...-class’ devekut for zaddikim and ‘second-class’ for the common people. R. Jacob Joseph's second category signifies recognition of the authority of the zaddik and the duty of providing material support for him. Although devekut was not associated with zaddikism to begin...

... reconsidered, including the authenticity of the various versions of the Holy Epistle; the ways in which Jacob Joseph of Polonne’s books can be utilized as historical sources; and the relationship to history of the stories about the Ba’al Shem Tov in the hagiographical collection Shivhei Ha-Besht....