The History of Hasidism | In Conversation with David Biale on 'Hasidism, A New History'

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

You can buy this very special book here: amzn.to/4d62h5L

[@robertcoughlin4961]

What a wonderful interview! I bought Dr. Biale’s book and can’t put it down. As a Charismatic Christian the spiritual experiences of the Besht are very familiar to me especially those described in Chapter 2. I am shocked to see how his experiences with the Spirit of God are so familiar to me. What is described as the Besht “falling into a trance” is what we call being “slain in the Spirit”. I am not surprised that historians have difficulty in identifying the adherents in the Besht’s circle. Charismatic movements tend to be loosely organized with many peripheral people who identify with the movement but don’t necessarily join. The book is such a delight to me. Frieda, your content is fantastic and may have broader appeal than you imagine. Please keep up the great work.

[@curiousman1672]

You've quickly become one of my favorite interviewers. You have a very genuine style and an ability to put people at ease. Very interesting history. Could've listened for another hour.

[@dlday7821]

Agree

[@tamarfischer283]

Yes. You're super

[@chrissiewalker8980]

Loving these interviews with such learned guests. You have evidently been working very hard! X

[@MissHoneyKitchen]

Frieda I love all your videos, and what makes them especially great to watch is how you do your interviews. You never interrupt, let people tell their stories, but also know when it is the right time to ask a question or gently touch on another subject. Thanks so much! 🍀

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you! David was really an amazing guest; he just covered the book on his own without much work on my end.

[@emet744]

WOW!!! This was a FANTASTIC interview with an incredible scholar. Not only is he a great scholar, but he is a deeply humane Jew who loves and understands his people. That comes across so strongly. I am looking forward to reading the book and now all of professor Biale's books. Thank you!

[@YS-zg1hf]

Frida, thank you for this wonderful channel. I am an Israeli secular jew, without much contact with the Hasidic or even religious world. I am learning so much from your videos. I enjoy getting to know this community better, and love learning about its history from videos like this. Please keep up the good work. 🌸THANK YOU! 🌸

[@bonnieschechner9476]

Learned so much from this interview. Very interesting. And so personable. As usual, your interviewing skills are so hamish and I feel as if you are sitting right in my living room. Thank you!

[@annamariabonarelli6801]

Thanks to both of you. Great intellectual experience, I very much appreciated.

[@R.N.19]

A groysn dank Frieda! It is quite remarkable the history of Hasidim. You are tearing down ignorance and prejudice with these wondeful and educational videos.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you, and for watching! I really enjoyed doing this one with David.

[@R.N.19]

@@FriedaVizelBrooklyn It was quite woderful interview/lecture. David did a great job too👏

[@ellencohen5085]

What a wonderful ongoing contribution you make to us all. Day after day.. thank you

[@charlottehollander7841]

The professor is just about the best speaker and I have purchased his book about the Hasidim and it is very clear and accessible, like this interview

[@rlm9093]

Excellent interview. You do a great job with these:)

[@bigswede2002]

Great interview! I wonder to what extent the popular picture of Hassidim (especially maybe for Gentiles) has been shaped by authors like Isaac Bashevis Singer or Chaim Potok, or by painters like Marc Chagall. That would be another interesting topic for discussion.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Great question - I wonder if there's someone who researched that; I'd love to interview them as I'm very interested in the role pop culture plays in shaping the public perceptions.

[@Constantin9va]

Can we have an art historical discussion of Hasidim!

[@robertcoughlin4961]

Certainly my reading Chaim Potok was an influence on my interest in the subject and having grown up as an Irish Catholic kid in Brooklyn around the corner from a Yeshiva.

[@markring40]

Great interview Frieda!! Thanks for all your hard work. Continued success!

[@cindybrodie9769]

You are so gifted at this and your guests are so good. Thank you!

[@juliaagnes7]

Very nice interview. I learned so much from this and your work teaches us how Judaism has affected the world in so many ways. It's amazing. Keep up the good work!

[@FayJacobowitz]

Really enjoyed this interview He was extremely knowledgeable and enjoyable to listen to

[@gerriebell2128]

Frieda, thank you for doing this interview. And thank you for posting it.

