Asceticism, Sexuality and Torah Study in Slonim Hasidism

Abstract

In its earliest days, Hasidism held two approaches to asceticism and sexual activity. In the first, the sexual instinct was perceived as one among many physical challenges to manage. In the second approach, a lifestyle of asceticism and abstinence was endorsed. Later Hasidism tried to negotiate these two approaches and required its followers to adhere to a life of limited physical extremes. This article deals with the later Slonim Hasidism. Reb Shalom Noach Brazovsky’s (1911-2000) thought combines the Hasidic emphasis on Kedusha – shared by the Gur and other Hasidic communities – with the Litvak stress on Torah learning as a preeminent value. The Slonim Admor, Brazovsky, who used contemporary forms and subjects in his writings, such as the military, refers to an Army of Holiness aimed at limiting sexual activity. This demands from Slonim followers an approach towards their own abstinence which is stricter than that which the Halacha requires. Followers are to keep away from anything which may arouse the sexual instinct, while also fulfilling the uncompromising demand to study Torah, as is accepted in the Litvak communities. I claim that these two approaches are not contradictory but rather complementary. While the Slonim Hasidism are often perceived as moderate and even modern, I suggest that the group has incorporated radical values regarding family life, the human body and sexuality. Its approach to abstinence places it among the more extreme of the ultra-orthodox Hasidic groups while it simultaneously upholds the strictest values of the Litvak world.