Following the destruction brought by the First Crusade in 1096, two separate intellectual trends emerged among the Jews of northern Europe that would have a tremendous impact on generations to come: in France, rabbis began composing extended, in-depth commentaries on the Talmud known as Tosafot (additions); in Germany, a group of scholars focused their attention on prayer, mysticism, and ascetic practices. Members of the latter group came to be known as Hasidei Ashkenaz (the pious ones of German) or simply hasidim, although they should not be confused with today’s Hasidim, who originated in 18th-century Eastern Europe. Tamar Marvin examines their origins and beliefs:

It has long been debated by scholars what relationship the rise of the Hasidei Ashkenaz bears to the Crusade violence and to contemporary Christian pietistic movements, which it resembles in some aspects. It has been suggested that the movement was a response to the extreme violence of 1096, though some scholars stress continuities to pre-Crusade Ashkenazi Jewish mores and practices. More difficult to prove are contacts between German Christian monastics and the leaders of the Ashkenazi Jewish community, and [evidence of] these contacts remains compelling but circumstantial.

One of the notable factors pointing towards the Hasidei Ashkenaz as a response to the violence of the First, Second, and Third Crusade periods is their fixation on kiddush ha-Shem (martyrdom) and extreme practices of self-mortification.

More central, however, is the Hasidei Ashkenaz’s focus on God’s unity and incorporeality, coupled with a development of Divine intermediaries influenced by Saadya Gaon’s notion of kavod, an emanation of Divine Glory. This interest in intermediaries also led Hasidei Ashkenaz to develop a complex system of demonology and attendant magical rites to counter it. However, they maintained the immanence (presence in the world) of God Himself.

Information about a supposedly near-finalized hostage deal continued to trickle out yesterday. While it’s entirely possible that by the time you read this a deal will be much more certain, it is every bit as likely that it will have fallen through by then. More likely still, we will learn that there are indefinite and unspecified delays. Then there are the details: even in the best of scenarios, not all the hostages will be returned at once, and Israel will have to make painful concessions in exchange, including the release of hundreds of hardened terrorists and the withdrawal from key parts of the Gaza Strip.

Unusually—if entirely appropriately—the president-elect’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has participated in the talks alongside members of President Biden’s team. Philip Klein examines the incoming Trump administration’s role in the process:

President-elect Trump has repeatedly warned that there would be “all hell to pay” if hostages were not returned from Gaza by the time he takes office. While he has never laid out exactly what the specific consequences for Hamas would be, there are some ominous signs that Israel is being pressured into paying a tremendous price.

There is obviously more here than we know. It’s possible that with the pressure from the Trump team came reassurances that Israel would have more latitude to reenter Gaza as necessary to go after Hamas than it would have enjoyed under Biden. . . . That said, all appearances are that Israel has been forced into making more concessions because Trump was concerned that he’d be embarrassed if January 20 came around with no hostages released.

While Donald Trump’s threats are a welcome rhetorical shift, part of the problem may be their vagueness. After all, it’s unlikely the U.S. would use military force to unleash hell in Gaza, or could accomplish much in doing so that the IDF can’t. More useful would be direct threats against countries like Qatar and Turkey that host Hamas, and threats to the persons and bank accounts of the Hamas officials living in those counties. Witkoff instead praised the Qatari prime minister for “doing God’s work” in the negotiations.”