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Misnagdim (, "Opponents"; Sephardi pronunciation: Mitnagdim; singular misnaged / mitnaged) was a religious movement among the Jews of Eastern Europe which resisted the rise of Hasidic Judaism in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Misnagdim were particularly concentrated in Lithuanian Jews, where Vilnius served as the bastion of the movement, but anti-Hasidic activity was undertaken by the establishment in many locales. The most severe clashes between the factions took place in the latter third of the 18th century; the failure to contain Hasidism led the Misnagdim to develop distinct religious philosophies and communal institutions, which were not merely a perpetuation of the old status quo but often innovative. The most notable results of these efforts, pioneered by Chaim of Volozhin and continued by his disciples, were the modern, independent yeshiva and the Musar movement. Since the late 19th century, tensions with the Hasidim largely subsided, and the heirs of Misnagdim adopted the epithet Litvishe or Litvaks.
Hasidism's founder was Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (), known as the Baal Shem Tov ("master of the good name"; usually applied to a saintly Jew who was also a wonder-worker), or simply by the acronym Besht (); he taught that man's relationship with God depended on immediate religious experience, in addition to knowledge and observance of the details of the Torah and Talmud.
The characteristically misnagdic approach to Judaism was marked by a concentration on highly intellectual Talmud study; however, it by no means rejected mysticism. The movement's leaders, like the Gaon of Vilna and Chaim of Volozhin, were deeply immersed in kabbalah. Their difference with the Hasidim was their opposition to involving mystical teachings and considerations in the public life, outside the elitist circles which studied and practiced kabbalah. The Hasidic leaders' inclination to rule in legal matters, binding for the whole community (as opposed to strictures voluntarily adopted by the few), based on mystical considerations, greatly angered the Misnagdim.Glenn Dynner, Men of Silk: The Hasidic Conquest of Polish Jewish Society, Oxford University Press (2006). pp. 70–72. On another theoretical level, Chaim of Volozhin and his disciples did not share Hasidism's basic notion that man could grasp the immanence of God's presence in the created universe, thus being able to transcend ordinary reality and potentially infuse everyday actions with spiritual meaning. However, Volozhin's exact position on the issue is subject to debate among researchers. Some believe the differences between the two schools of thought were almost semantic, while others regard their understanding of key doctrines as starkly different.Benjamin Brown, " 'But Me No Buts': The Theological Debate Between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim in Light of the Discourse-Markers Theory". Numen, 61 (2014). pp. 532–533.
Lithuania became the heartland of the traditionalist opposition to Hasidism, so "Lithuanian" and "misnaged" became virtually interchangeable terms in popular perception. However, a sizable minority of Greater Lithuanian Jews belong(ed) to Hasidic groups, including Chabad, Slonim, Karlin-Stolin (Pinsk), Amdur and Koidanov.
The first documented opposition to the Hasidic movement was from the Jewish community in Shklow, Lithuania, in 1772. Rabbis and community leaders voiced concerns about the Hasidim because they were going to Lithuania. The rabbis sent letters forbidding Hasidic prayer houses, urging the burning of Hasidic texts, and humiliating prominent Hasidic leaders. The rabbis imprisoned the Hasidic leaders in an attempt to isolate them from coming into contact with their followers.Nadler, Allan. 2010. " Misnagdim". YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe.
The Vilna Gaon expressed his disapproval of synagogues in which business was discussed and atheism openly believed, viewing them as disrespectful to sacred spaces. Other Jewish leaders criticized those claiming to be rabbis who did not honor Shabbat and Mitzvah. Despite this, the Gaon encouraged the study of Gentile wisdom and opposed the assimilation of the Haskalah, aiming to enhance the spread of the Torah. It was noted that some who sought the role of rabbi did so out of a desire for power and recognition, a point often criticized in early Hasidism for lacking genuine pursuit of studying Torah for its own sake.
