Muslims and Jews: Question about charismatic movements in Judaism and Islam?

Question

One more try ...

Are there charismatic movements in Judaism and Islam?

What are names for charismatic movements in Judaism and Islam?

What are they like? What are they about?

By charismatic I mean "sensing" God's presence, having experiences with the divine, emotional part of religion, relationship with God, feeling close to God, emphasis on prayer etc.

Please do not answer this by comparing to Christian charismatic movements or to each other. Each religion for itself.

Answer 1

I'm tempted to say that Judaism is inherently charismatic... :)

But if I'm understanding your wording correctly - do tell me if I'm not - you mean 'charismatic' in terms of a more openly emotional, expressive experience which might involve singing and dancing and crying...?

I think in Judaism, maybe some of the Chassidic groups might be the most similar to this. Certainly when Chassidim started, it was very much about having a joyful and intimate connection with G-d, and Chassidim do sing and dance sometimes. Then again, Judaism says that all humans can know a personal connection with G-d.

I'm not sure I'm answering satisfactorily, so I'm going to leave it there for now and read the other answers you get, and I may come back and add more :)

EDIT

It might be worth noting that the Jewish messiah will be a charismatic leader. This aside, Judaism doesn't tend to have charismatic 'preachers' in the same way that I think Christianity does. Some Rabbis are more popular than others, of course, but remember that Rabbis are not intermediaries between us and G-d. They don't have any special abilities that the rest of us lack. They are simply more qualified to intepret Jewish law and, hopefully, to dispense wisdom :)

Sorry if I digress :)

EDIT:

Thanks :)

Here, this is a bit of info, it's not detailed but it might help a tiny bit, it's courtesy of http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/



Hasidism

--------------------------------------...

The Hasidic movement started in the 1700's (CE) in Eastern Europe in response to a void felt by many average observant Jews of the day. The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (referred to as the "Besht," an acronym of his name) was a great scholar and mystic, devoted to both the revealed, outer aspect, and hidden, inner aspect of Torah. He and his followers, without veering from a commitment to Torah, created a way of Jewish life that emphasized the ability of all Jews to grow closer to G­d via everything that we do, say, and think. In contrast to the somewhat intellectual style of the mainstream Jewish leaders of his day and their emphasis on the primacy of Torah study, the Besht emphasized a constant focus on attachment to G­d and Torah no matter what one is involved with.

Early on, a schism developed between the Hasidic and non­Hasidic (i.e., Misnagdim, lit. "opponents") Jewish movements, primarily over real or imagined issues of halachic observance. The opposition was based on concern that the Hasidim were neglecting the laws regarding appropriate times for prayer, and perhaps concern about the exuberance of Hasidic worship, or a concern that it might be an offshoot of false messiahs Shabbtai Zvi or Jacob Frank. Within a generation or two, the rift was closed. Since then, many Hasidic practices have influenced the Misnagdim, while the Misnagdim, in turn, moderated some of the extremes of early Hasidism. Nevertheless, the dispute between particular groups of Hasidim and Misnagdim continues to this day, especially in Israel.

Today, Hasidim are differentiated from other Orthodox Jews by their devotion to a dynastic leader (referred to as a "Rebbe"), their wearing of distinctive clothing and a greater than average study of the inner aspects of Torah.

There are perhaps a dozen major Hasidic movements today, the largest of which (with perhaps 100,000 followers) is the Lubavitch group headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. Other groups include the Bobov, Bostoner, Belzer, Gerer, Satmar, Vizhnitz, Breslov, Puppa, Bianer, Munkacz, and Rimnitz. In Israel, the major Hasidic groups besides the Lubavitch include: Gor (Gerer), Viznitz and Bealz (Belzer).

ALSO ***************************

I think you really might enjoy the book 'The Chosen' by Chaim Potok. It offers a glimpse into an aspect of Judaism that is very interesting and I think that one of the Rabbis described might come closest to the Jewish version of a 'charismatic' leader. :)

http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-Chaim-Potok...

edit

Ah yes, AMBIVALENT is correct, possibly you mean is there a more 'mystical' aspect to Judaism...?

If yes, then those that study Kabbalah are the ones we need to turn to. I'm not sure if any of my fellow Jews in this forum do study Kabbalah, in fact... I'm sure a few of them are familiar with it sufficiently to answer your post - MAMA_PAJAMA has given some great answers on the topic.

I've starred your post, hopefully you'll get some other answers :)

Meanwhile, you might find more info:

http://www.askmoses.com

- you can ask a Rabbi directly here

And you can ask a Rabbi here also:

http://www.chabad.org/

Answer 2

I wouldn't use the word charismatic for it, but based on the definition you've given:

Chabad & Hassidism in general was started to add a sense of joy & spirituality, of experiencing God, to what at the time had become a little to dry with pure studying.  They are deeply part of the Orthodox movement.

Kabbalah of course has sensing God & an experiential experience as part of it's goals.

Reconstructionist was started because some of that sense of spirituality was lost in Reform, but now Reform has moved back more in that direction.

However, I'd have to say that every movement & direction of Judaism deeply includes the concept of "sensing" God's presence, having relationship with God, feeling close to God, sometimes as a community & sometimes individually.  It's kinda a major purpose of the religion that doesn't get lost as you reinterpret some of the commandments more of less literally (which is the different in the movements).

What's interesting about the Jewish relationship to God is that the community connects, so you connect on two levels (yours & community), so you don't always have to be devot or believing yourself at the moment to have a great experience.  It's part of why were so insistent on converting people through a process & not just on "announcing it".  You need to "join" the community to allow that community connection to stay alive.

People of all branches will have an emotional reaction.  My niece when she was 4, actually cried when we needed to leave the Succot service early because she was connecting to the spirituality, much to everyone's surprise.  (Unfortunately her little sister had reached her limit.)  All our prayers are designed that way.  And every holiday.  And we have a lot of both of those.  Even study is designed to be that way.

I have no idea what Christian charismatic movements are.  Maybe if I did i'd be able to answer more on point for you...

Answer 3

If I'm understanding you correctly, I might reword your question to refer to 'mystical' movements - in that those direct experiences of the divine and the seeking after them are about mystical experience.  I think 'charismatic' is a Christian term for that.

Paperback and Cher have given you great answers about the Jewish expressions of that connected spirituality.  I think, from what I know, that Sufi would be the equivalent in Islam.