The prophet Daniel, with a maggid behind, from Die Bücher der Bibel, by Ephraim Moses Lilien. While the term maggid is frequently used to refer to an itinerant Jewish preacher, in Jewish esoteric traditions a maggid is an angelic teacher; a spirit guide.
A maggid (Hebrew: מַגִּיד), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a darshan (דרשן). The title of maggid mesharim ('a preacher of uprightness'; abbreviated מ"מ) probably dates from the sixteenth century.
There have long been two distinct classes of leaders in Israel—the scholar and rabbi, and the preacher or maggid. That the popular prophet was sometimes called "maggid" is maintained by those who translate מַגִּיד מִשְׁנֶה (maggid mishne) Zechariah 9:12, by "the maggid repeats" (Löwy, "Beqoret ha-Talmud," p.50). Like the Greek sophists, the early maggidim based their preaching on questions addressed to them by the multitude. Thus the Pesiqta, the first collection of set speeches, usually begins with "yelammedenu rabbenu" ('let our master teach us'). An excellent example is the Passover Haggadah, which is introduced by four questions; the reciter of the answer is called the maggid. When there were no questions, the maggid chose a Biblical text, which was called the petichah (opening).
The term maggid comes from Jewish mysticism (see Magid) and originally referred to a celestial entity, most commonly an angel, who manifests itself as a voice delivering mystical secrets to a kabbalist, or sometimes speaking through the mouths of the chosen ones.[1][2][3]
Popularity of the Maggid
The greater popularity of the maggid as compared with the darshan is instanced from aggadic (homiletical or narrative material, as opposed to legal halachic material) stories in the Talmud (main text of RabbinicOral Torah discussion). The Talmud relates that the people left the lecture-room of R. Chiyya, the darshan, and flocked to hear R. Abbahu, the maggid. To appease the sensitive Chiyya, Abbahu modestly declared, "We are like two merchants, one selling diamonds and the other selling trinkets, which are more in demand" (Sotah 40a).Talmudic Sages like Rabbi Meir combined the functions of a darshan and a maggid (Sanhedrin 38b). When Rabbi Isaac Nappaha was requested by one in his audience to preach a popular haggadah, and by another a halakic discourse, he answered, "I am like the man who had two wives, one young and one old, and each wishing her husband to resemble her in appearance; the younger pulled out his gray hair while the older pulled out his black hair, with the result that he became entirely bald." R. Isaac thereupon delivered a lecture that embraced both halakah and aggadah (Bava Kamma 60b).
In the Gaonic period and the Middle Ages
Levi ben Sisi, his son Joshua, and others were at the head of a regular school of rabbinical maggidim. R. Ze'era was opposed to their methods of twisting and distorting the Biblical verses to suit their momentary fancy. In Ze'era's estimation their works were of no more value than books on magic (Yer. Ma'as. iii. 9). In the Gaonic period and in the Middle Ages the principal of the yeshivah, or the rabbi, delivered a lecture before each festival, giving instructions in the laws governing the days of the festival. The maggid's function was to preach to the common people in the vernacular whenever occasion required, usually on Sabbath afternoon, basing his sermon on the sidra of the week. The wandering, or traveling, maggid then began to appear, and subsequently became a power in Jewry. His mission was to preach morality, to awaken the dormant spirit of Judaism, and to keep alive the Messianic hope in the hearts of the people. The maggidim's deliverances were generally lacking in literary merit, and were composed largely of current phrases, old quotations, and Biblical interpretations which were designed merely for temporary effect; therefore none of the sermons which were delivered by them have been preserved.
Maggidism reached a period of high literary activity in the 16th century. The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 revealed a master maggid in Isaac Abravanel. His homiletic commentary on the Bible became an inexhaustible source of suggestion for future maggidim. In his method of explaining every chapter, preceded by a number of questions, he followed the early maggidim and sophists. His long argumentations in an easy and fluent style were admirably suited to the purposes of a maggid. Moses Alshech, a maggidic scholar, was one of a community of great Jewish spiritual figures who shaped Jewish thought, in the 16th-century town of Safed in the Galilee. Others in his circle included the compiler of the Shulchan Aruch code, Yosef Karo, and the leading Kabbalists Moses Cordovero and Isaac Luria. In the mystical environment of this community, the Alshech preached every Sabbath before large audiences. Isaac Luria attended his expositions, which included Kabbalistic aspects. In his classic Biblical commentaries he followed closely the method of Abravanel. Alshech also became an authority for the maggidim, who quoted him frequently.
