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Is Francis a Christian Hasid?
Nazareno Fabbretti
"The reconciliation of opposites": the personality, life and work of St. Francis of Assisi can be considered, at least in broad outline, from either a Christian, non-Christian or non-religious point of view, as fitting this description.
Child of the city-states arising in Italy at the beginning of the 13th century, born into a wealthy European trading family, his father Pietro di Bernadone was an important person in Assisi, caught up in business but also a patron of art and literature (recorded as benefactor magnum in documents of the period); the boy was baptised John, a name later changed by his wealthy father into one which reflected the source of his own fortune, namely Francis (Francesco), from the "french cloth" (panno francesco) which was very fashionable at the time. The 'Poverello' was to reflect in the most vigourous, transparent and true way the chosen and liberating poverty of Christ. He became poor out of love (renouncing money and possessions), and also humble (renouncing privilege and power), in order to be free and to give himself wholly, even in external appearances, "naked to Christ naked on the cross". In this way he took upon himself the truly authentic and orthodox tensions which led to renewal; he fully understood the values inherent in them and exemplified them in his own deeply ascetical experience of Christ crucified. These tensions also characterised the beginnings of the heretical movements before, during and after his lifetime. In fact, the common denominator of poverty, freedom for the individual and filial piety towards God, links Francis not only with the Catholic world, the Roman Church and Christianity (experienced by him in such a deeply experienced, penitential and evangelical spirit that he has been called "the only true Christian after Christ": Renan); it also links him, to some extent, both to Hindu asceticism and to the Hasidic movement in Judaism. Historical sources in fact show that Francis' movement coincides to some degree with the birth, growth and demise of the historical hasidic movement.
A Jewish View of Francis
In an interview of great religious depth, this was recognised by Elio Toaff, the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Rome. Toaff speaks of something which is "much more than a simple external resemblance". In fact, he goes on to say "for Francis as well as for the Hasidim, the love of God, Father of all creatures, leaves the metaphysical and contemplative level and enters into the concrete realities of everyday life, immersing itself in them. In his vindication of the rights of the poor, the unhappy and the oppressed, which is the most distinctive trait of his message, one finds the same profound adherence to the prophets of Israel. Isaiah warned
“What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the faces of the poor?'
says the Lord God of hosts.” (Isaiah 3:15),
in a statement dear to the Hasidim in their fight against the tyranny of rich oppressors. Francis follows the same path unfalteringly: Poverty is the livery of Christ. He who offends the poor offends Christ.' For this saint, as for the prophets and the Hasidim, suffering acquired dignity and became a way to the Divine. Humility, which prevented him from being complacent, made him ready to help his fellow men, opening him to the world and to dialogue with others. How can we ignore the real topicality of the message of Francis and his Hasidic brothers, both Christians and Jews?"1
According to Toaff, there is still more to the historical Hasidic movement and to the literature which, centuries later, originated from it, and which still continues. This being the case, there is no need for me to give even a brief bibliography. From Buber to Asimov, both Christians and Jews are well aware of the impact made by literature born of Hasidism and preserved by it; literature which represents the "dream" or the ideal of a group which has never really died. It cries out still today, I believe, against any sort of oppression and violence committed in the name of God. Hasidim and Christians both oppose the catch-word of all the crusades: "God wills it!" with another: "God does not will it!", preaching instead compassion, brotherhood and love.
Hasidism and Francis: in both movements, faith seems to be the driving force enabling men to emerge from loneliness and isolation to become poor in solidarity with the poor, to be "pious° (the most accurate synonym for "hasid") in adoration of God, in communion with all men, without seeking any reward.
Was Francis influenced by Hasidism?
Even though "Hasidism" declined quickly as a historical movement (lasting only from the mid-12th to the mid-13th century) Francis, who continues to exemplify both his religious choice and his following of Christ, still represents its ideal, notwithstanding basic differences. It may well be that as Francis began his "adventure as the poor man of Christ", the Hasidic spirit penetrated, albeit unconsciously, his very existence, both religious and human. The Jews of Assisi, as Ariel Toaff notes in one of his excellent essays, were a vital presence and had their own tradition.2
However that may be, this stimulating phenomenon of an "affinity of election" between the two great movements of the Jewish and Christian faiths should be seen also in the light of its historical background. Toaff recalls that "the historical Hasidic movement was founded in Germany, following the impact of the crusades, around the middle of the 12th century, and died out a century later in 1250. It was shortlived therefore, even though its influence, above all on Ashkenazi and eastern European Judaism, is still alive today. The sufferings inflicted on the Jews in Germany at the time of the crusades and the terrible persecution of thousands of them, left its mark on the spirit of Judaism, and gave rise to the Hasidic movement, the "pious ones". One difference lies in the fact that the Franciscan movement did not suffer from the same type of persecutions, except sporadically in the Islamic world, or later, in the Chinese, Japanese and Buddhist cultures of the last century.
