History

Historical Atlas of Hasidism

The first cartographic reference book on one of today’s most important religious movements

Hardcover

Price:
$79.00/£65.00
ISBN:
Published:
Jul 24, 2018
2018
Pages:
280
Size:
9.25 x 12.5 in.
Illus:
62 color + 39 b/w illus., 6 tables, 74 maps
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Historical Atlas of Hasidism is the very first cartographic reference book on one of the modern era’s most vibrant and important mystical movements. Featuring seventy-four large-format maps and a wealth of illustrations, charts, and tables, this one-of-a-kind atlas charts Hasidism’s emergence and expansion; its dynasties, courts, and prayer houses; its spread to the New World; the crisis of the two world wars and the Holocaust; and Hasidism’s remarkable postwar rebirth.

Historical Atlas of Hasidism demonstrates how geography has influenced not only the social organization of Hasidism but also its spiritual life, types of religious leadership, and cultural articulation. It focuses not only on Hasidic leaders but also on their thousands of followers living far from Hasidic centers. It examines Hasidism in its historical entirety, from its beginnings in the eighteenth century until today, and draws on extensive GIS-processed databases of historical and contemporary records to present the most complete picture yet of this thriving and diverse religious movement.

Historical Atlas of Hasidism is visually stunning and easy to use, a magnificent resource for anyone seeking to understand Hasidism’s spatial and spiritual dimensions, or indeed anybody interested in geographies of religious movements past and present.

  • Provides the first cartographic interpretation of Hasidism
  • Features seventy-four maps and numerous illustrations
  • Covers Hasidism in its historical entirety, from its eighteenth-century origins to today
  • Charts Hasidism’s emergence and expansion, courts and prayer houses, modern resurgence, and much more
  • Offers the first in-depth analysis of Hasidism’s egalitarian—not elitist—dimensions
  • Draws on extensive GIS-processed databases of historical and contemporary records

Awards and Recognition

  • Winner of the 2018 Judaica Reference and Bibliography Award, Association of Jewish Libraries
  • Winner of the 2018 National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship, Nahum Sarna Memorial Award
  • One of the Financial Times' Best Books of the Year: Critics' Picks
  • A Choice Outstanding Academic Title of the Year