La naissance du hassidisme, Mystique, rituel et société (XVIII°- XIX°siècle) - Jean Baumgarten

With the help of a grant from the Foundation for the Memory of the Shoah, Jean Baumgarten has written the first work in French on the Hassidic movement, which he studies in its entirety: from its theological underpinnings to its social organisation, from religious custom to mystical practices. This book situates hassidism with the history of Jewish mysticism, looking at the beginnings of the movement as well as identifying the novelty of the doctrines of its first masters who, notably in the ecstasy of prayer, dance, singing, sought to bring about a unification between the human body and the divinity of the universe.