Editing Misnagdim (section)

==Response to the rise of Hasidism==

With the rise of what would become known as [[Hasidism]] in the late 18th century, established conservative rabbinic authorities actively worked to stem its growth. Whereas before the breakaway Hasidic synagogues were occasionally opposed but largely checked, its spread into [[Lithuania]] and [[Belarus]] prompted a concerted effort by opposing rabbis to halt its spread.<ref name="Nadler"/>

In late 1772, after uniting the scholars of [[Brest, Belarus|Brisk]], [[Minsk]] and other Belarusian and Lithuanian communities, the Vilna Gaon then issued the first of many polemical letters against the nascent Hasidic movement, which was included in the anti-Hasidic anthology, ''Zemir aritsim ve-ḥarvot tsurim'' (1772). The letters published in the anthology included pronouncements of excommunication against Hasidic leaders on the basis of their worship and habits, all of which were seen as unorthodox by the ''Misnagdim''. This included but was not limited to unsanctioned places of worship and ecstatic prayers, as well as charges of smoking, dancing, and the drinking of alcohol. In total, this was seen to be a radical departure from the Misnagdic norm of asceticism, scholarship, and stoic demeanor in worship and general conduct, and was viewed as a development that needed to be suppressed.<ref name="Nadler"/>

Between 1772 and 1791, other Misnagdic tracts of this type would follow, all targeting the Hasidim in an effort to contain and eradicate them from Jewish communities. The harshest of these denouncements came between 1785 and 1815 combined with petitioning of the [[Russian Empire|Russian government]] to outlaw the Hasidim on the grounds of their being spies, traitors, and subversives.<ref name="Nadler"/>

However, this would not be realized. After the death of the Vilna Gaon in 1797 and the [[partitions of Poland]] in 1793 and 1795, the regions of Poland where there were disputes between ''Misnagdim'' and Hasidim came under the control of governments that did not want to take sides in intra-Jewish conflicts, but that wanted instead to abolish Jewish autonomy. In 1804 Hasidism was legalized by the Imperial Russian government, and efforts by the ''Misnagdim'' to contain the now-widespread Hasidim were stymied.<ref name="Nadler"/>