Toldot Yaʻaḳov Yosef

Yaakov Joseph, of Polonoye 1710-1784  

Toldot Yaʻaḳov Yosef (Generations of Ya’akov Yosef)

Korets, 1780

In 1776, a major center of Hasidic printing was established in Korets (now in the Rivne region of Ukraine). More than 100 titles were produced in Korets over the course of several decades, thus contributing to the town’s highly regarded reputation in Jewish publishing. Korets made history by printing the first ever Hasidic book, Toldot Yaʻaḳov Yosef, which represents a collection of sermons reflecting on portions of the Torah for reading throughout the year. The author, Jacob Joseph of Polonne, a rabbi in Shargorod and Nemirov (both now in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia region), was among the first and favorite students of Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760), the founder of Hasidism. This book is still considered the most authoritative work in all of Hasidic literature. Its revolutionary innovation was that it was the first book that did not include approbations of rabbis—a reflection of the relentless conflicts between emerging Hasidism and established traditions of mainstream Judaism. The book led to a rapid increase in production of Hasidic literature in the Pale of Settlement of the Russian Empire. 

Hasidism emphasized the role of the tzadik (literally, a righteous person) as a leader of the religious community and focused on the emotional component of the prayer process. In contrast, traditional Judaism underscored the authority of rabbis and rigorous study of the Torah. But an even deeper internal conflict within the Jewish community developed between maskilim (adherents of Jewish Enlightenment and assimilation) and the followers of traditional Judaism and Hasidism, who perceived modernization as a threat to their long-standing religious values.