Great Debates: The Road to the Chassidic Renaissance
17th century Polish and Ukrainian Jewry faced genocidal massacres, communal collapse, poverty, and social rifts, followed by the unbearable disappointment of a false Messiah, and the rise of corrupt rabbinical leadership. Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov then stepped into this void with the teachings of Chassidism.
Lesson Five: The Road to the Chassidic Renaissance