Last night was the last of our four part lecture series on Chasidim and Misnagdim at Boca Raton Synagogue. We began with an overview of Jewish life in Poland prior to the 18th century and the emergence of the Ba'al Shem Tov.  In Part 2, we looked at the central teaching of early Chasidus and how those played a role in explaining its unprecedented success in winning the hearts and minds of Eastern European Jewry over the course of the 19th century.  Part 3 examined the role played by the Vilna Goan in opposing Chasidus, and the role that the image of the Gaon played in many of the movements that followed in his wake.  In the last part we asked what impact these developments had on the lives of Jewish women and how their world were - or weren't shaped - by advent of Chasidus and the Yeshiva Movement.

Here are the links to all four lectures:

Part 1: Setting the Stage
https://youtu.be/jT5JXTR8OTo

Part 2: The Rise of Chasidus
https://youtu.be/5Bjr0aVikqk

Part 3: The Vilna Gaon - Man & Myth
https://youtu.be/dZ7UxTFZFYw

Part 4: Chasidim, Misnagdim and The Lives of Jewish Women

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l18knUkR3uc

I hope to start a series for our neighbors to the south in Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale in February. Stay tuned!