Gershom Scholem’s First Lectures on Hasidism

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Abstract

Compared to his other fields of research, Gershom Scholem’s studies of
Hasidism were quite limited. In the major research plans which he developed
in the 1920s and ‘30s – for example in his detailed letter to H.N. Bialik or his
early plans for the Institute for Kabbalah at the Schocken Library — he makes
no mention of this field of research. Still, he continually and systematically
published on Hasidism over the years. Scholem’s scattered articles on
Hasidism were collected in recent years by David Assaf and Esther Liebes in
the anthology “The Latest Phase,” with updates and additions; this collection
gives us a full picture of Scholem’s contribution to the field. Much
scholarship has also been dedicated to the controversy between Scholem and
Martin Buber over Hasidism, or to be more precise, to the complex
relationship between the two over the years. Some have come to read
Scholem’s studies of Hasidism from this vantage point alone. However,
Scholem’s deep interest in Hasidism was expressed in other ways: in his large
collection of books which includes many Hasidic works with his handwritten
marginal notes; in his drafts and notes for articles which were never
completed; and in lectures on the subject which he gave over the years. This
material remains hidden in the Gershom Scholem Archive and has never
been collected. Of exceptional importance is a manuscript of a complete book
on Hasidism in English, composed towards the end of 1948, which provided
the basis of the lectures that Scholem gave in the United States in March
1949. This book, written in the context of his complicated relationship with
Salman Z. Schocken, was also the basis of many studies which Scholem
published years late, and he continually updated it over many years. Our
interest here is in another hidden text: a series of early lectures on Hasidism
which Scholem gave in Hebrew in 1945. This series – printed here for the first
time – raises several fundamental questions about Scholem’s studies of
Hasidism and their relationship to Buber’s projects, and shows with great
clarity the manner in which Scholem wanted to portray Hasidism.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)75-90
Number of pages17
JournalJewish Thought
Volume4
StatePublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Hasidism
  • Kabbalah
  • Scholem, Gershom
  • Buber, Martin (1878-1965)

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