Kol Nidrei in Nikolsburg, 1775: An Early Account of a Hasidic Sermon

Descriptions of the delivery of Hasidic sermons are relatively rare, especially from the first decades of the development of the movement. This article presents the earliest extant written account of a Hasidic sermon, which was delivered by Samuel Shmelke Horowitz, the rabbi of the Moravian city of Nikolsburg (Mikulov), on the eve of Yom Kippur of the year 1775. It situates the document containing this hitherto overlooked account in its historical and ideological context and explores the light it sheds on the geographical limits of the Hasidic movement in the 18th century. Appended to the article is an edition of the Hebrew text of the document based on two textual witnesses along with an English translation.