ONE of the central images in both the homiletic and folkloristic traditions in hasidic literature is that of the itinerant. The importance of this image for the social history of early hasidism has been well documented in several major studies with special reference to the role played by wandering preachers (mokhiḥim and maggidim) and exorcists (ba'alei shem) in the formation of pietistic circles in eighteenth-century Ukraine. What has been less carefully studied, however, is the theological significance that this image assumed in subsequent hasidic thought. Even a cursory glance at the sources from the second and third generations of the hasidic movement would indicate the extent to which this literature is characterized by an impressive preponderance of imagery having to do with walking, taking a joumey, and the like-images, that is, derived from the itinerant lifestyle. It is the aim of this chapter to fill that scholarly gap by presenting some crucial aspects of the itinerant motif as it is developed in early hasidism.

At the outset let me note that two distinct typologies can be distinguished, although only the latter is rooted in teachings ascribed to the Besht. The first involves the use of the walking motif as a symbol for the spiritual progression through various grades, culminating ultimately in a state of devekut, cleaving or attachment to God. This usage is found in a wide range of authors including two of the most prominent followers of the Besht, Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye (d. 1782) and Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezhirech (1704-72), as well as many of the latter's disciples. One can indeed distinguish between at least two models of cleaving to God in hasidic sources: (a) a vertical one, which entails the metaphor of ascent and descent, and (b) a horizontal one, which entails the metaphor of traversing from place to place. Hasidic writers used both models to delineate the individual's intimate relationship with God; it cannot be said, there fore, as it has been recently argued, that one took precedence over the other. Hence, the image of the itinerant was upheld as a model for the mystic path. It is true, however, that some hasidic writers viewed the itinerant lifestyle as a distraction and obstacle for the zaddik, drawing him away from a state of cleaving to God through contemplative prayer and Torah study.