Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society

Hasidism, a kabbalah-inspired movement founded by Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (c1700-1760), transformed Jewish communities across Eastern and East Central Europe. In Men of Silk, Glenn Dynner draws upon newly discovered Polish archival material and neglected Hebrew testimonies to illuminate Hasidism's dramatic ascendancy in the region of Central Poland during the early nineteenth century. Dynner presents Hasidism as a socioreligious phenomenon that was shaped in crucial ways by its Polish context. His social historical analysis dispels prevailing romantic notions about Hasidism. Despite their folksy image, the movement's charismatic leaders are revealed as astute populists who proved remarkably adept at securing elite patronage, neutralizing powerful opponents, and methodically co-opting Jewish institutions. The book also reveals the full spectrum of Hasidic devotees, from humble shtetl dwellers to influential Warsaw entrepreneurs.

Table of Contents:
INTRODUCTION ; CONCLUSION ; APPENDIX A - YIHUS AND MARRIAGE STRATEGIES OF EARLY ZADDIKIM OUTSIDE CENTRAL POLAND: EXAMPLES THROUGH 1815 ; APPENDIX B - AN EXORCISM IN WARSAW, 1818 ; APPENDIX C - WORKS BY HASIDIC AUTHORS, THROUGH 1815 ; BIBLIOGRAPHY ; NOTES ; INDEX

About the Author :
Glenn Dynner is a Professor of Religion at Sarah Lawrence College

Review :
"A ground-breaking study of Jewish-run taverns in Poland...Although scholarly, Yankel's Tavern: Jews, Liquor, & Life in the Kingdom of Poland makes for fascinating reading, particularly if you are among the many modern Jews whose ancestors were tavern-keepers."--The Canadian Jewish News "Dynner's book represents an important contribution to the previously understudied historiography of nineteenth-century Hasidism. His thorough and careful archival research, combined with his nuanced analysis of important zadikim, their ideology, and their social power, sets a new standard for the study of Hasidism. This is an indispensable volume for scholars and enthusiastic students of nineteenth-century East European Jewish culture and society."--American Historical Review "Men of Silk is an original research study which contextualizes the emergence of Hasidism as a wide ranging popular movement taking place throughout central Poland between the years 1754 and 1830. The book presents recently discovered archival material from Poland pertaining to the social and cultural aspects of the Hasidic movement and introduces new questions concerning the internal and external dimensions of the development of Hasidism. The author contributes to a better understanding of the challenge offered to the social historian in the presentation of Hasidic Jewry in its social and political context, while not losing insight into inner Jewish life." --Rachel Elior, author of The Mystical Origins of Hasidism "With precision and learning, Glenn Dynner manages to cut through so much of the multi-layered mythology surrounding the etiology, the organization, and the spread of hasidism in Poland. He provides a new, lucid account of its leaders, the lives of its devotees, and its relationship with government and Jewish society. He extracts much historical insight from seemingly recalcitrant hasidic hagiography, and draws on the widest range of sources -- hasidic, anti-hasidic, travelers' accounts, official, and more -- in what is a fascinating, fresh account of one of the most resonant Jewish religious ideologies in modern times."--Steven J. Zipperstein, author of Imagining Russian Jewry: Memory, History, Identity "The story of Hasidism has been told by both fervent believers and sworn secularists. This great east-European religious movement stood for several generations in the center of modern Jewish Historiography, and yet its diverse nature has been reduced to fit changing cultural modes, as well as long-forgotten political agendas. Men of Silk revises the story of Polish Hasidism. It offers a critical reading of inside and outside contemporaneous sources. Dynner's careful reading of the texts reveals Hasidism as a complex historical phenomenon, quite different from the simplistic portrait drawn by earlier schools of Jewish historians." --Israel Bartal, author of The Jews of Eastern Europe, 1772-1881 "Dynner's book addresses the heretofore neglected but crucially important subject of 19th-century Hasidism, shedding much light on this vital chapter of Jewish (and Polish) history."--Gershon David Hundert, author of Jews in Poland-Lithuania in the Eighteenth Century: A Genealogy of Modernity "Dynner's work is a significant contribution to the historical literature on Polish Jewish society on the cusp of modernity."--Slavic Review "Dynner's book is innovative in the wide variety of its sources, ranging from Hasidic tales to British missionary journals and Warsaw police reports, but no less in the treatment of those sources. ...[A] major achievement. Glenn Dynner has taken an important step towards writing the 'missing chapters' in the history of the Hasidic movement." --Shofar "Dynner's prose is easily accessible and the work is impressive in its erudition. This study will be indispensable for teaching about Hasidism, providing a pilot for future investigation of similar and related themes in other geographical centres and periods of the movement." --Religion