Tikkun, Court, Story: The Visual Culture of Hasidism

Since its inception in Eastern Europe in the early 18th century, the primary aim of Hasidism has been to offer a religious alternative to the approach that valued intellectual study as the sole path to closeness with God. This helps explain why, over time, Hasidism has become associated not only with institutional concepts such as the Tzaddik, the court, or the movement but also with abstract terms like Devekut (attachment to God), joy, or longing. This course will examine the meanings of several abstract terms identified with the implementation of Hasidic principles through analyzing of their visual and artistic representations. This endeavor aims to delineate the characteristics of "Hasidic visual culture."