This project takes a novel approach to understanding the social and spiritual capital of leadership in Hasidism by investigating a longstanding custom of marriage between families of Hasidic leaders. One of its main arguments is that Hasidic leaders tend to marry their offspring to the children of other elite Hasidic families, thus forming webs of inter-dynastic matrimony. We examine how these networks are woven through a wide range of strategies and matchmaking preferences. We also explore the network’s spatial and social character, seeking to identify patterns of connection.

The research is based on diverse sources, including internal Hasidic narratives of marriages; Hasidic teachings on the mystical aspects of leadership and marriages; and a comprehensive database of marriages between Hasidic elites from the movement’s emergence in the mid-eighteenth century to the early decades of the twenty-first. This is the first study to employ big data in research on Hasidic leadership. Using a combination of quantitative, qualitative, and comparative methods of analysis, we hope to show that marriage between dynasties enabled Hasidic leaders to strengthen their leadership in various ways, such as through expanding their geographical influence, upgrading their pedigree, and improving their image as pietists and mystics. Importantly, we propose that marriages of the Hasidic elites were geared primarily toward spiritual and symbolic capital, rather than toward accumulating wealth, gaining political power, or improving social status, as one might expect.