Ḥasīd (Hebrew:חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; pluralחסידים "Hasidim") is aJewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in theTalmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observance of Jewish law, and often one who goes beyond the legal requirements of ritual and ethicalJewish observance in daily life. In theMishnah, the term is used thirteen times, the majority of which being in the TractatePirkei Avot.[1]
The Hebrew wordḤasīd appears for the first time in theTorah(Deuteronomy 33:8) with respect to thetribe of Levi, and all throughout the HebrewBook of Psalms, with its various declensions.[2] In classicrabbinic literature it differs from "Tzadik" ("righteous") by instead denoting one who goes beyond his ordinary duty. The literal meaning ofḤasīd derives fromChesed (חסד) (= "kindness"), the outward expression of love (lovingkindness) for God and other people. This spiritual devotion motivates pious conduct beyond everyday limits. The devotional nature of its description lent itself to a few Jewish movements in history being known as "Hasidim". Two of these derived from the Jewishmystical tradition, as it could tend towards piety over legalism.
RabbiSaadia Gaon, the medieval Hebrew linguist and biblical exegete, translated the Hebrew wordḤasīd in Psalm 18:25 into theJudeo-Arabic wordאלמחסן, meaning, "he that does good."[3]
As a personal honorific, both "Ḥasīd" and "Tzadik" could be applied independently to the same individual with both different qualities. The 18th-centuryVilna Gaon, for instance, at that time the chiefopponent of the new Jewish mystical movement that became known as "Hasidism", was renowned for his righteous life. In tribute to his scholarship, he became popularly honored with the formal title of "Genius", while amongst the Hasidic movement's leadership, despite his fierce opposition to their legalistic tendencies, he was respectfully referred to as "TheGaon, the Ḥasīd from Vilna".
A general dictum in theTalmud (Baba Kama 30a) states: "He that wishes to be pious (Aramaic:ḥasīda), let him uphold the things described under the indemnity laws in the Mishnaic Order ofNeziqin."Rava, differing, said: "Let him observe the things transcribed inPirkei Avot." (ibid.)
Of the few known pious men in the early 2nd century, the Talmud acknowledges the following: "Wherever we read (in Talmudic writings), 'It is reported of a pious man', either R.Juda b. Baba it meant or R.Judah, the son of R. Ilai."[4]
In the aggregate, "Ḥasīd" may also refer to members of any of the following Jewish movements:
