NO SOCIAL or religious movement in the entire course of Jewish history has engaged so intensively in storytelling as hasidism; nor have stories occupied such a central and important place in any other intellectual movement within Judaism. New examples of the genre continue to be told and published to the present day. The central role afforded the tale in hasidism in general, and especially in certain strands within the movement, such as Bratslav hasidism, has been the subject of scholarly enquiry for some time, but the underlying causes of the phenomenon have not been examined. This introduction begins by outlining the defining characteristics of the hasidic tale and explaining its importance, in particular to the early hasidic movement and its revered leaders.

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HASIDIC TALE

The hasidic tale marked an innovation in Jewish literature because it was the first Jewish literary genre to focus on exemplary individuals and their followers. It may be defined as a story related by hasidim about their revered leaders, known as ‘tsadikim’ (or about pre-hasidic characters whom hasidim deemed to fit this category), or by the tsadikim themselves in order to communicate a religious message. A principal element is always the ability of the tsadik to channel the divine energy that emanates from God and to mediate heavenly decrees so as to help his followers, the simple folk who followed the path of hasidism.

An additional characteristic of the hasidic tale is its sanctified status: the esteem in which the tale was held by its teller and its audience alike. Both believed in the sanctity of the story, just as they believed in the sanctity of the tsadikim; they accepted the content of the story as true and understood the lesson it imparted. This explains why the genre has survived for so long— over two centuries, longer than any other Jewish literary genre—and why the changes it has undergone, both in content and in form, have been so minor.

The tales themselves have certain typical features: