Pandemics in the Promised Land: The Hasidic Experience

Abstract

This study recounts how in 1786 a community in the Ottoman Empire faced a pandemic. This community, a group of Hasidim from Eastern Europe, had arrived in the Land of Israel in 1777, significantly boosting the local Jewish population. The outbreak created hardships for the fledgling community, which was forced to make decisions in its bid to survive. As an addendum to the account, I reproduce annotated primary text: A Hebrew letter written after the pandemic had subsided. The current COVID-19 pandemic forms the backdrop for the study, adding a layer of relevance and meaning to this historic episode.

Keywords: Pandemic, Plague, Hasidism, Charity, Israel, Ottoman Empire, Eastern Europe