Hasid

This article is about the term. For the branch of Orthodox Judaism, seeHasidic Judaism.For the medieval sect, seeAshkenazi Hasidim.

Ḥasīd(Hebrew:חסיד,"pious", "saintly", "godly man"; pluralחסידים‎ "Hasidim" ) is aJewish honorific,frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in theTalmudicand early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish law, and often one who goes beyond the legal requirements of ritual and ethicalJewish observancein daily life. In theMishnah,the term is used thirteen times, the majority of which being in the TractatePirkei Avot.

Hebrew etymology

The Hebrew wordḤasīdappears for the first time in theTorah(Deuteronomy 33:8)with respect to thetribe of Levi,and all throughout the HebrewBook of Psalms,with its various declensions.In classicrabbinic literatureit differs from "Tzadik"(" righteous ") by instead denoting one who goes beyond his ordinary duty. The literal meaning ofḤasīdderives fromChesed(חסד‎) (= "kindness" ), the outward expression of love (lovingkindness) for God and other people. This spiritual devotion motivates pious conduct beyond everyday limits. The devotional nature of its description lent itself to a few Jewish movements in history being known as "Hasidim". Two of these derived from the Jewishmystical tradition,as it could tend towards piety over legalism.

RabbiSaadia Gaon,the medieval Hebrew linguist and biblical exegete, translated the Hebrew wordḤasīdin Psalm 18:25 into theJudeo-Arabicwordאלמחסן‎, meaning, "he that does good."

Usage in rabbinic texts

As a personal honorific, both "Ḥasīd" and "Tzadik" could be applied independently to the same individual with both different qualities. The 18th-centuryVilna Gaon,for instance, at that time the chiefopponentof the new Jewish mystical movement that became known as "Hasidism",was renowned for his righteous life. In tribute to his scholarship, he became popularly honored with the formal title of"Genius",while amongst the Hasidic movement's leadership, despite his fierce opposition to their legalistic tendencies, he was respectfully referred to as" TheGaon,the Ḥasīd from Vilna ".

A general dictum in theTalmud(Baba Kama30^a) states: "He that wishes to be pious (Aramaic:ḥasīda), let him uphold the things described under the indemnity laws in the Mishnaic Order ofNeziqin."Rava,differing, said: "Let him observe the things transcribed inPirkei Avot."(ibid.)

Of the few known pious men in the early 2nd century, the Talmud acknowledges the following: "Wherever we read (in Talmudic writings), 'It is reported of a pious man', either R.Juda b. Babait meant or R.Judah, the son of R. Ilai."

Other uses

In the aggregate, "Ḥasīd" may also refer to members of any of the following Jewish movements:

• theHasideansof the Maccabean period, around the 2nd century BCE
• the New Testament twice refers to Jesus of Nazareth as the Davidic ḥasīd foretold inPsalm 16:10(Book of Acts 2:27; 13:35 ὅσιος, quoting Ps 15:10 Greek Septuagint translation; "ḥasīd" is here used in the Hebrew NT translations of Delitzsch, Salkinson-Ginsburg, “The Way,” etc., and is paralleled by the Syriac Peshitta). Followers of this royal ḥasīd were commanded to practice ḥesed among themselves (Gospel of Luke 10:37, using Septuagintalpoiein eleos metafrom Hebrewasah ḥesed ʿim).
• theAshkenazi Hasidim,an ascetic German mystical-ethical movement of the 12th and 13th centuries
• Hasidic Judaism(Yiddish:"Chassidische bavegung" ), a movement which began inUkrainein the 18th century

See also

• Amidah
• Illui
• Tzadik