[@PoppyOak]

Amazing interview!! 👏 You make a complex niche subject so interesting and accessible to outsiders. I’m going to try to read the book too. Thank you!

[@clkemp6725]

Ah! Pearl's joy has very deep roots. I'm still finishing your interview with Naomi, and now I can move between these two and savor them both. Thank you. I'm sure I'll be commenting more at various points.

[@Sharon181818]

Frieda- what a fabulous and fascinating interview. You are a very skilled interviewer. Please consider more of this format if you can ( and more from Pearl if possible) Shkoyach!!

[@VioletACordy]

💥Thank you, Frieda, for inviting the brilliant Professor Dr. David Biale, Ph.D. ~ EXCELLENT interview ~ fascinating * * * Shalom ~ Violet Ada C. (Toronto ~ Australia) PS. Frieda, you are a gorgeous and gracious young woman😊 (I am old enough to be your grandmother 🐸🙉🦊)

[@MsSherryjh]

I finally got to listen to the 2nd half of this episode. I wanted to give it my full attention. Thank you so much for presenting it. So interesting. I hope, when I retire, to have enough time to read the book.

[@eveszokolai8939]

Outstanding episode and interview! Thank you!

[@cherishedlotus]

Very interesting! Thank you for these great interviews

[@deejaybutch3r]

This was great. One of my favorite chats from the many videos of yours I’ve seen.

[@annehersey9895]

Frieda, thank you so much! It was a fascinating interview and David did a great job. I’m a non-believer who is very interested in Religion of all kind and Judaism in particular for various reasons. I have had trouble understanding the different Hassidic branches but you and David gave me much more clarity than before. I also enjoyed your interview with Andrew Gold. I love your channel.

[@meteoman7958]

Thank you Frieda for conducting a wonderful interview with David, who is a very likeable man.

[@laurenl5843]

Fascinating history. I hung on every word. Thank you so much for this excellent lecture/interview. 😊💜✡️

[@MarthaAnderson-jv8ph]

Beautiful interview, Frieda. Thank you 🙏

[@sabineschneider8967]

Very interesting! I love your long form interviews!

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

I love doing them honestly; they are so enjoyable and easy. I wish I could do a ton of them but there's only a small audience for them.

[@lissaolson5866]

Thank you. I had to really pay attention.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

I hope it was worth the effort! Thanks so much Lisa!!

[@tiferetspace]

may his memory be a blessing 💜✨

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

amen

[@T_WC123]

Such an interesting video - thank you!

[@nikkison973]

I love these interviews. I'm fascinated by this subject since I descend from vizhnitz chasidim. (But wasn't raised that way) Looking forward to reading the book! Ordering it asap.

[@NYC98]

Fascinating interview! I’ve had this book on my to-read list for a while now, but haven’t gotten around to it so far. I guess it’s time. :)

[@BethGrantDeRoos]

Nice to see David Biale PhD from UCDavis west of us, as a guest. LOVE ❤ deep conversations like this. Am curious how someone can seek out mystics when the Torah forbids such behavior? Am thinking of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

[@puo2007]

Fascinating! Wonderful guest and excellent, thoughtful questions from Frieda (as always). Thank you!

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you! David is so wonderful!

[@elizabethmartineau-marshal341]

This was great! Thank you so much😊

[@mrsspeech]

What a great Interview. I learned so much. I am christian so learning about the Jewish faith is so interesting.

[@dlday7821]

I enjoy the interviews I like the interviews with people residing in Williamsburg I was so concerned when I heard about fires there over the weekend. I truly appreciate your time getting the information ready for us. Thanks ❤😊

[@thalesmiletus8204]

Thank you AGAIN, Frieda! I love this interview, in part because I have been fascinated for decades by Hasidism, especially thru the stories of the early Hasids including the Besht . I am a Ger - converted reform but followed much of the Halakhah, married a now deceased Jewish partner decades ago and had a son who is finishing his last year in Pediatrics Residency at Kapiolani Medical Center U of Hawaii. Also have enjoyed your vids with Eli Benedict, especially since my route into Judaism is thru the people I have known. Ruth had it right.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Sounds like you've been on a very special life journey. Much love to you. I am so glad you enjoyed these videos; I enjoyed talking to these great folks!