Relation to Messianic fervour
The persecutions of the Jews brought forth a number of maggidim who endeavored to excite the Messianic hope as a balm to the troubled and oppressed Jewry. The new articulation and cosmic doctrines of redemption in Kabbalah, taught by Isaac Luria in the 16th century, inspired a new mystical awareness and focus on Messianism. Messianic messengers and potential candidates sought to advance the Messianic quest in Judaism. Asher Lemmlein preached in Germany and Austria, announcing the coming of the Messiah in 1502, and found credence everywhere. Solomon Molko preached, without declaring the date of the advent, in both Italy and Turkey, and as a result was burned at the stake in Mantua in 1533. R. Höschel of Cracow (d. 1663) delighted in the elucidation of difficult passages in the midrash known as the "Midrash Peli'ah" ('wonderful, obscure midrash'). H. Ersohn's biography of Höschel, in his "Chanukkat ha-Torah" (Pietrkov, 1900), gives a collection of 227 "sayings" gathered from 227 books by various writers, mostly Höschel's pupils. These sayings became current among the maggidim, who repeated them on every occasion. Some maggidim copied his methods and even created a pseudo-Midrash Peli'ah for the purpose of explaining the original ingeniously in the manner initiated by R. Höschel. Behr Perlhefter is considered the first Maggid of the SabbatianAbraham Rovigo in Modena. Perlhefter restored the Sabbatian theology after the death of the pseudo-Messiah, and advocate of mystical heresy, Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676).
Motivation and admonishment
Elijah ben Solomon Abraham ha-Kohen of Smyrna, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, published his "Shebet Moussar", which he divided into fifty-two chapters, one for each week. This book caused him to be known as the "Terror Maggid"; he preached moral and religious conduct as a safeguard against the terrible punishments of the day of judgment. Dante could not picture the horrors of hell and the punishments awaiting the wicked more minutely than did the author of the "Shebet' Musar". It established a new "fire and brimstone" school of maggidim. Musar ('admonishment') is a thread in traditional Jewish thought that seeks ethical inspiration, integrity or admonishment to motivate religious devotion. Classic texts of ethical guidance from the Middle Ages articulate spiritual and psychological levels to righteousness. The later 19th century Musar movement sought to incorporate spiritual introspection and self-analysis into the scholarly yeshiva curriculum. The Musar movement seeks to inspire spiritual advancement by discovering personal integrity and revealing the unworthiness of material temptations. Its spirituality does not always describe rewards and punishments, but admonishment can be a factor. It can draw ethical lessons from Jewish mysticism, but is often compared and contrasted with the mystical paths to inspiration of Kabbalistic dveikus (cleaving to God), and the popularisation of mystical fervour in Hasidism. Typically, Hasidism avoids rebuke of punishments, replacing it with shame and remorse from nullification of self-awareness, before the omnipresent Divine presence that awakens joy.
Judah Rosanes of Constantinople (d. 1727), in his "Parashat Derakim," combined the darshan with the maggid. He adopted a new method of harmonizing the acts of Biblical personages with the legal views of Talmudic scholars. For instance, Pharaoh, in refusing to release Israel from bondage, acted according to the contention of Abaye, while Moses insisted on Israel's release in accordance with the decision of Rabba. This farfetched pilpulism had many followers, some of whom asserted that Ahasuerus concurred in the decision of Maimonides, and that Vashti coincided with the opinion of RaBaD.
The Dubner Maggid
Jacob Kranz of Dubno, the Dubner Maggid (d. 1804), author of "Ohel Ya'aqob", adopted the Midrash's method of explaining by parables and the incidents of daily life, such as the relations between the man of the city and the "yeshubnik" (village man), between the bride, the bridegroom, and the "mechuttanim" (contracting parents), and compared their relations to those between Israel and God. He drew also moral lessons from the "Arabian Nights" and from other secular stories in illustrating explanations of a midrash or a Biblical text. Moses Mendelssohn named Kranz the "Jewish Æsop".
His most famous parable is about how he finds appropriate parables: Walking in the woods a man sees many trees with targets drawn on them. Each target with an arrow in the center, and a little boy with a bow. The little boy acknowledges that he had shot all the arrows. When further questioned he answers: 'First I shoot the arrow, then I draw the target'.
