‘Three Scenes of Hasidic Tomfoolery by Yaakov Shmuel Bik (1816–1824)’, Dehak: Journal of Hebrew Literature 17 (2024), pp. 524-539 (Hebrew) (original) (raw)

In 1953, Dov Sadan published a short, provocative manuscript titled “Ḥezyoni Hitul” (Scenes of jest), a text that for unclear reasons had been overlooked until that point. In consideration of this work’s important and aesthetic value, we have reissued it here on the basis of a recently discovered manuscript. The context of the manuscript is clear: the publication of Shivḥei ha-Besht (In praise of the Baal Shem Tov) in Kopust in late 1814 and in a Yiddish version in Ostroh in 1816. Shivḥei ha-Besht shocked readers with its depictions of the wondrous deeds of Israel Baal Shem Tov (the Besht). It was the first attempt, in the mode of hagiography, to describe the persona of the Besht at a time when many had already lay claim to his legacy and disseminated the teachings of Hasidism. With new hasidic courts and tsaddikim appearing in every corner, there was a need for an account of the founder and his praises, a sort of propaganda literature that would relate his wonders and present him as a new embodiment of R. Isaac Luria for contemporary tsaddikim to emulate. It comes as no surprise that the Maskilim rushed to address the book, mocking it in satires and parodies. They imagined that by undermining the image of the Besht and mocking his praises they would cause people to abandon the living tsaddikim. The text presented here contains three satirical portrayals (or scenes) of a meeting between simple people and wonder-working hasidic rebbes who claim authority from the Besht. Shivḥei ha-Besht stands in the background here as an inspiration for imaginary miracles and as a holy book with magical powers. The three scenes were written between the years 1816 and 1824. They attempt to depict the making of hasidic hagiography, as well as the dirty truth of how the tsaddikim actually perform their miracles. In other words, how the tsaddikim act cunningly to deceive the public while articulating their miraculous deeds in hagiographic tones à la Shivḥei ha-Besht. This text is important not only for its content, language, style, and the context in which it was written, but also on account of its author, Yaakov Shmuel Bik (1772–1831), a well-known Galician Maskil who moved between complex worlds, namely those of the Galician rabbinate, Hasidism, and the Haskalah.