[@kathieb8104]

Another very interesting interview! Thank you.

[@peterdalyy3542]

Fantastic Fantastic this was a brilliant interview, I am a hasdic Jews and I really found this interview very interesting thank you

[@aoiseodwyer]

What a wonderfully informative and enjoyable interview, thank you Frida and David! I'm looking forward to reading the book. Warm wishes from Ireland ☘💗

[@powsser]

This was super interesting! As a SAHM of a one year old, I really appreciate having to use my brain a little more listening! 😂

[@doooovid]

Great job, keep up the good work!

[@alerity4]

Sad news . I learned today that David Biale passed away July 28, 2024 . He was 75. He will be missed but we are blessed to have his scholarship.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Oh my goodness, I am so sorry to hear! Where did you find this out? I know he was not well. :(

[@Zelde-M]

BDE

[@MarthaAnderson-jv8ph]

​@@FriedaVizelBrooklynso sad.

[@sarahspector5294]

😢

[@SkyeID]

Wikipedia

[@terrywood4228]

Thank you for this. So interesting to hear about people’s histories.

[@tijanamiljovska8395]

This is so interesting and there isn’t much in the way of documentaries on the topic. I started following you because you give a first hand experience to us who are interested. I will make sure to look up this book. Compelling topic, I look forward to more. Thank you

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you!

[@petercavens1879]

A wonderful interview with a great scholar. Frieda, I love your program from Williamsburg Jewish pizza tasting to more in depth Jewish interviews.

[@TonyThomas10000]

This is fascinating. I love studying history. I am immersing myself in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish history (even though I am a Christian). The school system I went to here in Ohio was around 40-50% Jewish when I went there and some of our teachers and their parents were Holocaust survivors. I picked up some Yiddish because some of our teachers were native speakers. There is a small Hasidic community here with two groups that are offshoots of the Nadvorna dynasty. We also have Chabad congregations.

[@TheIndividualChannel]

What a wonderful talk.

[@thebayonneguy]

The ‘’God wants us to be joyful instead of pietistic’’ (quotation marks mine) espousal reminds me of the paradigm shift that occurred in Catholicism when the scholar Matthew Fox refuted the doctrine of original sin with his seminal book, Original Blessing.

[@gailmcn]

This is false on multiple counts: Matthew Fox is not considered a scholar by serious scholars (ex: his murdering of Hebrew translation and etymology, his fake history of Hildegard of Bingen). There was no "paradigm shift" in Catholicism as a result of his rehash of 'New Age', gnostic ideology, not even a tiny earthquake. He never refuted the doctrine of Original Sin, he merely denied it. He sells well to the credulous and uninformed, that's all his fame amounts to.

[@boathousejoed1126]

A good entry to Chassidic study is a book entitled "Sparks Beneath The Surface" by R.Kushner and R. Olitzky. It provides insights for the weekly parsha.

[@olgagomez485]

Thank you Frieda 😁👍🏼

[@FionaKumariCampbell]

Brilliant, more please!

[@shimonbrandsdorfer9427]

This is so interesting. Thank you!

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thanks Shimon!

[@jimmyjohnstone5878]

Interesting stuff. Your piano model has a squint front leg. The left one as viewed on the video.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Fixed; I've been getting complaints about that.

[@Rochelny]

As a Shlucha and proudly chabad, I am happy to say that we not only consider ourselves chassidim of the Rebbe but we are essential chassidim of the Rebbe. We have strong roles. Not only on shlichus but within our communities and seminaries. Our girls strongly identify as chabad Lubavitch!

[@shimonbrandsdorfer9427]

That's definitely true for Chabad. I wonder how much it's true for other dynasties/courts.

[@Dev_KG]

@@shimonbrandsdorfer9427 I think that there is much more "intermarriage" between different chassidic groups by other chassidim than by Chabad, where we almost always marry within (though to balance, we have vastly more baalei tshuvos).