The Hasidim and the Friars Minor
The identikit of the original Hasid is similar to that of the Friar Minor created by Francis. He was, Toaff goes on to say "a different and new type of Jew", no longer a learned man, but even an uncultured and simple one who, by loving the community with great self-denial, through his own example of devotion and humility, leads it towards the true experience of God... The Hasidic teacher is not like the teacher of Talmud and of Rabbinic Tradition, or the classical image of the brilliant man of learning, but a humble and devout man. Hasidism was characterised by asceticism, total altruism and great spiritual passivity. There are many similar and dissimilar features in the ascetic "obstinacy" of Francis e.g. "I, small and stupid as I am... want to live the Holy Gospel sine glossa, sine glossa, sine glossa... (without anything added)". The destiny of Francis the poor man is particularly dear to the heart of the Hasidim. This is first shown in, and subsequently strengthened by the ascetic and social movements which voluntarily experienced poverty, such as "The Poor of the Lord" and "The Poor of Christ". In fact, according to Toaff, "the total devotion to the community (by the Hasidim) found its doctrinal justification in the saying of the Mishnah: "What is mine is yours, and what is yours is yours"; this is piety".
The Hasidim, in their self-denial, were led to love the disinherited and sinners by sacrificing themselves for their salvation. They lived their lives in imitation of God, indifferent to praise, while bearing insults and humiliations calmly. This is something very similar to the "perfect joy" which Francis predicts for the ideal Friars Minor, replacing the word "calmly" by "joyfully" and "passivity" by "total dynamic acceptance".
In the same interview I asked Elio Toaff whether it is possible to recognise a 'kinship' between Francis, the Christian, and Hasidic Jews? And would this kinship have a message for today? He said "Certainly, through the efforts made by both to overcome isolation. Isolation cannot be tolerated and hence the need to seek salvation. In sharing in the suffering and the uncertainties of the world lies hope of salvation. Silence means consent, consequently "If I do not help the wicked to save themselves I become wicked, because the sins of some are the sins of all", as the Hasidim express it. Francis too, according to his biographers, was convinced that, in founding his community, he would not be admitted to glory if he did not also take in those who were entrusted to him." (Thomas of Celano 11.380). There are many similarities between the poetic eloquence of Francis and that of the Hasidim, even though the same matrix of faith, the Bible and life itself, is reflected in structures and faith which differ in terms of the experiential and the contemplative. Nevertheless, by comparing the Canticle of the Three Young Men in Daniel 2 and Psalm 148 on the "taus Dei", we can see, as Toaff points out "recognition of the liberality of God who created everything in the world for his glory and for the benefit of man, letting him enjoy everything round him? Both the three young men in the furnace nd Francis bleeding to death from the stigmata and orn apart by the crises in the Order, were fired to sing he glory and adoration of God, not because of their ribulations and martydom, but because they were onfident of the salvation which the Lord reserves for he servant who bears witness to him through the most painful trials.
Conclusion
Is the similarity a total one therefore? No. But differences certainly signify a rich variety and act as a spur to further advances, at least for those who, in recognising the authentic prophetic life of Francis eight centuries after his death, want to make an unbiassed comparison, and to live together in line with the words of Pope John: "prefer that which unites rather than that which divides". Toaff concludes: "without wishing to change the similarities and the differences of both types of "saintliness' one must, however, stress their undeniable relevance in the world today. Today there are unpre. cendented appeals for peace and brotherhood, dialogue and the building of a better, more just and more humble society in which we must still have the courage to believe."
* Nazareno Fabbretti is a member of the Order of Friars Minor in Voghera near Pavia. He is a Professor of Literature and publishes in many religious and lay reviews. He has published several studies on Francis of Assisi.
1. From "Francesco, Otto Secoli" by Luigi Santucci and Nazareno Fabbretth Mondadori Ed. 1981, pp. 226-227.
2. Ariel Toaff: The Jews in Medieval Assisi. Alshki Editore, Florence 1979.
3 Additions, according to the Greek text, to Daniel, inserted in ch. 3 between verses 23 and 24.
