“I Will Tell You How Once They Were Joyous”: On the Joy of the Baal Shem Tov’s Hasidim and of R. Nahman of Bratslav

In this chapter, I offer some guidelines to describe the joy of Hasidism in tales attributed to the Baal Shem Tov. In contrast to Ashkenazic Hasidism in Europe preceding the Besht, I demonstrate the novel approach to joy as a central emotion in the service of God, in contrast to asceticism, fasting, and sadness, which were viewed as a hindrance to serving God. In the second part of the chapter, I discuss some guidelines in the teachings of R. Nahman of Bratslav, the Besht’s great-grandson, regarding joy: in his psychophysical understanding of joy and in his distinction between this-worldly joy and that related to the Divine Source. Without negating the former, R. Nahman opposes external conditions for joy and calls for an in-depth look at what appears to be the flaws of reality. He is also preoccupied with “black bitterness” (melancholy) and offers suggestions for performative practices to achieve joy.