The Approach of Hasidim to Halakhah

Rabbi Mintz on Jewish History - Glimpses into the religious Lives of Early Modern European Jewry

The Misnagdim criticized he Hasidim as rejectors of the traditional halakhah. This lecture will explore the Hasidic attitude to halakhah and evaluate whether the Misnagdim were correct. We will explore the Shulhan Arukh of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady and several halakhic decisions of the nineteenth century Hasidim. How did the Hasidim balance their separatist views with the need to be pragmatic?