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| The resting place of R. Yechiel Michal, the Magid of Zlotchov, in Yampol, Central Ukraine |
Introduction
There is an important, albeit sometimes uncomfortable, difference between historicity and hagiography. Hagiography is the way adherents of any movement tell their stories of origin, while historicity is how the same events are viewed in light of evidence and historical records. Hagiography is often embellished, biased and tendentious, while historiography is, hopefully, a neutral depiction of the events.
This article – based extensively on the research by Dr Mor Altshuler[1] – takes a new look at one aspect of the origin story of the Chassidic movement, and explores when the first significant Chassidic courts are to have emerged.
