Crusades, Martyrdom & Radical Piety: The Hasidei Ashkenaz

What happens when trauma reshapes religious life, and suffering itself becomes sacred?

This week, Jonathan Schwab introduces Yael Steiner to the Hasidei Ashkenaz, a small but intense medieval movement that emerged in 12th–13th century Germany after the Crusades of 1096. Living in the shadow of violence, they turned to radical piety, marathon prayer, frequent fasting, rigorous penance, and even martyrdom (kiddush Hashem), to make sense of trauma. It’s a bizarre chapter in Jewish history, not typically associated with Judaism, and a striking example of how communities search for meaning when the world feels unstable.

Sources and summary: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eNcEJ28D5CcnwsFWSti-9EIibk2q-lKJ8wsrgTmbPfM/edit?usp=sharing

Watch Yael and Schwab on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠:

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