This week David examines the beginnings of Chassidism, one of the most influential Jewish spiritual movements to emerge in the modern Jewish world. He discusses key individuals who launched - and developed - this extraordinary revolution and explores the central ideas and contributions of Chassidism to Jewish history, practice, religion, and life.

As part of this fascinating Jewish history lecture, David focuses on the lives and ideas of:

- the Baal Shem Tov - Shivchei HaBesht
- Avraham Gershon of Kitov
- the Maggid of Mezeritch
- Yaakov Yosef of Polnoyye
- Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev
- Shneur Zalman of Liadi
- Nachman of Breslov.

He examines remarkable concepts developed by early Chassidic leaders, including:

- the sparks of love
- the light of the intellect
- conversations with G-d.

as well ideas like:

- devekut
- hashgachah pratit
- exile of the soul and raising the sparks
- prayer over study
- the ecstatic service of the heart
- the spiritual importance of joy
- love of every Jew
- the idea of the tzaddiq.

This talk is the first in a four-part Jewish history series David presented in 2016 at the Jewish Museum of Australia. For other episodes in the series go to:

Part One: https://youtu.be/2zsFFzlspyQ
Part Three: https://youtu.be/qOON4x8koCs
Part Four: https://youtu.be/saEDQFGaKRk

David also maps out the historical context of this remarkable phenomenon. He discusses opposition that emerged in large parts of the Jewish world to Chassidic ideas and practice and the destructive nature of some of these conflicts. He also considers a number of interesting developments that resulted in Jewish history in the wake of Chassidism.

David is also renowned for his Jewish history lecture, The Whole of Jewish History in One Hour https://youtu.be/GUlM2a2tsOM

Find more of David Solomon's podcast, with dozens of lectures on Jewish history, the Bible, Jewish philosophy, and Kabbalah at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPZc8ZC7r568Er1pwL8ZiLbU1tV6PFf4L

Learn more at davidsolomon.online

Youtube cover – comprising images below and a picture of David by Stephan Rohl under CC licensing http://www.stephan-roehl.de​

Image: Hasidic jewish fiddler, Homage to Daniel Ahaviel, 100 cm x 130 cm, oil on canvas, 2010, Roger David Servais. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_David_Servais#/media/Datei:Hasidic_jewish_fiddler,_Homage_to_Daniel_Ahaviel.jpg

Image: Hasidic couple in New York, painting by Roger David Servais, 150 cm x 201 cm, oil on canvas, 2016. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hasidic_couple_in_New_York,_painting_by_Roger_David.jpg