Hasidism has provided novelty not only in the ways to serve God, but also in the ways to interpret Scripture. Most of the homiletic techniques of the early spiritual leaders of the Hasidic movement were not really new, though, as precedents could be identified in the Midrash and the Kabbalah. However, their high frequency created new interpretations that went far beyond literary meaning. The Hasidic rebbes (spiritual leaders) used varied meanings of linguistic roots, disassembled words, explained them according to their initials or their numeric value (Gimatria), mixed up their order in verses, and even integrated meanings from foreign languages (e.g., Aramaic or Yiddish). These hermeneutical techniques were both a source of attraction and of opposition to Hasidism.Another novelty consisted in the way those interpretations were created. Salomon Maimon described it: “Each of us was commanded to utter one verse from the Holy Scriptures, and as each uttered it, the Rebbe began a homily on these verses, although no apparent link bonded them together. He combined and amalgamated them as if they formed a unity. And more amazingly, each of us envisioned in the interpretation of his verse something relevant to his private life, and to things close to his heart”. Other sources explain that the homilies were often delivered as part of mystical experiences, in the course of which the rebbe did not hear what his mouth uttered, but rather felt that the words went out freely. The institutionalization of Hasidism during the 19th century, and processes of “orthodoxization” led to less radical hermeneutical techniques. The rebbes ceased to deliver homilies as mystical experiences, and prepared them in advance instead of developing them as dialogues with their followers. Also the distancing from literal meaning became more modest. However, this moderation was accompanied by a greater variety of Hasidic ways of thought, and sometimes more systematic ones.
