Przysucha, Jacob Isaac ben Asher

Przysucha, Jacob Isaac ben Asher

Polish Ḥasidic leader
also called  Jacob Isaac of Przysucha , Przysucha also spelled  Pshishkhah , byname  Ha-Yehudi (“the Jew”) , or  Ha-Yehudi Ha-Kadosh (“the Holy Jew”) 
born 1776, Przedborz, Kingdom of Poland
died 1814, Przysucha

      Jewish Ḥasidic leader who sought to turn Polish Ḥasidism away from its reliance on miracle workers. He advocated a new approach that combined study of the Torah with ardent prayer.

      Przysucha was the descendant of a rabbinic family. He became learned in the Torah and was also known for his intense spirituality. For a time he was a disciple of Jacob Isaac Horowitz of Lublin, who was known as “the Seer.” Przysucha gradually established a new form of Ḥasidism, Pshishkhah Ḥasidism, based on his belief that the wholehearted observance of one's duty as a Jew was of greater value than the performance of miracles, which he felt appealed to the ignorant and materialistic. Because Przysucha and his followers believed that prayer should be offered only when one felt close to God, they did not pray at fixed times, as required by religious law. This brought them into conflict with Ḥasids led by the Seer, and a breach developed between the two groups and between Przysucha and his former master.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • PRZYSUCHA (Pshishkha), JACOB ISAAC BEN ASHER — (ha Yehudi ha Kadosh, the holy Jew ; 1766(?)–1814), ḥasidic rebbe, the founder of Pshiskha Ḥasidism, in Poland. R. Jacob Isaac was born in przedborz , Poland, to a rabbinic family. In his youth he was a student of R. David Tevele b. Nathan of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ḤASIDISM — ḤASIDISM, a popular religious movement giving rise to a pattern of communal life and leadership as well as a particular social outlook which emerged in Judaism and Jewry in the second half of the 18th century. Ecstasy, mass enthusiasm, close knit …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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