Kranz's pupil Abraham Dov Bär Flahm edited and published the Dubner Maggid's writings, and a host of other maggidim adopted this method. In the same period there were Jacob Israel of Kremnitz, author of "Shebet' mi-Yisrael," a commentary on the Psalms (Zolkiev, 1772); Judah Löw Edel of Slonim, author of "Afiqe Yehudah," sermons (Lemberg, 1802); Chayyim Abraham Katz of Moghilef, author of "Milchama ve-Shalom" (Shklov, 1797); Ezekiel Feiwel of Deretschin, author of "Toledot Adam" (Dyhernfurth, 1809) and maggid in Wilna (Levinsohn, "Bet Yehudah," ii. 149).
In modern times, a descendant of the Dubner Maggid, Moshe Kranc wrote down several parables of his, along with modern interpretations, in a book about business and Jewish stories: "The Hasidic Masters' Guide to Management" (The Dubner Maggid was not Hasidic, but followed Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox spirituality. There are stories of his relationship with the Vilna Gaon).
Philosophical Maggidim
The most celebrated maggid during the nineteenth century was Moses Isaac ben Noah Darshan, the "Kelmer Maggid" (b. 1828; d. 1900, in Lida). He was among the "terror" maggidim of the "Shebet' Musar" school and preached to crowded synagogues for over fifty years in almost every city of Russian Poland. Another prominent maggid was Chayyim Tzedeq, known as the "Rumsheshker" (Gersoni, "Sketches of Jewish Life and History," pp.62–74, New York, 1873). The "philosophical" maggid is one who preached from Arama's "Aqedat" and Bachya's "Chobot ha-Lebabot" ('Duties of the heart'). Enoch Sundl Luria, the author of "Kenaf Renanim", on "Pirqe Shirah" (Krotoschin, 1842), was a noted philosophical maggid.
Meïr Leibush Malbim (d. 1880), in his voluminous commentaries on the Bible, followed to some extent Abravanel and Alshech, and his conclusions are pointed and logical. Malbim's commentaries are considered to offer the best material for the use of maggidim.
From the "terror", or "Musar", maggid developed the "penitential" maggid, who, especially during the month of Elul and the ten days of penitence between New-Year's Day and Yom Kippur, urged the wicked to repent of their sins and seek God's forgiveness. One of these "penitential" preachers was Jacob Joseph, chief rabbi of the Russian Jews in New York (d. 1902), formerly maggid of Wilna, and a student of the Musar movement. In the middle of his preaching he would pause to recite with the people the "Shema koleinu", and the "Ashamnu," raising the audience to a high pitch of religious emotion. The maggid usually ended his preaching with the words. "u-ba le-Tziyyon goel," etc. (a redeemer shall come to Zion speedily in our days; let us say "Amen"). Some of the wandering maggidim acted also as meshullachim (collectors of money for institutions). The yeshivot in Russia and the charitable institutions of Jerusalem, especially the Va'ad ha-Kelali, sent abroad meshullach-maggidim. The resident maggid who preached at different synagogues in one city was called the "Stadt Maggid", as in Wilna and other large cities in Russia. The modern, or "maskil", maggid was called "Volksredner" (people's orator), and closely followed the German "Prediger" in his method of preaching. Tzebi Hirsch Dainow (d. 1877) was the first of the modern type of maggid, which soon developed into that of the "national," or "Zionistic," maggid. Yehuda Zvi Yabzrov from White Russia, as well as Tzvi Hirsch Masliansky and Joseph Zeff, both of New York, were representatives of the latter class. See Homiletics.
The founder of the Hasidic movement, Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov (Besht) (1698-1760), awakened a new stage and revival in Jewish mysticism. Hasidic philosophy internalised the abstract theological system of the earlier Kabbalah, by relating it to man's inner psychological awareness. This saw Divine omnipresence in everything, and brought this into personal dveikus (cleaving) through joyful fervour in daily life. This new teaching had popular appeal to the common folk, but also attracted great scholars who saw its deeper significances and philosophical depths. The Baal Shem Tov opposed the admonishing methods of the "musar" maggidim, which criticised and demoralised, as well as motivated, the community. His mysticism saw the inner holiness of each person. He would often illustrate to his disciples the preciousness in God's eyes of the simple sincerity of the unlearned Jewish folk. In the biographical hagiography of stories about the Baal Shem Tov, his encounters and "conversions" of admonishing preachers are recounted, as well as his encounters with the isolated, ascetic scholars, whose practices he also opposed.
