The movement is known for its strict asceticism and mystical doctrine who radically reimagined Jewish ethics, holding themselves accountable to din shamayim (an unwritten Law of Heaven) in addition to traditional halakha.
The line of thought that developed into Ashkenazi Hasidicism traces its roots to the Gaonic scholar Abu Aaron and extended to the three seminal thinkers of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, Judah the Pious, Samuel the Pious, and Eleàzar of Worms.
Rabbi Judah the Pious (Rav Yehuda Ha-Hassid) of Regensburg was the foremost leader of the Ashkenazi Hasidim.
Rabbi Eleazar of Worms was a leading Talmudist and Kabbalist in the 13th century and was the prime disciple of Judah the Pious.
He is best known for his work, Sefer HaRokeah (Book of the Perfumer), a halakhic guide to ethics and Jewish law for the common reader.
[3]The quest to fulfill retzon haborei is not just a commendable, optional one; rather, it is a requisite aspect of proper divine service: And we find in the Torah that anyone who was capable of understanding [a demand] even though he was not [explicitly] commanded is punished for not realizing [the requirement] on his own.
The torat hakavod (Hebrew תורת הכבוד) of the Ashkenazi Hasidim echoes Saadia's theory, but with a fundamental difference.
Many of these references are present in Shir Hakavod by Rabbi Samuel the Pious, a poem written in praise of the Kavod.
As portrayed in Sefer Hasidim, the Hasid is assertive and in certain senses extreme in his efforts to impose his system upon his surroundings.
In part, Sefer Hasidim is sated with praise for those who serve the public and equally filled with admonition for those who cause others to stumble.
Acting for the common good became a leitmotif in Sefer Hasidim, and failure to take a public stand against wrongdoing is perceived as a grave sin.
On the flip side, those who did not adhere to the "proper" lifestyle proscribed by Sefer Hasidim were constantly labeled as reshaim (wicked ones).
From the non-Hasid perspective, these often were scholars who make serious contributions to Halachic thought and give influential rulings on religious matters.
[1]: 332 Other themes include penance, lilmod al menat lekayem (learn in order to fulfill), Jewish travel,[5] and the attitude toward music.
In response, the Ashkenazi Hasidim formulated a code of behavior that emphasized extreme expressions of good character.
A controversial movement such as this one, which castigated much of the broader community, labeling them reshaim (wicked), would certainly have been referenced by contemporary literature.
However, others such as Isaiah Tishby maintain that Sefer Chassidim is an "enormous anthology, reflecting the work of generations of Ashkenazi Hasidic leaders".
[8] Ivan G. Marcus raised support for the community's historicity by pointing out references to Chassidei Ashkenaz practices in Arba'ah Turim and Sefer ha-Manhig.
Secular Jewish philosopher Martin Buber twice stated that he was influenced by the books of the Hassidei Ashkenaz, once in a letter to Jewish Nietzschean story-teller Micha Josef Berdyczewski, and a second time in his 1906 book Die Geschichten des Rabbi Nachman, which connects these ancient Jews to the 18th century Hassidism of Nachman of Breslov.
[citation needed] Though there may be earlier printed mentions that still exist, the book Yuḥasin by Abraham Zacuto, of which two original texts exist from the early 16th century (1500–1503) at Jewish museums, on leaf 221 mentions 'Eleazar Ben Yehudah Ben Kalonymous of Worms', the son of Judah the Pious.