Piety, Pietism and German Pietism: Sefer Ḥasidim I and the Influence of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz
This article questions the considerable influence attributed to German Pietism in the Middle Ages. It begins by arguing that the first 152 sections of the standard Sefer Ḥasidim is a separate work (called in this essay SḤ I) and is set apart from the rest of Sefer Ḥasidim in language, religious leit...
| Published in: | The Jewish quarterly review |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Penn Press
2002
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| In: |
The Jewish quarterly review
Year: 2002, Volume: 92, Issue: 3, Pages: 455-493 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article questions the considerable influence attributed to German Pietism in the Middle Ages. It begins by arguing that the first 152 sections of the standard Sefer Ḥasidim is a separate work (called in this essay SḤ I) and is set apart from the rest of Sefer Ḥasidim in language, religious leitmotifs and spiritual demands. Indeed, in many ways SḤ I is opposed to the most basic tenets of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz. More than half of the extant manuscripts of Sefer Ḥasidim are of SḤ I only. The essay then attempts to chart the putative influence of German Pietism in Germany, France, Provence, Spain, and Eastern Europe. It finds that other than the doctrine of penance which took a deep hold of the Jews in central and eastern Europe, there was no influence whatsoever. Confusion has arisen in great part because three very distinct terms have been confused—piety, pietism, and German Pietism. The first means simply scrupulous adherence to the dictates of one's religion. The second connotes a form of spirituality common to many religions, among them Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Its occurence in Jewish communities in France and Spain in the Middle Ages has nothing to do with Ḥasidei Ashkenaz. The third term, German Pietism, denotes a very distinctive form of pietism that arose in the late 12th century characterized by an idiosyncratic ideology and a radical social and religious agenda. This movement was without influence. Indeed, no mention is made of it in the entire literary corpus of the Ashkenazic community. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-0604 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Jewish quarterly review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1353/jqr.2002.0056 |