His personal model of the Hasidic Master Rebbe was passed to the subsequent Hasidic Masters in the new Hasidic interpretation of the Tzaddik (saintly leader), who channels Divine blessing to the world. The microcosmic Messianic redemption offered by a Hasidic Rebbe, gave a new form of teacher and leader to the Jewish community, combining public mystic and redeemer, along with the traditional notions of darshan and maggid. Some Hasidic leaders are known with the name of "maggid", sometimes gained from before their adherence to Hasidism. The continual regard of this title to them, indicates a new interpretation of the traditional notion of a maggid, incorporated into the Hasidic role of Rebbe. The mystical revival of Hasidism elevated hagiographic storytelling about the Masters to a new degree in Judaism, reflecting the importance of the mystical adherence to a Tzaddik. The popular titles of each Master therefore reflect personal endearment and reverence.
Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch (דוב בער ממזריטש) (1704/1710?-1772) is known as the Maggid (literally 'Sayer') of Mezritsh after being the Maggid of the town of Rovne. After initially being opposed to the Baal Shem Tov's new ideas, he became a disciple and member of the Baal Shem Tov's close inner circle. After the death of his Master, the disciples appointed Dov Ber to become his successor, leading the new Hasidic movement in the early years of its establishment. Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch or "Great Maggid", is regarded as the first exponent of the philosophical system within the Baal Shem Tov's new teachings and doctrines, and one of its most important propagators. He became the architect of the new movement, devoting his attention to developing an academy of leading scholars and future leaders (the "Chevra Kaddisha"-Holy Society) to spread Hasidism across each of the regions of Western Europe after his death. His teachings appear in the volume Magid Devarav L'Yaakov. His inner circle of disciples included Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, Rabbi Aharon (HaGadol) of Karlin, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, and Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.
Shneur Zalman of Liadi, commonly known as the Alter Rebbe or Baal Hatanya, was a rabbi as well as the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism. He wrote many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya, and his Siddur Torah Or compiled according to the Nusach Ari.
Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch, also known as the Maggid of Mezeritch or Mezeritcher Maggid, was a disciple of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement. Dov Ber is regarded as the first systematic exponent of the mystical philosophy underlying the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and through his teaching and leadership, the main architect of the movement. He established his base in Mezhirichi, which moved the centre of Hasidism from Medzhybizh, where he focused his attention on raising a close circle of disciples to spread the movement. After his death the third generation of leadership took their different interpretations and disseminated across appointed regions of Eastern Europe, rapidly spreading Hasidism beyond Ukraine, to Poland, Galicia and Russia.
The Tanya is an early work of Hasidic philosophy, by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, first published in 1796. Its formal title is Likkutei Amarim, but is more commonly known by its first Hebrew word tanya, which means "it has been taught", where he refers to a baraita section in "Niddah", at the end of chapter 3, 30b. Tanya is composed of five sections that define Hasidic mystical psychology and theology as a handbook for daily spiritual life in Jewish observance.
Elimelech Weisblum of Lizhensk was a rabbi and one of the founding Rebbes of the Hasidic movement. His hometown was Leżajsk near Rzeszów in Poland. He was part of the inner "Chevraya Kadisha" school of Dov Ber of Mezeritch, who became the decentralised, third generation leadership after the passing of Dov Ber in 1772.
A nigun or niggun is a form of Ashkenazi religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", "Yai-Yai-Yai" or "Ai-Ai-Ai" instead of formal lyrics. Sometimes, it is defined as a mysterious musical form of prayer or a spiritual language beyond regular words. Also, Bible verses or quotes from other classical Jewish texts are sometimes sung repetitively to form a nigun. Some nigunim are sung as prayers of lament, while others may be joyous or victorious.
Devekut, debekuth, deveikuth or deveikus is a Jewish concept referring to closeness to God. It may refer to a deep, trance-like meditative state attained during Jewish prayer, Torah study, or when performing the 613 commandments. It is particularly associated with the Jewish mystical tradition.
Slonim is a Hasidic dynasty originating in the town of Slonim, which is now in Belarus. Today, there are two Slonimer factions. Slonim, based in Jerusalem, and the Slonim community in Bnei Brak. They are two distinct groups today, and have many differences between them.
Jewish meditation includes practices of settling the mind, introspection, visualization, emotional insight, contemplation of divine names, or concentration on philosophical, ethical or mystical ideas. Meditation may accompany unstructured, personal Jewish prayer, may be part of structured Jewish services, or may be separate from prayer practices. Jewish mystics have viewed meditation as leading to devekut. Hebrew terms for meditation include hitbodedut or hitbonenut/hisbonenus ("contemplation").
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism, alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic rebbes, often in the form of commentary on the Torah and Kabbalah. Hasidism deals with a range of spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the Torah, dealing with esoteric matters but often making them understandable, applicable and finding practical expressions.
