What is Sacred about Emotions? A Historical Exploration of Emotion in Hasidism
Date and Time
Location
JEWISH CULTURES AND SOCIETIES
SPEAKER: Leore Sachs Shmueli, Bar Ilan University
Why would a religious movement famous for its celebration of joy place fear, trembling, and even guilt at the very center of its spiritual life? And what does this suggest about the role emotions play in sustaining religious commitment?
In this lecture, Leore Sachs-Shmueli draws on her recent book, Sacred Emotions, to examine a striking and often overlooked dimension of early Hasidism—the influential mystical revival that reshaped Eastern European Jewry in the 18th century. Far from a simple celebration of ecstasy, Hasidic teachings developed a complex emotional culture in which difficult affects, such as the fear of failure and moral concern, were not merely endured but actively shaped and directed. By reading these sources through the lens of the history of emotions, this talk brings into focus a dimension that modern perspectives often overlook. Rather than treating emotions as private or spontaneous, Sachs-Shmueli highlights how Hasidic texts construct them as cultivated and socially embedded practices—what may be described as a “labor of the heart.” Within this framework, Hasidic writings articulate detailed emotional “scripts” that guide individuals in channeling uncertainty and self-scrutiny into heightened awareness, ethical discipline, and attachment to the divine.
These insights illuminate a broader historical problem: how traditional communities sustained intensity and cohesion in the face of an emerging modern world. Ultimately, this lecture challenges the assumption that religious practice is defined primarily by belief or action; instead, it argues that the cultivation of feeling—no less than ritual observance—stood at the center of communal devotion.
About the Speaker
Dr. Leore Sachs Shmueli is a senior lecturer in the Department of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. Her expertise lies in the fields of Kabbalah and Hasidism, with a particular emphasis on topics related to ethics and morality, the rationale of commandments, the history of emotions, and gender studies. She is currently engaged in research projects that employ computational analysis to examine various conceptual and linguistics constructs of Hasidic traditions and mystical texts.
Co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies.
