From Tsaddiq to Messiah: Guidelines for A Comparative Analysis of the Chabad and Braslav Hasidic Groups

Abstract

For many Israelis the Hasidic groups of Chabad (Lubavitch) and Braslav seem the most dynamic forces in the contemporary religious sphere. How should we account for the vitality and popularity of what appears as sheer anomaly – Hasidic groups without a living tsaddiq (Hasidic master)? Is the fact that Chabad and Braslav are headless relevant to their current success? Is it conducive to it? To answer, we expand on the willingness of both groups to cross and dissolve established boundaries in the Jewish orthodox orbit. This orientation we attribute to the strong messianic ideology that engulfs both Chabad and Braslav. Given the messianic stature of Chabad’s seventh leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) and (less explicitly) of Rabbi Nachman of Braslav (1772-1810), nominating a successor in either camp was not a viable option. We argue that the absence of a living tsaddiq may become a virtue in the present time, when individual Hasidim have more leeway for personal initiative and autonomous action. Assisted by modern technology, the dissolution of boundaries in both groups is conducive to making the absent tsaddiq present. Without the constraints of a rigid rabbinical hierarchy mediating between master and disciples, many Hasidim in Chabad and Braslav can experience their virtual rabbis as visible, accessible, and palpably close.