Yisroel Hopstein (1737–1814), also known as the Maggid of Kozhnitz, was the founder of Kozhnitz Hasidism, and a noted hasidic leader in Poland during the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a student of both the Magid/Dov Ber of Mezeritch and Elimelech of Lizhensk, and wrote many books on Chassidus and Kabbalah. He is sometimes referred to as "the Avodat Yisrael" for his works.
Mezhbizh is the name of the town of Medzhybizh in the present Ukraine which is significant as both the source of a Hasidic dynasty that bears its name and as a symbolic name for the roots of Hasidism.
Menachem Nochum Twersky of Chernobyl, aka the Me'or Einayim, was a Ukrainian rabbi, and the founder of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty. He was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, and published one of the first works of Hasidic thought. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Hasidic movement.
Practical Kabbalah in historical Judaism, is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for the elite, who could separate its spiritual source from qlippoth realms of evil if performed under circumstances that were holy (Q-D-Š) and pure, tumah and taharah. The concern of overstepping Judaism's strong prohibitions of impure magic ensured it remained a minor tradition in Jewish history. Its teachings include the use of Divine and angelic names for amulets and incantations.
The following charts illustrate the family of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism.
A Baal Shem was a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah and supposed miracle worker. Employing various methods, Baalei Shem are claimed to heal, enact miracles, perform exorcisms, treat various health issues, curb epidemics, protect people from disaster due to fire, robbery or the evil eye, foresee the future, decipher dreams, and bless those who sought his powers.
Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov or BeShT (בעש"ט), was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. A baal shem tov is a "Master of the Good Name," that is, one able to work miracles using the secret name of God. Other sources explain his sobriquet as arising from a reputation of being a saintly, or superior, miracle-worker, hence he was given the nickname Baal Shem Tov, that is, the "good Baal Shem".
Hasidic Judaism in Lithuania is the history of Hasidic Judaism and Hasidic philosophy in Lithuania and parts of modern-day Belarus. Hasidic Judaism in Lithuania began with R. Aaron Perlow of Karlin (Karalin) (1736–1772), R. Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk (1730?–1788) R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Lyady) (1745–1812) and to a lesser extent R. Hayim Haykl of Amdur (Indura), all of whom were disciples of R. Dov Ber of Mezeritch (Mezhirichi), who in part was the successor to the R. Israel Baal Shem Tov who founded Hasidic Judaism in Western Ukraine. In its earliest years, Lithuanian Hasidism suffered immense persecution by the Lithuanian Misnagdic rabbinate, who attempted to ban and excommunicate Hasidism on several occasions in Lithuania beginning with R. Elijah b. Solomon Zalman of Vilna (1720–1797), who was the earliest disseminator of anti-Hasidic thought which flourished in Lithuania.
Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin was a disciple of the Maggid of Mezeritch and rabbi Aharon the Great of Karlin. After the death of Aharon, Solomon became the leader of the Hasidic dynasty in Karlin. His descendants served as rabbis of Volhynian Hasidism.
Avraham HaMalach also Abraham ben Dov Ber Friedman HaMalach as an 18th-century Hasidic Rabbi and son of the Maggid of Mezeritch. He is well-known for his extreme piety and observance of asceticism, the source of his nickname, "the Angel".
References
↑ Gershom Gerhard Scholem (1976). Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah. Princeton University Press. pp.82, 168, 736 etc. ISBN978-0691018096. Mention of religious figures experiencing maggid encounters: Joseph Karo (see his "Maggid Mesharim" (Preacher of Righteousness): the appearing maggid is the Mishnah herself), Nathan of Gaza, Abraham Yakhini, Rabbi Samson b. Pesah of Ostropol etc.
↑ "Biography of the Ramchal". Ramchal Institute, Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2014-11-05. At the age of twenty, an inner spiritual voice, a Maggid revealed himself to the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Haim Luzzatto of Padua). In a letter to Rabbi Benjamin HaCohen in December 1729, he wrote: "While I was meditating on a Yihud, I fell into a sleep and when I woke, I heard a voice saying: "I have come down to reveal hidden secrets of the Saintly King."
↑ Yoram Bilu (1996). "Dybbuk and Maggid: Two Cultural Patterns of Altered Consciousness in Judaism". AJS Review. 21 (2): 348. JSTOR1486699.
This articleincorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:Eisenstein, Judah David; Jacobs, Joseph (1906). "Maggid". In Singer, Isidore; etal. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol.8. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp.252–254.
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