'לא זכה אליה שום אדם בעודו בזה העולם': ר' חיים מוולוז'ין והמיקום מחדש של החידוש החסידי

Scholars from many fields have investigated the conception of God and the kabbalistic idea of tsimsum (Godly contraction) as expressed in The Soul of Life (Nefesh HaChayim) by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin (1749–1821). They have noted especially the influence of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the author of the Tanya. Scholars have also probed Rabbi Chaim’s view on the importance of Torah in the life of a Jew, emphasizing the influence of Rabbi Meshullam Feivush Heller, author of Yosher Divrei Emet. Among other limited issues, they have inquired into his conception of the relationship between act and intent.In a more general way, scholars have debated whether Rabbi Chaim’s work is a polemical rejection of Hasidism or, on the contrary, does he accept and even internalize many of its seminal innovations.However, scholarship has mainly ignored the presence in Nefesh HaChayim of abundant allusions to ideas, idioms, ‘teachings’ (‘torot’), or even Hasidic homilies known as ‘vorts’ taken from the work of the early Hasidic masters. The present article is based on two assumptions, which it demonstrates at length. First it shows that Rabbi Chayim mentions Hasidic ideas in a polemical context, and he certainly does not adopt them wholesale.Additionally, these ideas do not stem mostly from Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi’s work,but rather from earlier Hasidic works. This second point finds support in recent work incollecting original statements from the Baal Shem Tov. ֫Rabbi Chayim went beyond emphasizing the points he valued. He recontextualized the ideas and concepts he found in Hasidic literature, blunting their impact, and altering their application. By recontextualizing these ideas, Rabbi Chayim was attempting to restore the mto their original context and reveal their original meaning, as it arose from the kabbalistict exts in which they first appeared.This is a masterwork in unraveling and reweaving – a methodological exegesis that includes both thinly veiled hints and frequent sharp attacks against its competitors. The apparent adoption of a moderate strategy was a clever way of disarming his opponents.