THE DEVELOPMENT OF HASIDIC MOVEMENTS IN THE SOCIO-RELIGIOUS FIELD OF CONTEMPORARY UKRAINE

Abstract

B a c k g r o u n d . The relevance of the study is driven by the intensification of the presence of Hasidic communities in the socio-cultural space of modern Ukraine and the need for a systematic religious-studies analysis of their institutional and transnational dimensions. The article aims to analyze the deployment of major Hasidic movements within the socio-religious field of Ukraine, their doctrinal specificity, and forms of social reception under contemporary conditions. M e t h o d s . The methodological foundation of the study comprises an interdisciplinary synthesis of the historical-genetic method (for reconstructing the genesis of the movement), the phenomenological approach (for analyzing pilgrimage practices), and socio-cultural analysis, which allowed examining Hasidism as a form of collective religious identity and a factor of micro-social interaction. The comparative method was applied to juxtapose the models of public presence among various Hasidic dynasties (in particular, Breslov, Chabad-Lubavitch, Belz, and Satmar). R e s u l t s . The essence of Hasidism is substantiated as a mystical movement within Judaism grounded in the concept of devekut (existential cleaving to God) and the institution of tzaddikism. Contemporary operational models of Hasidic centers in Ukraine are characterized: the local-periodic model (transnational pilgrimage of Breslov Hasidim to Uman) and the institutionally stable model (socio-humanitarian activities of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement). The ambivalence of the socio-cultural reception of this phenomenon by Ukrainian society is revealed, wherein the legitimation of Hasidism as part of multicultural heritage coexists with communicative gaps during mass religious migrations. C o n c l u s i o n s . It is proved that contemporary Hasidism in Ukraine operates as a viable social actor integrated into processes of national solidarity and global religious networks. The practical presence of the movement stimulates cross-cultural dialogue and the revitalization of historical centers of Jewish spirituality, serving as a marker of religious pluralism in late-modern society.