He spoke a good word for manual labor,
and proved from the Talmud that burdensome laws should be abolished. His
_Pesher Dabar_ (Vilna, 1807) and _Alfe Menasheh_ (ibid., 1827, 1860) are
monuments to the advanced views of the author. In the Hebrew literature
of his time, they are equalled only by the _'Ammude Bet Yehudah_ and the
_Hekal 'Oneg_ of Doctor Hurwitz.[15]
This short period of enlightenment and tolerance, inaugurated by a
semblance of equality, indicates the native optimism of the Slavonic
Jew. For a while a cessation of hostilities was evident in the camp of
Israel. The reforms introduced by the Gaon, and propagated by his
disciples, began to bear fruit. Hasidism itself underwent a radical
change under the leadership of Rabbi Shneor Zalman of Ladi (1747-1813)
and Jacob Joseph of Polonnoy, who, unlike their colleagues of the
Ukraine, were learned in the Talmud and familiar with the sciences.
Protests by Hasidim themselves against the irreverent spirit that
developed after the death of the Besht, had in fact been heard before.
The saintly and retiring Abraham Malak (d. 1780) had denounced, in no
uncertain terms, the gross conception held by the Hasidim of the sublime
teachings of their own sect.
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