R. Ya’akov Emden’s son, R. Meir Constantiner had a suspicion that the Besht is part of the Shabetai Zevi sect, God forbid. However, he wanted to be fully convinced of this. So he traveled to the Besht. He was so impressed with the Besht’s conduct, that he became one of his first Chasidim.
I.F.
Sanzer Rebbe
Rabbi Rotenberg
Late Hasidism was perceived and presented in research as a movement of institutionalization and entrenchment that lost the initial Hasidic renaissance, and even degenerated. Recently there have been changes in research and more complex methods and approaches have been introduced that find characteristics unique to late Hasidim.