[@tamarfischer283]

@@shimonbrandsdorfer9427 not so much, though you do have Gerrard women who are super patriotic (the rebbe instated women's clubs) and there are women everywhere who just love a tisch, even if they are not involved in the action

[@danaikariwo1360]

Very interesting account of history of Hasidim

[@maril1379]

Hasidism today is different than the way it started out. Rabbis have much more influence There is a difference between Torah laws, rabbinic laws and customs. Each Hasidic group is different ex Satmar vs Lubavitch I do not know if the Baal Shem Tov would recognize many of today's different groups Conservative and Reform Judaism is also relatively new on a historical timeline.

[@bettymaines6305]

So sorry to hear of David Biale passing. He appeared to be a scholar and gentleman.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

yes Betty, me too so very much

[@franny5059]

Love your haircut

[@gailmcn]

Something not mentioned by either of you in the segment on how Hasidism was able to regroup in new places and rapidly increase after the Shoah: Torah command to be fruitful and multiply. The traditional practice of early marriage and many children has continued in Hasidism (while a lot of the rest of the world has largely adopted the use of birth control, later marriage, and contracted families). During the same modern period, medical science and agricultural science (including refrigeration, storage, and transport of food) had greatly improved maternal and infant/child survival rates, From the 1700s to the beginning of the 1900s, maternal deaths and infant/child death rates were very high. Availability and consistency of better nutrition, antibiotics, vaccines, and other medical/surgical techniques have greatly reduced those deaths. Where once a woman of 18 could look forward to having only about half of her 8-10 children living to adulthood, if she herself did not die in childbirth; however since World War II, she can expect that she and all her children survive. In two generations, 20 Hasidic couples could have as many as 1300-2000 descendant grandchildren. If they and all their children had 8-10 children.

[@beans4853]

Not only chasidic have a lot of children. Many litvish/yeshivish have many children, too. Though they do generally get married a bit later. Also, most chasidic people use birth control to space between children. We still want 10 of em but not all under age 10

[@gailmcn]

@@beans4853 I certainly never stated that ALL Hasidic or ONLY Hasidic have a lot of children, or that NO Hasidic couple uses contraception. My comment was meant only in a general way, such as one might discuss any large cohesive group, whose numbers have increased exponentially compared to other populations in the same geographic region and time frame.. I question your statement that "most" Hasidic people use birth control, I'm not sure that has been studied. As you point out, when it is used, it is for spacing, not limiting children, which would indicate these couples are still having many more children than is typical of the entire population of couples, in any given region of the globe.('typical' is not the same as 'universal').

[@Carita12]

Thanks!

[@Peter-ov6xh]

Does anyone know the title of the book alluded to at 50:40?

[@pmark1771]

A Fortress in Brooklyn by Nathaniel Deutsch

[@Peter-ov6xh]

@@pmark1771 Thank you very much!

[@Dev_KG]

I definitely consider myself a chassidista of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (while I sometimes disagree with specific choices within Chabad these days), and this is a rare moment where I agree with Sam Heilman. I would take exception to the idea that the concept of shluchim was somehow a way to keep people from coming to the Alter Rebbe. We have no end of stories in Chabad of chassidim coming to be with the Rebbe (of whichever generation), especially during Tishrei, and for that to be the "recharging" of inspiration for the year.

[@rivkagurevitz9019]

The Rebbe's shluchim were definitely different from whatever shluchim he mentions in connection with the Alter Rebbe. If you get into the Alter Rebbe's introduction of Tanya he was saying that if you learn Tanya you can have answers have to your questions and don't need him.

[@Dev_KG]

@@rivkagurevitz9019 ok yes point well taken - he did say that specifically though of course we know of chassidim going on mesiras nefesh. And of course the Rebbe said that if one wanted to be mekushar to him, they should learn his sichos and maamarim, which is a similar concept in our times.

[@rivkagurevitz9019]

@@Dev_KGwhat I think makes the Rebbe radically different was the fact that he had dollars on Sundays, Yechidus that used to go on for hours, and some other things. I don't think that the Alter Rebbe had anything remotely like that.

[@chetanjoshi2159]

We need the book.

