THE LEIBOWITZER REBBE: YESHAYAHU LEIBOWITZ AND HASIDISM

Abstract The controversial Israeli public intellectual Yeshayahu Leibowitz (1903–1994) has jokingly been called “the Leibowitzer Rebbe.” The humor is in the obvious incongruity of associating Leibowitz with anything Hasidic. He was the most rationalist of religious thinkers and said disparaging things about Hasidism and its leaders. Yet Leibowitz and Hasidism are closer than they appear. Building on insights from other scholars, I will show the affinities between Leibowitz and some of the Hasidic masters. Drawing on his writings, interviews, and correspondence, I will demonstrate that Leibowitz read and cited Hasidic books; he engaged with Hasidic teachings, and acknowledged learning from them. I argue that a full understanding of his challenging thinking must take Hasidic sources into account. This paper makes a contribution to scholarship on Leibowitz, one of the most interesting modern Jewish thinkers, and to our understanding of the relationship of Hasidism with modern Judaism as a whole.