The Chabad-Lubavitch cannot help but recognize in the Vilna Gaon a true Jewish Chakham sage:Although today conversions to the Jewish religion (the “Ghiur”) are almost all accepted, within the “Jewish Orthodox world”, until 2000 this presented a serious problem due to the factions opposed to each other; there are cases of those who at the beginning, after the post-war period, had to perform the Ghiur again and this would not happen today apart from "very dubious situations" for example in the debate between Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism. The Chabad Lubavitch group was in open conflict with the Italian rabbis from 1970 to 2000, and even today, there remain divisions that are undoubtedly difficult to resolve, although there is communication and dialogue. Initially, the main schism was between Sephardim and Ashkenazim, but during a famous meeting between rabbis, an attempt was made to harmonize the parties; the Haredim today unite both the new Chassidim and the others who are also among the most rigorous.
The Misnagdim were seen as using and scholarship as the learning center. At the same time, Hasidic learning centered around the rebbe, which was tied in with what they considered emotional displays of piety.
The stress of Jewish prayer over Torah study and the Hasidic reinterpretation of Torah l'shma (Torah study for its own sake) was seen as a rejection of traditional Judaism.
Hasidim did not follow the traditional Nusach Ashkenaz and instead used a combination of Ashkenazi and Sephardi rites and Lurianic Kabbalistic concepts known as Nusach Sefard. This was seen as a rejection of the traditional liturgy and, due to the resulting need for separate , a breach of communal unity. In addition, they faced criticism for neglecting the Zmanim for prayer.
Hasidic Jews also added some chumra to kashrut, the laws of keeping kosher. They made specific changes in how livestock was slaughtered and in who was considered a reliable mashgiach (a legal supervisor of kashrut). The result was that they essentially did not accept as kosher certain foods that were accepted as kosher by Misnagdim. This was seen as a change of traditional Judaism, an over-stringency of Halakha, and, again, a breach of communal unity.
In late 1772, after uniting the scholars of Brisk, Minsk and other Belarusian and Lithuanian communities, the Vilna Gaon then issued the first of many polemical letters against the nascent Hasidic movement, which was included in the anti-Hasidic anthology, Zemir aritsim ve-ḥarvot tsurim (1772). The letters published in the anthology included pronouncements of excommunication against Hasidic leaders on the basis of their worship and habits, all of which were seen as unorthodox by the Misnagdim. This included but was not limited to unsanctioned places of worship and ecstatic prayers, as well as charges of smoking, dancing, and the drinking of alcohol. In total, this was seen to be a radical departure from the Misnagdic norm of asceticism, scholarship, and stoic demeanor in worship and general conduct, and was viewed as a development that needed to be suppressed.
Between 1772 and 1791, other Misnagdic tracts of this type would follow, all targeting the Hasidim in an effort to contain and eradicate them from Jewish communities. The harshest of these denouncements came between 1785 and 1815 combined with petitioning of the Russian Empire to outlaw the Hasidim on the grounds of their being spies, traitors, and subversives.
However, this would not be realized. After the death of the Vilna Gaon in 1797 and the partitions of Poland in 1793 and 1795, the regions of Poland where there were disputes between Misnagdim and Hasidim came under the control of governments that did not want to take sides in intra-Jewish conflicts, but that wanted instead to abolish Jewish autonomy. In 1804 Hasidism was legalized by the Imperial Russian government, and efforts by the Misnagdim to contain the now-widespread Hasidim were stymied.
The words Litvishe, Lita'im, and Litvaks are all somewhat misleading, because there are also Hasidic Jews from Lithuania, and many Lithuanian Jews who are not Haredi.
Litvishe Jews largely identify with the Misnagdim, who "objected to what they saw as Hasidic denigration of Torah study and normative Jewish law in favor of undue emphasis on emotionality and religious fellowship as pathways to the Divine." (2025). 9780226508856, The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226508856 The term Misnagdim ("opponents") is somewhat outdated since the former opposition between the two groups has lost much of its salience, so the other terms are more common.
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