[@estakass1482]

How do you feel about “school” in place of sect or court?

[@tzirelchana]

Love the look

[@lynneuribeross2695]

Very interesting!

[@FionaKumariCampbell]

Wondering whether the rise of rebbetzin is a modern phenomenon

[@beans4853]

That's a fascinating question. I think its relatively new

[@rivkagurevitz9019]

I watched the whole thing, and I must say that this was actually a respectful interview. A lot of what he said were actually things I had read in Chabad sources plus what we were told however, with some differences and nuances. For example it wasn't that the Baal Shem Tov was leading a rebellion of the ignorant/uneducated Jews, rather he was arguing that the Talmidei Chachamim shouldn't ignore the masses and have their own minyanim. Another thing that I heard Henry Abramson say about why he used the name Baal Shem Tov was because there were a number of Baal Shems (as discussed in this episode) and a lot of them were frauds, and he added the term Tov to distinguish himself. I don't know that I would have called the Baal Shem Tov a shaman. I guess I say that based on my own upbringing. Also, the circle that the Baal Shem Tov came from definitely didn't ascribe to the ascetic piety, and that was noted in this interview. I think that the whole talk about the Baal Shem Tov's wanderings refer to the times before he settled in Mezibuzh. I mean what was he doing before then? He wasn't born in Mezibuzh, and it took time before he settled there. Going back to the ascetic piety that apparently was rampant, we were taught that the Maggid of Mezritch engaged in this kind of behavior before he became a Chossid. The quote we used to hear about what he said about these things was: "ah kleine lekhel in guf, iz a groise lukh in neshama" (sorry for not writing this with the Alef Bais).

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Love teh last quote. I never heard it before. I heard from a few people who didn’t like the word shaman used with the Besht.

[@4everseekingwisdom690]

I've read his book on kabbalah very informative

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you so much, I feel like you get what’s driving me…

[@4everseekingwisdom690]

@FriedaVizelBrooklyn perhaps, although sometimes I feel I barely know what's driving me but I find incredible solice and wisdom in the mystical side of Judaism. I follow no religion but can see the fingerprints of the perennial wisdom in them all.. I firmly believe in a "prisca theologia" whose remnants are equally present in both polytheistic paganism as well as strict monotheism and foster in me a deep desire to "know myself" to directly experience that part of us that is divine.. not to believe, not to have faith but to KNOW who I truly am.. if I can discover that I can at least on some level find God .

[@shaindystern1038]

Hi regards from Montreal

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Hi Shaindy!

[@ariebrons7976]

Why not use the word guild instead of court?

[@Töllö-Tv]

Most interesting.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thanks!

[@chaimstern5999]

is there a way to listen to these lengthy interviews through a podcast medium?

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

I am sorry - I keep meaning to also put it on a podcast medium but find that it's too much work. I wish there was an easy way to easily disseminate certain videos that make for better listening than watching.

[@8dinKer]

‏‪34:55‬‏ A Chasid will say HAKOL L'TOVA- everything that g-d does is for the best. And will belive that the Rebbe did see whatever he saw, and that there was more to that, that we the ordinarily people don't see yet.

[@stephenfisher3721]

גם זו לטובה

[@Peter-ov6xh]

What did he say at 33:24? Mara de'achra??

[@stephenfisher3721]

מרא דאתרא Mara d'atra, Aramaic for master of the place

[@Peter-ov6xh]

@@stephenfisher3721 Thank you, sir.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Thank you Stephen; you are terrific!

[@solomonherskowitz]

I'm so confused now. Who should I believe. Were they against the elite or were they the elite of the elite

[@shimonbrandsdorfer9427]

Regarding if women are Hasidot. I believe it varies much from Court to Court and family to family. My mother used to say that Hasidisism is not meant for women. Meaning - women have no business with anything that Hasisidism has to offer.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Very interesting and yet not surprising that your mother would say that.

[@rlm9093]

Hello Frieda 😊

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Hello 😊

[@judystaab7126]

I have been, for somtime ben curious about hasidic people😮are they closest to the original tribes of lsreal?😂❤

[@davassaf]

no question. just warm regards...

