Gellman, Uriel

Senior Fellow: April–June 2022

Research Project: Hasidism, Haskalah, and the (Dis)enchantment of Modern Judaism

 This project will examine the different attitudes towards Jewish magic and popular religion in Eastern Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Magic was a key concept in the literary agendas of both Hasidism and the Haskalah, and it was extensively reflected in the ideological discourse between traditionalists and modernists. Both camps reflect scepticism: one towards segments of older religious traditions which appear irrelevant and the other towards the flawlessness of modernity. The Hasidim categorised the physical world into religious concepts that empower man’s influence on nature and challenged scientific knowledge and human reason. The Maskilim adopted a scientific and rational worldview, questioning the authority of mystical and magical traditions. The project will study Maskilic literary attitudes towards magic and public criticism of believers in superstition as presented in their satirical literature and political activities alongside the Hasidic masters’ theological and practical attitudes of towards Jewish magical traditions. Several case studies of magical rituals performed by Eastern European Jews in modern times will illustrate the actual perspectives of the various groups within Jewish society towards magic. This project will present an original comprehensive study of an important chapter of Jewish modern culture that has yet to be told.

Uriel Gellman is a senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan.