THE bulk of the scholarship concerned with the position of the leader in hasidism has been focused on the ideology (usually referred to as the doctrine) of zaddikism rather than on the social institution of the zaddik. There are two principal reasons for this preference. First, for the past few decades, the academic study of hasidism has been dominated by the late Gershom Scholem and his students, all of whom have approached the subject primarily from the point of view of the history of ideas. Second, while the religious teaching of hasidism has been preserved in an abundance of primary literary sources, the documentary sources for the study of hasidism as a social movement have been scarce. It is therefore not surprising that much of the discussion on the doctrine of the zaddik has been conducted without reference to the socio-historical phenomenon of zaddikism. As a result, the relationship between doctrine and social institution has not been addressed in a systematic way. Scholars have tended to view the theory as a blueprint for social action-a programme by which the institution of the zaddik was ultimately shaped in reality.

In what follows I propose to examine the relationship between the theory and practice of zaddikism, in an attempt to answer the following questions. What was the relationship between the various conceptions of the leader and the new mode of communal leadership that emerged in hasidism? Did abstract speculation on the nature of leadership in fact nourish and inform it, or did it merely reflect the social practice of zaddikism? In other words, did the theory of zaddikism anticipate the operations of the early hasidic masters as leaders of their communities, or did it emerge only in retrospect, to invest with legitimacy and authority a social institution that already existed in practice?

The initial stage in the development of hasidism was clearly marked by the personality and leadership of Israel Baal Shem Tov. Contrary to the commonly held view of the Besht, he never attempted to establish a broadly based, popular movement. His activities as a kabbalist who was prepared to share with others the lesson of his personal experience in the service of God were confined to a small circle of individuals who had identified themselves as hasidim even before they met him.