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

David, so wonderful to hear from you. Hope you and your wife are well.

[@tamarfischer283]

BTW I know the widow of the viznitzer rebbe. A very exceptional woman.

[@Rochelny]

I have a hard time believing that Chabad said they wouldn't read the book bc its in English. Maybe he meant a different group? Chabad def mostly works in English circles

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

You know what, I kind of assumed he was talking about Israeli Chabadniks. I meet quite a few of them in NY and they don't speak English. It obviously isn't because the book isn't in Yiddish!!

[@chetanjoshi2159]

U have any answers.?

[@yoseza528]

it's a very nice and interesting Interview i Must tell you and David doing a wonderful job . איין זאך וויאזוי האסטע פארגעסן אז סאטמר/ בני יואל האט אויך נישט קיין רבי אזוי ברסלב און ליובאוויטש😂

[@doristoporowitz]

Interesting yet why is an interpretation/understanding of an orthodox history given by someone who is not perhaps a counter interview could be done with someone like dr a Branson after there are respectable orthodox historians

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

yeah good point - I wonder if/who of the contemporary historians in hasidism are orthodox.

[@gailmcn]

We cannot assume that a person with no attachment to a particular community would have a less worthwhile assessment than someone inside it. There were multiple contributors to this history, presumably this acts against bias or individual blind spots.. And from what was said here, they went to original documents and sources for their information. After all, doctors do not have to have experienced a medical condition to be able to accurately describe it and treat it.

[@rivkagurevitz9019]

Henry Abramson, while not a Chasid, knows some of the history and is Orthodox @@FriedaVizelBrooklyn

[@Faigyfeig]

A lot of what he says matches up with the books of my childhood. They don’t really sell those anymore, especially not to kids.

[@lissaolson5866]

Not at all the point, but you look beautiful. Make up and hair is gorgeous.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Aw thanks!

[@rubyh.4460]

Here is Israel we have all the Hasidic sects that exist in Brooklyn. It would be interesting to know how the sect the same and different. For example in Israel only 50% of Hasidim are in the work force while it's much higher in the diaspora.

[@FriedaVizelBrooklyn]

Yes, I'm working on getting someone for a segment to help me compare because it's really hard for me to also put my finger on the differences between Israel and NY - there sure are some significant ones.

[@chetanjoshi2159]

Good. I wish.

[@chetanjoshi2159]

The woman in satmar community. U have a answer.

[@tamarfischer283]

🙄 so the learned professor is telling us that no- academics until now were wrong about chassidim and really the truth is EXACTLY what the chassidim themselves are saying about their history and their rebbes? Hard to believe! No chassid ever claimed the original rebbes were poor ignorant people. What they did say is that they respected and included the dispossessed. The poor, the earnest ignorant people and surprisingly, in some areas- women. (Read the memoir of the alter rebbe of lubavitch). I laughed to hear him say the gaon of villa was a hasid too. I well remember my history teacher in seminary, who was a descendant of the gaon of vilna. He taught the history of chassidism first (how did he manage without the scholarly book of this man? I wonder). After Chassidism he taught the history of the gaon of vilna. " he was a REAL chossid" he declared (to the outrage of the girls from chassidic homes). What is exceptional about being yaakov, BTW, is that it is a collaboration of the female chassidic founder (sara shnerir) and the German Jewish teachers. The German Jews were more open to the modernist movements and had experience with women's education. But beis yaakov had the feel of a chassidic court. Joy was a huge theme and so was love of G-d. And b.y girls are a different breed from chassidic girls from non b.y schools.

[@pamelareiz1508]

The Lubavitcher Rebbe for sure saw women as Chassids. Actually the first Chabad Rebbe,the Alter Rebbe, Schneur Zalman's daughter, Devorah Leah, gave up her life for her Father. Look up her story. Definitely a Chassid

[@rivkagurevitz9019]

I mentioned the Frierdike Rebbe of Lubavitch's Memoirs. He noted the grandmother, mother, and aunt of the Alter Rebbe and all about their places within Chassidus.

[@sarahspector5294]

“Misnagdish”?