

iJXAT. 



A881DIANS 



Cbidim,'AaU., 1 Mjwxb.vu. IS. Chs- 



*c JHO*), (rum the root T?n. or rather from T^IT- *** 



used to denote either very good or a ray bad (01100, but more 

 frequently the former. They formed a Met among the Jew*, dUtin- 

 guiihed by their more than common attention to the ceremonial* of 

 their religion. They paid more than the usual tribute to the temple. 

 and nrare by it, for which our Saviour reproved the Pharisees (Matt 

 utti. 16), who prang from them, as the Essenes issued from the 

 Pharixe*. It was a name given to the zealous defenders of the unity 

 of the Deity and the belief of their ancestors, against the attempts of 

 Aatiochua Epiphanes and hi* successors to force the Jews iuUi idoUtry. 

 The AttHfaim. or Chandim, of thoee day*, found a leader in Matta- 

 thia*, who gave the signal for armed resistance against th- 

 tyrants, ty killing the commander of the king's troops at the idolatrous 

 altar in Modim, near Joppa. Mattathias headed the Chasidiin .lurin-.- 

 four years against the Grocomania of those days. These four years 

 are not included by Josephus in the 126 years of the Asmoneou 

 dynasty, which he commences from the time t which Judas Haccabi 

 assumed the chief command. 



Later Jews called those persona Chaudim who secluded themselves 

 from worldly occupations and pleasures, to devote their life solely to 

 religious exercises and bodily chastisements, in the hope either of 

 expiating their own sins or those of others, or of hastening the coming 

 of the Messiah. These Chasidini studied the kabala, and endeavoured 

 by their mortification of the flesh to abstract the spirit from the body, 

 and thus have liberty to enter into communion with God and angels. 

 They fasted frequently, and saserted that they had visions. 



Solomon Maimon informs his readers in his ' Memoirs ' (Berlin 

 1792), that some of the Chasidiin died in consequence of their auste- 

 rities, and that others became deranged ; he also status that not a few 

 rendered their spiritual profession subservient to their temporal aggran- 

 disement. 



About the middle of the 18th century a new sect of Chasidim arose 

 among the Jews, who invented a more comfortable method of ascetic 

 practice. They taught that the union of man with God was effected 

 by contemplation, and that in order to fix the mind on God it is 

 y to quicken sensation by the enjoyment of permitted indul- 

 They asserted that mortification of the flesh disturbs that 

 ntal tranquillity which is necessary for the contemplation of God. 

 These Chasidim considered that union with God subsists in common 

 religionists only during seasons of prayer, and they taught that prayer 

 should be performed with the greatest exertion and concentration of 

 the mental faculties, in order to unite the praying spirit so intimately 

 with God as to obtain power over all sublunary and celestial beings, 

 and thus to realise all desires. The tsadik is always in communion 

 with God. 



After this sect became numerous, some of its members were con- 

 sidered representatives of God, and their words regarded as oracles. 

 The influence of these representatives was based solely upon their 

 appearance of sanctity, and not upon their mental superiority. They 

 therefore endeavoured to bring science into disrepute. 



The history of the modern Chasidim is briefly this : Israel Baalschem, 



that is, CfP~7j?2. The Lord of the name, that is, Stouffos, Theutyoi, 



whom Maimon erroneously calls Joel, lived A.D. 1740, in the town of 

 Vlussy, in the circle of Czarkow, in Poland. His partisans assert that 

 his birth was predicted to his father by the prophet Elijah, and that 

 his mother was a hundred years old at the time of his birth, and his 

 father still more advanced in years. While yet in his youth, they 

 relate that he overcame some evil spirits, or demons. Baalschem went 

 afterwards to Medziboze, in Podolia, whence he propagated his doc- 

 trines, which are contained in a volume written by himself, and 

 edited by his grandson, under the title rmnn -D. His testament has 

 been published under the title BO--I runx. His birth and miracles 

 are described by his disciple, It. Bar Linez, in a volume entitled 

 nrpan >n:r, 'The Habitations of Bcsht.' The fifth edition wax 

 published in 1815. The word owya, Hetht, is formed from the initials 

 of 3V rar "jya, The Lard of the good name, or the Lord of the name 

 oft, 



From the word Besht, the modern Chasidim have been called 

 Beshtians. The orthodox Rabbins opposed in vain the spread of the 

 Chasidim or Beshtians by anathema and excommunications. Baalschem 

 based his doctrines upon the cabalistic book of Zohar, recommending a 

 contemplative, inactive life, and frequent bathing in spring water. 



The Beshtians soon spread over Wallachia, Moldavia, Hungary, anc 

 (iallizia, in which countries they are still numerous; but their prin 

 <-i|.lr are not admitted among the Jews in Germany, France, anc 

 Italy. This sect a long time concealed their doctrines, and propa- 

 gated their opinions rather by manuscript copies of their writings than 

 by printed publications; but since 1817 there have been many works 

 published by their own teachers, which, though they often contain 

 many excellent instructions and exhortations for the leading of a 

 moral life and refraining from evil, are too frequently ornamentet 

 with marvellous tales, miraculous cures, and mystical interpretations 

 Several of the toadiks, however, have shown themselves enlightened 

 men in their writings, and endeavoured to abolish the observance o 

 ome of the old and useless ceremonials. 



