Hasidism Beyond Modernity – Essays in Habad Thought and History Loewenthal

Hasidism Beyond ModernityEssays in Habad Thought and History\nAuthor(s): Naftali Loewenthal\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Liverpool University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization\nISBN-13: 9781835539965, 978-1835539965\nSynopsis\nThe Habad school of hasidism is distinguished today\nfrom other hasidic groups by its famous emphasis on outreach, on messianism, and\non empowering women. Hasidism Beyond Modernity provides a critical,\nthematic study of the movement from its beginnings, showing how its unusual qualities\nevolved. Topics investigated include the theoretical underpinning of the\noutreach ethos; the turn towards women in the twentieth century; new attitudes\nto non-Jews; the role of the individual in the hasidic collective; spiritual\ncontemplation in the context of modernity; the quest for inclusivism in the\nface of prevailing schismatic processes;\nmessianism in both spiritual and political forms; and the direction of the\nmovement a.