Dov Baer (The Maggid) of Mezhirech

Dov Baer (The Maggid) of Mezhirech
(1710–72)
   Chassidic leader. Probably born in Volhynia, Ukraine, Dov Baer became well-known as a maggid (preacher) and a follower of the mystical practices of the great Cabbalist Isaac LURIA. When self-mortification made him ill, he sought help from ISRAEL BEN-ELIEZER BA’AL SHEM TOV, the founder of Chassidism. Dov Baer became Eliezer’s closest disciple and succeeded him as the head of the movement, setting up a ‘court’ in Mezhirech in Volhynia. From here he sent emissaries to communities in eastern Europe.
   Under Dov Baer’s leadership Chassidism became an organized movement. By his personal example, he reinforced the concept of the tzaddik, the saintly leader who derives his authority from direct contact with the divine powers and acts as a mediator for the community. However, Dov Baer himself stressed that every man should attain through devoted striving direct contact with God, who is to be found everywhere and can thus be worshipped in every action. Nearly all the chassidic leaders of the next generation were drawn from Dov Baer’s disciples, notably MENACHEM MENDEL of Vitebsk and SHNEUR ZALMAN of Lyady.

Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament. . 2012.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • DOV BAER (the Maggid) OF MEZHIRECH — (d. 1772), one of the earliest and most important leaders of Ḥasidism . As a youth, Dov Baer received a traditional religious education in the yeshivah of R. jacob joshua falk , author of Penei Yehoshu a. He taught in Torchin and later became… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ISSACHAR DOV BAER BEN ARYEH LEIB OF ZLOCZOW — (d. c. 1810), rabbi and ḥasidic ẓaddik, a grandson of Naphtali b. Isaac ha Kohen of Frankfurt, author of Semi khat Ḥakhamim (Frankfurt, 1704). Rabbi in Zloczow, he was a noted rabbinical scholar who wrote novellae on the Torah and responsa, Bat… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Dov Baer de Mezeritch — …   Wikipédia en Français

  • MAGGID — (Heb. מַגִּיד; pl. maggidim), literally one who relates (cf. II Sam. 15:13). The term, however, has two special connotations in later Hebrew: a) a popular – and often itinerant – preacher, and b) an angel or supermundane spirit which conveys… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Dov Ber of Mezeritch — Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch (דוב בער ממזריטש‎) (1700/1704/1710(?) – 4 December 1772 OS) was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement. Rabbi Dov Ber is… …   Wikipedia

  • ḤASIDISM — ḤASIDISM, a popular religious movement giving rise to a pattern of communal life and leadership as well as a particular social outlook which emerged in Judaism and Jewry in the second half of the 18th century. Ecstasy, mass enthusiasm, close knit …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • SHNEUR ZALMAN OF (Liozna-) LYADY — (1745–1813), founder of chabad Ḥasidism. According to family traditions he was born in Liozna, Belorussia, on the 18th of Elul. After his marriage in 1760 he devoted himself to Torah study. Concluding that he knew a little about learning, but… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • JEHIEL MICHAEL (Michel) BEN JUDAH LEIB HE-ḤASID — JEHIEL MICHAEL ( Michel ) BEN JUDAH LEIB HE ḤASID (1680–1728), rabbi, known as R. Michel Ḥasid. Jehiel Michael served as rabbi of Zlotow and other Polish communities before being invited to become head of the Berlin yeshivah, and in 1714, with… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • KARLIN — KARLIN, a dynasty of ẓaddikim (family name Perlov), named after the town of Karlin. Its founder was AARON BEN JACOB, referred to in ḥasidic circles as Aaron the Great (1736–1772), the pioneer of Ḥasidism in Lithuania. He was a disciple of dov… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • KOZIENICE, ISRAEL BEN SHABBETAI HAPSTEIN — (1733–1814), ḥasidic ẓaddik and preacher, born in Apta; one of the first propagators of Ḥasidism in Congress Poland. His teachers were Samuel Shmelke horowitz of Nikolsburg, dov baer the Maggid of Mezhirech, elimelech of Lyzhansk, and levi isaac… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”