The Regal Way: The Life and Times of Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin
“Assaf is a scholar who knows how to manage vast bits of detail but also how to fit them together in a coherent and plausible whole. . . . [He] has used the only possible method for sifting among sources, that of common sense. He has done so with great success and produced a first-rate biography.”–AJS Review\ “This is a path-breaking and thorough study of an important and neglected chapter of modern Jewish history.”American Historical Review
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This is a poineering study of the 19th centruy Hasidic movement as shown through the life of one of its most controversial and influential leaders, Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin (1796-1850). The dramatic episodes of his life are echoed by the contradictory and highly critical opinions of his personal charachter and leadership. Booknews Assaf (Jewish history, Tel Aviv U.) tells the story of the zaddik Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin (1797-1850), with its elements of human tragedy and dark mystery, as a lens through which to explore the hasidic movement's encounter with modernism in eastern Europe of the 19th century. The study began as a 1993 doctoral dissertation for the University of Jerusalem and was published in Hebrew as by Merkaz Shazar in 1997; two chapters have been dropped in the English translation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
PrefaceixA Note on Translation and TransliterationxiiiIntroduction1I.Method1II.On the State of Research and Hasidic Historiography8III.The Sources and Their Nature21Part IThe Young Rabbi Israel1."But I Was Never a Boy": Accession to Leadership31I."That Child Understood Everything": Childhood31II.Rabbi Abraham of Pohorbishch33III."I Myself Have No Time to Study": Adolescence35IV.The Power of Inferiority41V.Conclusion442."The Main Thing Is One's Own Distinction": The Argument over Succession47I.Hereditary Leadership and Schism in Nineteenth-Century Hasidism47II."Ancestral Merit" or "One's Own Distinction"?51III.Ancestral Lineage in the Ruzhin Clan57IV.The Victory of the "Sons of Zaddikim" and Its Implications63Part IIFrom Ruzhin to Sadgora: The Making of a Hasidic Leader3."The Untrod Path": Emergence and Expansion69I.On the Throne of Leadership69II.From Pohorbishch to Ruzhin72III.Avenues of Expansion and Growth76IV.His Personality and the Secret of his Charisma81V.A New Mode of Worship89VI.Opposition94VII.Rabbi Israel as Seen by the Maskilim984."The Jewish Kingdom Is Falling": The Ushits Case105I.Informers and the Law of the "Pursuer"105II.The Murder Case and the Investigation108III.Historical Significance of the Ushits Case1145."Princes Have Persecuted Me Without Reason": In Prison116I.The Imprisonment and Its Repercussions116II.Rabbi Israel versus Nicholas I121III.Affliction and Its Significance1246.The Fugitive: Flight from Russia128I.The Memoirs of Yossi Rath128II.Return to Ruzhin129III.Flight from Russia1317."A Guest at the Inn": The New Court at Sadgora136I.The Danger of Expulsion and Legal Problems136II."For I Have No Strength to Endure": Instability and Discontent144III.Between Center and Periphery147IV.The Geographical Context149V.Economic Consolidation: Purchase of the Potik Zloty Estate153VI.The Fame of the New Court1568."Broken and Mortified": The Last Years163I.In the Evening of Life163II.The Zaddik's Death and Succession168Part IIIRabbi Israel as a Hasidic Leader9."The Law of People": Rabbi Israel's Approach to Communal Leadership175I.Between Rebbe and Rabbi175II.Appointments and Dismissals181III."A Remedy to Aid Israel": Intercession for the Jewish Community187IV.Working for the Land of Israel202V.Conclusion: Rabbi Israel as a Leader20910."All the Money in the World Is Mine": Visions of Wealth and Royalty212I.The Novelty of the Regal Way212II.The Claim of Descent from King David216III."Hidden Worship": The Ideological Basis218IV.Objection to Self-Mortification225V.Criticism of the Regal Way228VI.Musicians and Singers, Carriages and Horses233VII.Wealth and Honor as a Religious Test23811."The True Zaddik of the Generation": Rabbi Israel as Zaddik244I.The Question of Uniqueness and Superiority244II.On Messianism and Redemption255III.Objection to Wonder-Working261Part IVRabbi Israel's Court12."Like a Small State within a Large One": The Royal Court and Its Members267I.The Sources and Their Nature267II.The Physical Framework269III.Social Aspects27813."Money for Household Expenses": Economic Aspects of the Hasidic Royal Courts285I.Zaddikism as a Profession285II.The Meaning of the Pidyon288III.The Cost of the Pidyon and Methods of Amassing a Fortune292IV.The Zaddik's Travels296V.The Ma'amadot Taxes299VI.Concessions and Privileges303VII.The Decline of the Hasidic Royal Court30714."Under One Tent": The Hasidim and Their Zaddik310I.The Pilgrimage to the Zaddik310II.Access to the Zaddik315III.Around the Zaddik's Grave321Afterword: Dynamic Adaptation to a Changing World325I.Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin as an Object of Biographical Research325II.Stagnation versus Innovation in Ruzhin Hasidism327III.Decline of the Generations or the Power of Inferiority?330IV.The Hasidic Court in an Era of Upheaval334Notes341Glossary409Works Cited413Indexes of Names, Places, and Subjects445Alternate Forms of Place Names455
\ BooknewsAssaf (Jewish history, Tel Aviv U.) tells the story of the zaddik Rabbi Israel Friedman of Ruzhin (1797-1850), with its elements of human tragedy and dark mystery, as a lens through which to explore the hasidic movement's encounter with modernism in eastern Europe of the 19th century. The study began as a 1993 doctoral dissertation for the University of Jerusalem and was published in Hebrew as by Merkaz Shazar in 1997; two chapters have been dropped in the English translation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)\ \
