Hasidic Judaism

Religious subgroup of modern Judaism

Hasidism (Hebrew: חסידות, romanized: Ḥăsīdūt) or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affiliated with the movement, known as hassidim, reside in Israel and in the United States, and to a lesser extent in Canada, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Belgium. Israel Ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov", is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it.

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