The story in Shivhei Ha-Besht about the two hasidim who were skeptical about the Besht may not accurately reflect early eighteenth-century attitudes toward ba'alei shem. It does raise a logical question: If the Ba'al Shem Tov was the founder of Hasidism, how is it that this story dubs as “hasidim” people who were in Miçdzyboz before him and who were unwilling to accept him? Were there hasidim before Hasidism?

The answer to this question is “Yes.” The once dominant, and still popular, view is that the Hasidic movement arose de novo, in contrast and opposed to normative rabbinic Judaism as it was believed and practiced in eighteenth-century Poland. Scholars specializing in the field of Hasidism have abandoned this notion.

The word hasid in Hebrew has a long history. Its root, hesed, is usually translated as “love” or “lovingkindness”; hence a hasid can be someone who practices lovingkindness or compassion. In the Book of Jeremiah (3:12), God Himself is described as “hasid” in this sense of being compassionate. In the Bible, human beings who love God and are loved by Him are also referred to as “hasid.” Such love is expressed by fulfilling the obligations God has imposed. Therefore, “hasid” often appears in parallel with the word zaddik, a righteous person. A person who is righteous is particularly close to God; thus another connotation of the word became someone who has a special relationship to God. By the rabbinic period, “hasid” came to denote a person who was especially strict and careful in the performance of religious obligations: a pious person.

In addition to these generic meanings, “hasid” also has acquired significance as a technical term through the course of Jewish history. Prior to the Hasmonean Revolt against Seleucid rule in the Land of Israel in the second century B.C.E., those people who first organized resistance to Hellenization were referred to as Hasidim. In Germany of the late twelfth century, an ascetic, ethical, mystic group that became institutionalized and wielded considerable influence, both in its time and through its spiritual legacy, was called “Hasidei Ashkenaz” (lit. the Pious of Germany). Their leader was Rabbi Judah Hasid.