Tasavvuf ve Hesikazm’ın Etkisinde Hasidizm: Baal Shem Tov - Bir Yahudi Sufi midir yoksa Hesikast mıdır?

Bu makale, Hasidizm’in Yahudi geleneğinde sadece önceki mistik gelişmelerin doruk noktası olarak değil, aynı zamanda Hesikazm ve Tasavvufun bazı türlerini doğrudan etkisi altında ortaya çıkma tarzını gün ışığına çıkarmayı amaçlayan bir çalışmadır. Bütün bu tasavvuf türleri, 18. yüzyılda Moldova'da (Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun Boğdan eyaleti), vaaz vermeye ancak Polonya’ya taşındıktan sonra başlamasına rağmen yine de orada doğduğu kabul edilen İsrail ben Eliezer adında, Baal Shem Tov (ismi güzel efendi) olarak da bilinen sıradışı bir adamın yeni ve inkılabi kabul edilebilecek düşüncelerinde harmanlanmış görünüyordu. Bugün bildiğimiz hikâyesinin ne kadarının gerçek ya da efsanevi olduğuna bakılmaksızın, kadim tek tanrılı dinler geleneği içerisinde önemli bir ‘hikâye’ olduğu inkâr edilemeyeceği gibi onun hakkında şimdiye kadar yazılmış eserlerin çokluğuna rağmen hala daha fazla araştırmaya da açık olduğu söylenebilir. Tov’un, ana akım Yahudiliğin bir uzantısı olarak başlattığı bu hareketin, dini bir krizi yerleşik dini uygulamalardan kısmen uzaklaşarak çözmeyi amaçladığını düşünerek, Tanrı’ya sadece dua yoluyla değil, aynı zamanda kıssa anlatımı, müzik ve dans/zikr yoluyla da ibadet etmeyi, haham’ı tzaddik (sadık/bilge kişi) ile değiştirmeyi önermiş olmasına rağmen, günümüzde Yahudiliğin en ultra-Ortodoks formu haline gelişinde İslami fikirlerin ne ölçüde aşılandığını incelemek ilginç olabilir. Bu makale, o nedenle, İslam’ın ortaya çıkışından günümüz Yahudi ayin ve ibadetlerine kadar Yahudi mistisizmin gelişimi üzerindeki İslam’ın etkisini hesaba katan bir çalışmadır.

Hasidism under the Influence of Hesychasm and Sufism: Baal Shem Tov – A Jewish Sufi and Hesychast?

This paper is an attempt to bring to light the manner in which Hasidism emerged inside the Jewish tradition not just as a climax of previous mystical developments, but also under the direct influence of Hesychasm and Sufism. All of these types of mysticism seem to have met in 18th century Moldova (the Bogdan province of the Ottoman Empire), in the new and revolutionary outlook of an unusual man called Israel ben Eliezer, also known as Baal Shem Tov (“the master of the good name”), who appears to have been born there, although he started preaching only after moving to Poland. Regardless of how much of his story as we know it today is true or legendary, his imprint on the evolution of the oldest monotheistic religion is undeniable and still awaits further scrutiny, despite the number of works written about him so far. Considering that the movement he set in motion, which started as an offshoot of mainstream Judaism meant to solve a religious crisis by straying partially away from the established religious practices, proposing to worship God not just through prayer but also through storytelling, music and dance, and to replace the rabbi with the tzaddik (righteous/wise man), has nowadays ended up by being the most ultra-Orthodox form of Jewishness, it is interesting to fathom the extent to which it was infused by Islamic ideas. The article therefore also takes into account the Islamic influence on the evolution of Jewish mysticism, from the emergence of Islam until today’s Jewish liturgical and meditative practice. 

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