Note on Transliteration and Place Names
List of Figures
List of Abbreviations Introduction
1 The Beginnings: Anti-Hasidic Criticism in the Last Years of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth The Mitnagedim * The First Voices of
the Haskalah * From Lithuania to Berlin: Salomon Maimon * From
Podolia to Galicia: Mendel Lefin * The Commonwealth's First Maskil:
Jacques Calmanson * Conclusions
2 Characteristics of the Haskalah in the Kingdom of Poland,
1815-1860 What was the Kingdom of Poland? * Who were the Maskilim
of the Congress Kingdom? * Institutions of the Haskalah: The
Maskilim as a Social Group * The Geography of the Polish Haskalah *
Ideology and Programme * Does Language Make a Maskil? * Why in
Polish? The Polish Haskalah and its Polish Context *
Conclusions
3 The Development of Anti-Hasidic Criticism among the Maskilim of
the Congress Kingdom, 1815-1830 The Demonization of Hasidism:
Friedlander, Radominski, Niemcewicz * The Polish Haskalah in the
Debate of 1818-1822: Antoni Eisenbaum * The Kalisz Voivodeship:
Preliminary Inquiries and Reports * The Government Inquiries of
1818-1824 and Abraham Stern's Role * Why did the Polish Maskilim
Ignore Hasidism? * Conclusions
4 Growing Interest, Growing Conflict, 1831-1860 Growing Interest in
Hasidism * The Theatre of the Hasidim of Efraim Fischelsohn *
Reform Projects: Eliasz Moszkowski * A New Stage of Hasidic
Expansion * Conflict in Daily Life: Anatomy of Dissent * The First
Maskilic Defence of Hasidism: Jakub Tugendhold * Conclusions
5 The Twilight of the Haskalah and the Dawning of Integration
Maskilim, Integrationists, and Assimilationists * From the Polish
Language to a Polish Identity * Polish Patriotism * Nationality or
Religion? * Face to Face with Hasidism * Conclusions
6 Hatred or Solidarity? Jewish and Polish-Jewish Fraternity in the
1860s Diagnosis * Solutions * Characteristics of Hasidism * Daniel
Neufeld: In Praise of Hasidism * The Anatomy of Conflict: The
Sequel * Conclusions
7 Waning Enthusiasm: Izraelita and the Moderate Integration
Movement Jutrzenka's Heritage * Peltyn's Credo * The Way to
Recognition * Izrael Leon Grosglik: 'Letters from a Young Ex-Hasid'
* The Great Disillusionment * Hilary Nussbaum: A Historian's
Helplessness * New Threats * Conclusions
8 The Death of an Idea: Political, Historical, and Poetic Visions
of Hasidism An Ideological Crisis in the Integration Camp * The
Political Aspect of Hasidism: Nachum Sokolow * Beyond the Masklic
Historiography of Hasidism * 'Singing and Dancing': The Hasidic
Trend in Literature * Conclusions
Conclusion: Between Marginalization, Demonization, and
Nostalgia
Appendices
1 Calmanson on Hasidism (1797) 2 Stern's Report (1818)
3 Radominski on Hasidism (1820)
4 The Lask Kahal's Complaint about the Hasidic Shtibl (1820)
5 Schonfeld's Report on the Shtibl in Lask (1820)
6 Schonfeld's Report on the Baths in Czestochowa (1820)
7 Advisory Chamber of the Jewish Committee on the Hasidic Rabbi in
Plock (1829)
8 The Hasidim in Pilica (1830)
9 The Maskilic Prayer House in Suwalki (1833)
10 Tugendhold's Report on Smoking Tobacco in the Beit Midrash
(1840)
11 Moszkowski's Memorandum (1845)
12 Rosen's Opinion of Moszkowski's Memorandum (1845)
13 Protocol of the Inquiry into Hasidic Persecutions in Lodz
(1848)
14 Report on Tsadik Abraham Twersky of Turisk (1857)
15 Tugendhold on Abraham Twersky of Turisk (1857)
16 Aeolus and Phoebus (A Fable) (1863)
17 Tsadik Brukman and the Doctors in Piotrkow (1870)
18 Segel on Hasidism (1897) 19 Sokolow on Hasidism (1898)
Bibliography
Index of Persons Subject
Index
'The most original and important contribution to the field in many decades ... it challenges the ideologically charged assumptions of an earlier generation of east European Jewish historians.' Ada Rapoport-Albert 'A highly original analysis ... a pioneering work that shows a mastery of the field ... carefully thought out, well grounded and clearly formulated.' Shaul Stampfer 'A wide-ranging synthesis of both breadth and detail that will make an immediate mark on the study of Jewish history in the nineteenth century and will remain standard reading for many decades to come.' David Sorkin
Marcin Wodziński is Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Wrocław.
