Hasidism
Pronunciation: /ˈhasɪˌdɪz(ə)m/
(also Chasidism, Chassidism, or Hassidism)
noun
- a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century in reaction to the rigid academicism of rabbinical Judaism. The movement declined sharply in the 19th century, but fundamentalist communities developed from it, and Hasidism is still influential in Jewish life, particularly in Israel and New York.