As I was doing research for this week’s post — which, again, is being posted later than intended — I was initially contemplating writing about Saint Ambrose, who was thrust into the role of bishop before even being baptized into the Church, and who went on to become one of the Fathers of the Church. A powerful example of lived spirituality, truly.

But then, as is so often the case when one is strolling through Wikipedia, I clicked on a link and ended up on an entirely different topic: Hasidic Judaism.

Hasidic — “hasidic” loosely translates as “piety” or “loving-kindness” — Judaism is an offshoot of Orthodox Judaism, which emphasizes the mystical aspects of the Jewish faith, contra the Talmudic legalism that characterizes some other practices and schools of that faith. Not to be confused with Kabbalah, Hasidic Judaism promotes the value of prayer and works of kindness/charity, and promotes the philosophies of optimism, encouragement, and fervour over and above traditional Jewish philosophies (e.g. study, admonishment, ethical asceticism).

Put more plainly, Hasidic Judaism places greater emphasis than normal on the emotional aspects of Jewish belief, and takes a more populist approach. It is arguably somewhat panentheistic, holding that God is Divinely immanent in all aspects of Creation. Indeed, Creation is seen as being Divine in its own right, the temporal manifestation of an infinite, eternal, and transcendent God. Hasidism, then, focuses on the interaction between God and Creation, and on the inner soul of the Divine as it simultaneously permeates and transcends all things.

But despite its rather heady explanation, Hasidism’s key impact within Judaism was its appeal to the common people, for whom the discipline of study (in particular) may have been wholly — or at least substantially — inaccessible. Not that Hadism sought to replace Talmudic scholarship, but it did place emphasis on the notion of personal, relational closeness with God as an alternative means of living out Jewish spirituality, while still affording the learned the opportunity to pursue Talmudic study as a path of spirituality as well, and then one bolstered by new interpretive hermeneutics.

It is this idea of personal closeness — a natural outcropping of Hasidism’s panentheism — with God, however, that forms the backbone of Hasidic thought. “Man,” as Baal Shem Tov (the founder of Hasidism) taught, “must always bear in mind that God is omnipresent and is always with him; that God is the most subtle matter everywhere diffused… Let man realize that when he is looking at material things he is in reality gazing at the image of the Deity which is present in all things. With this in mind man will always serve God even in small matters.”

The similarities to the Spirituality of the Eight Virtues is, hopefully, fairly apparent by now. Indeed, it’s arguable that there is just a hint of panentheism in second half of the common explanation of Spirituality: “…the awareness of the love that unites one’s own inner being to those around one.” Much as is the case in Christian thought, God is this binding, animating, all-uniting love. Not unlike many Christian schools of thought, Hasidism emphasizes the focus on God in this way, and in fact takes that view to its logical ultimate: all of what exists temporally is an actual, physical manifestation of the Divine.

And it’s arguable that Hasidic practices reflect this. Hasidism holds that every action — even eating a chocolate bar — should be performed in a state of spiritual awareness. Hasidic Judaism emphasizes modesty in dress, for both men and women, and every traditional article of Hasidic clothing has spiritual significance. Although divorce is allowed — as is the case in most of Judaism — the actual divorce rate for Hasidim is stunningly low (it may even be less than 1%). There are a number of Hasidic volunteer organizations, and some Hasidim extend the concept of tithing to their volunteerism (that is, giving fully 10% of their time to volunteerism, which is actually a quite staggering amount if you think about it).

In short, in Hasidic Judaism, you have an animated faith that emphasizes not just personal closeness with God, but also the unifying principle that every physical thing — including one’s own being, and the physical beings of everyone else — are outward manifestations of the Divine. This belief translates — heartily, joyously — into real-world action, a profound drive to contribute and volunteer. And it also binds the faith community — not to mention families and couples — together in very profound ways. But, and this most importantly, you also have a philosophy that strives to be broadly accessible, not just to the very learned, but to the everyday man (or woman) in the street.