[has-i-diz-uh
m, hah-si-] 
| the principles and practices of the Hasidim. |
| Ha·sid or Has·sid also Chas·sid (KHä'sĭd, KHô'-, hä'-) n. pl. Ha·si·dim or Has·si·dim also Chas·si·dim (KHä-sē'dĭm, KHô-, hä-) A member of a Jewish mystic movement founded in the 18th century in eastern Europe by Baal Shem Tov that reacted against Talmudic learning and maintained that God's presence was in all of one's surroundings and that one should serve God in one's every deed and word. [From Hebrew ḥāsîd, pious, from ḥāsad, to be kind; see ḥsd in Semitic roots.] Ha·si'dic adj., Ha·si'dism n. |
Hasidism
(from Hebrew hasid, "pious one"), a 12th- and 13th-century Jewish religious movement in Germany that combined austerity with overtones of mysticism. It sought favour with the common people, who had grown dissatisfied with formalistic ritualism and had turned their attention to developing a personal spiritual life, as reflected in the movement's great work, Sefer Hasidim.
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