The Human Temple: Religious Interiorization and the Structure of Inner Life in Early Ḥasidism

The Human Temple is a study of the unique spirituality of early Hasidism and its sources. The introduction reviews the various approaches to the study of Hasidism and their development since the late 19th century. The book contrasts the perspectives of several Jewish thinkers, most notably Martin Buber and Gershom Scholem, on the essence of Hasidism, while comparing the teachings of the most important pupils of the founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov. The study of these early Hasidic figures focuses on their respective approaches to materiality, ritual and community as vital expressions of the many facets of religious inner life. Gershom Scholem claimed that the disciples of Hasidism negated the value of earthly life; however, the book demonstrates that it was, in fact, the common goal of all trends in Hasidism to illuminate material life in light of the Godhead through an emotional and conscious effort. This anchors Buber’s approach in the Hassidic sources. The Human Temple likewise determines that the theology of the fathers of Hasidism cannot be identified with nihilistic mysticism or Quietism. Their spiritual teachings transformed the largely ascetic world view they had adhered to, into a new and more positive relationship to material reality.