‘Scarcely less valuable than his closely argued and well-documented
monograph are the nineteen primary sources that Wodzinski has
appended (in English translation). This collection . . . affords an
unmediated glimpse at the forces that Wodziński has succeeded so
adroitly in understanding, organizing, and presenting.’
- Moshe Rosman, American Historical Review
‘Wodziński’s important work challenges many of the widely held
views of historians about the conflict between Haskalah and
Hasidism . . . Recommended.’
- J. Fischel, Choice
‘There are still few books concerning the structure, internal
disputes, and ideological discussions within the Jewish community.
Marcin Wodziński’s publication is one of the most significant and
seminal among them . . . The great value of this book is that it
illustrates relations between the Maskilim and the Hasidim from
many perspectives . . . should be regarded as suitable not only for
historians but also for sociologists. This publication is a very
interesting and original example of the analyses of such social
practices as inner-group conflicts, the process of building
identity, and rules of the prejudice formation.’
- Katarzyna Sztop-Rutkowska, East European Jewish Affairs
'One of the most exciting developments in the writing of Polish
Jewish history over the past two decades has been the emergence of
a major centre of such scholarship within Poland itself . . . [this
book] is based on an impressive amount of archival and published
documentation, complemented by clear presentation and skilful
analysis. A useful and expanded representative sample of archival
materials translated into English rounds out this excellent volume
. . . Wodziński uses to great advantage his comprehensive
familiarity with the periodical press in nineteenth-century Poland,
but also utilizes sources as varied as Hasidic stories and British
missionary journals. The result is an innovative and highly nuanced
portrayal of a conflict that has been at the heart of the
historiographical agenda for a century and more . . . Wodziński
makes a convincing case for a newer, wider perspective on the
conflict . . . While not a full-fledged history of either Haskalah
or Hasidism in Poland, the book makes a significant contribution to
both . . . a discussion rich with new insights and information.
[It] is a major contribution to both Polish and Jewish history. The
Littman Library is to be commended for bringing this fine book to
the English-speaking public.'
- Gershon Bacon, European History Quarterly
‘Can rank as one of the finest, most detailed accounts of the
various “stages” of attitude concerning Hasidism that were part of
the Haskalah movement’s ensemble of aims and ideology. It strives
to be as historically accurate as possible without once becoming
unreadable, arcane, or dull. His expert use of various primary and
secondary sources, including German, English, Polish, Russian, and
Yiddish documents, guarantees a profound study that is balanced in
approach and well-grounded. The appendix that offers a short but
valuable selection of original sources in translation will be a
highly useful tool for those teaching or studying the attitude of
the Maskilim, the way in which they fought against and dealt with
the Hasidim, and the higher bodies they made use of in order to
reach their goal . . . All in all, Wodziński has made an important
contribution to research on Polish-Jewish social and religious
history, and his book will surely be a reference work for many
dealing with this key period that shaped European Jewry in ways
still visible and perceptible today.’
- Diana Matut, European Journal of Jewish Studies
‘Marcin Wodziński’s new book not only contains a vast amount of
information but also points the way to tantalizing new areas of
research . . . the picture of ideological conflict among the Jews
of eastern Europe that emerges totally contradicts the accepted
wisdom. . . . Wodziński’s book is important because it extends the
geographical and chronological boundaries of the subject,
introduces new research methods, and utilizes new sources,
particularly Polish archives that were long inaccessible to
historians of the Jewish world . . . a thorough study of exemplary
depth.’
- Uriel Gelman, Gal-Ed
‘Unquestionably one of the most important, original contributions
to an understanding of the various competing trends in the culture
of Polish Jewry from the end of the eighteenth century until the
early twentieth century . . . of particularly great value to the
new research into the Haskalah. . . Wodziński’s fascinating and
important book is definitely a challenge to every scholar of the
Haskalah and everyone interested in Jewish culture in eastern
Europe. From now on, scholars of the Haskalah will have to
re-examine themselves in the light of his new insights, and to
decide to what extent the book’s questions and conclusions change
the general picture.’
- Shmuel Feiner, Shofar
‘Wodziński bases his work on a broad collection of source materials
ranging from administrative documents and Jewish and Polish
periodicals to ephemeral texts like leaflets and pamphlets. A
selection of these materials is presented in the book, which,
considering their usually poor availability, is of special value
for the reader. Thanks to the wide range of documents he considers
and to a thorough review of the factual information they contain,
Wodziński’s work offers intriguing insights into the various facets
of Jewish modernizing discourses in nineteenth-century Poland.’
- Heidemarie Petersen, Slavic Review
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