous sources. Dynner's careful reading of the texts reveals Hasidism as a complex historical phenomenon, quite different from the simplistic portrait drawn by earlier schools of Jewish historians. * Israel Bartal, author of The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881 *
Dynner's book addresses the heretofore neglected but crucially important subject of 19th-century Hasidism, shedding much light on this vital chapter of Jewish (and Polish) history. * Gershon David Hundert, author of Jews in Poland-Lithuania in the Eighteenth Century: A Genealogy of Modernity *

ISBN: 9780195382655

Dimensions: 156mm x 234mm x 21mm

Weight: 558g

400 pages