The Maggid of Mezritch, successor to the Baal Shem Tov, was largely responsible for building Chassidus into a widespread movement that attracted Jews in all sectors of Eastern Europe. But as the movement grew, its opposition grew increasingly violent. Rabbi Wein recounts the bitter events of this terrible conflict and analyzes the counter-revolution in Chassidus with the elitist movement founded by the Rebbes of Pschicha.

• how the Chassidim and the Misnagdim used the Czarist government against each other
• the Baal Ha Tanya's attempt at peace and subsequent arrest
• the Chozeh of Lublin and the Holy Jew - the break-off that began the second phase of Chassidus
• how Chassidus revived optimism amongst the Jewish people in the bleakest of times

To learn about the “second generation” of the Chassidic movement, see our series “Chasidic Masters.” For biographies of Chassidic leaders in the years before the Holocaust, see “Chassidic Rebbes Between the Centuries.” And for Chassidic stories that will charm both children and adults, you won’t want to miss our animated DVD “Of Heaven and Earth.”