After the death of Baalschem, A.D. 1 740, R. Bar, of Madexicy, R. Men- 

 del Pmmialaw, and R. Melash of Lvxaiu, endeavoured to govern the 

 sect ; not as combined triumvirs, but by each assuming the govern- 

 ment of his own circle, under tlio title of ttadik, jmt or JH'OW. The 

 itle of tuadik was formerly applied to Baalaohem by way of distinc- 

 tion, but after his death each of his three most distinguished disciples 

 ndeavoured by ite assumption to vindicate his own prerogative of 

 inventing with spirit*. In conversation the disciples of Baalschem 

 are satisfied with the title of Abbr, or tea<-li. r 



At the present time, every shrewd individual, well read in the 



'almud and in cabalistical writers, may by hypocrisy obtain the dig- 



ity of a tsadik, even if his morals are suspected. But the descendants 



f Besht have more facility in obtaining this dignity, because they are 



kind of hereditary nobility among the Beshtians, the richest of whom 



eel themselves honoured by a degree of affinity with a taadik. Besht 



imself taught that by honouring the descendants of the tsadik man 



light induce God to send the Messiah, and that the son of a tsadik ia 



sanctified from his conception by the holy thoughts of his father, and 



may be called a son of God and tbon evil. 



The tsadik has no certain salary, but is supported by voluntary 

 gifts, for which he grants his advice to the Chasidim in all trail*: 

 f life. Whenever his advice seems to be unproductive of go> 

 cause is thought to be in the sinfuluess of the receiver, and not in the 

 nappropriateness of the counsel. He visits yearly their district; and 

 n the month of October his flock visit him. In times of need or 

 istress, also, the graves of the taadiks are visited. 



The doctrines of the Chasidim may be classed under the following 

 three heads: 



to ** 



ad attachment to the ttadii: 



II. nj'OZZ^? n'lpS^f clearing to the Shechlmih. 



III. rOT37 courage. 



This courage may even become insolence and effrontery, so that the 

 'hasid may contradict the principles of truth, justice, equity, mode- 

 ration, and decency, whenever these principles are in collision with the 

 vill of the tsadik and that of his sect. 



In modern times the Chasidim have left off the use of prayer-books 

 according to the German and Polish ritual, and have adopted the 

 Spanish and Oriental ritual, with which they have mixed many 

 cabalistic elements. 



It is the duty of the Chasid to shout during prayer, to clap his 

 lands loudly together, or to beat the wall with his hands, to jump 

 about, and to move the body as in convulsions. Whoever shouts 

 during prayer with all his might, shakes his whole body, and claps his 

 lands, averts the wrath of God and strengthens his own memory. The 

 Jhaaid must not be prevented by the ridicule of others from obeying 

 this respect the precepts of the tsadik. 



The Chasidim do not like to assemble in the common synagogues. 

 In every place where ten Chasidim reside they have a room called 

 dossel (clausa) for prayer and conversation both sacred and profane. 

 The Chasidim bathe frequently. 



(Oetehichte der Lehren und jleinunr/en otter bettandenen und nock 

 'leetehenden religiosen Secten der Juden, und der Geheimlehre oder Kab- 

 'lalah, von Peter Beer, Briinn, 1823; Meyer's Grouc Conversation* 

 Lexikon, 1844, art. ChiuMim.) 



ASSIENTO TREATY. [TREATIES, CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF.] 

 ASSIGN AT. One of the earliest financial measures of the Con- 

 stituent Assembly, in the first French revolution, was to appropriate to 

 national purposes the landed property of the clergy, which, upon tin- 

 proposition of Mirabeau, was by a large majority declared to be at the 

 disposition of the state. (Thiers, ' Histoire de la Revolution Franchise.') 

 Shortly afterwards, the Assembly, desirous to profit by this measure, 

 decreed the sale of lands belonging to the crown and the clergy, to the 

 amount of 400 millions of francs, or about sixteen millions sterling. To 

 sell at once so large a portion of the surface of France, without lower- 

 ing the price of land by overloading the market to such an unexampled 

 extent (Thiers), and moreover in a time of mistrust, insecurity, rapid 

 political change, and almost of civil war, was an object of no VIM % 

 easy attainment. It was first proposed that the lands houkl IB- 

 transferred to the municipalities, which, not being provided witli 

 ready money, might give the state a bond or security for the price, and 

 the state would pay its creditors with these securities, which could, 

 in process of time, be realised, as the municipalities were able succes- 

 sively to sell, at an advantageous price, the lands thus made OVIT to 

 them. The holders of the securities would thus have a claim not on 

 the government, but on the municipal bodies, which would be com- 

 pellable by process of law to pay ; and the creditor might moreover 

 extinguish the debt by buying the lands when put up to sale, and by- 

 offering the security in payment. But it might happen that the holder 

 of such securities would be unable to realise them, and might not be 

 willing to purchase any of the lands of the state ; in order therefore to 

 obviate this objection to the securities in question, it was proposed 

 that they should be transferable and be made a legal tender. 



There was also another motive for the adoption of this latter expe- 

 dient. In consequence of the want of confidence and stagnation of 

 trade which prevailed in France at this time, money had become 

 extremely scarce, and much of the current coin had been withdrawn 



