Dov Ber of Mezritsh
Dov Ber, the Magid (preacher) of Mezritsh, was the spiritual successor to the Ba‘al Shem Tov (Besht). Born in Volhynia, he was a teacher who consulted the Besht to improve his health, and thereafter abandoned his ascetic practices and adopted the more emotional and contemplative expressions of Hasidism. After the Besht’s death in 1760, Dov Ber settled in Mezritsh, where he pioneered the role of the tsadik and influenced major Hasidic dynasties. It was from him, more than from the Besht, that Hasidism grew. His teachings were later published by his disciples.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Magid devarav le-Ya‘akov (He Declares His Word to Jacob)
Related Guide
Rabbinic Scholarship, 1750–1880
Despite the challenges of the early modern period, rabbinic scholarship flourished in Central and Eastern Europe in the latter half of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century.