Theology
The theology of the Chassidei Ashkenaz is certainly independent and unique; however, it does contain meaningful similarities to the theologies of both the early kabbalists and of Saadia Gaon.
Saadia Gaon, in his Book of Beliefs and Opinions (אמונות ודעות) grapples with the following conundrum: throughout the Tanakh, Prophets constantly describe their visions of the divine realm. These descriptions include majestic images of God sitting on His heavenly throne, surrounded to his right and left by the heavenly host. Since believing that God has perceivable, physical features is blasphemous for Saadia, he elucidates that the visions do not portray God; rather, they portray the created glory. This glory is God’s created messenger, his exalted angel, created to give the prophets something concrete to visualize.
The torat hakavod (Hebrew תורת הכבוד) of the Hassidei Ashkenaz imitated the instruction of glory of Saadia with a fundamental difference. For the Hasidei Ashkenaz, the glory was not created by God, it emanated from God similar to the way that light emanates from the sun. What emerged for the Hasidei Ashkenaz is a tri-structured system. There is God who is beyond human comprehension and impossible for man to relate to. The higher Kavod emanates from God, and is still very distant from man, but slightly more accessible. And finally, the lower Kavod is the element that man can access. It is at the lower Kavod that man can attempt to understand.
This description of God and His divine realm directly parallels the kabbalistic ten-headed sefiratic system, with Ein Sof (Hebrew אין סוף) beyond knowledge on the top, and the ten sefirot emanating downward, the lower the sefira, the more relatable it becomes. Just like the unity of the sefirot is an indispensable concept in Kabbala, the inter-connectedness of the lower Kavod and higher Kavod is crucial for the Chassidei Ashkenaz. The lower Kavod is not separate from the higher Kavod; rather, it emanates from it.
Like Kabbala, there are many symbols and descriptions used to explain and refer to the Kavod. For example, in various Chassidai Ashkenaz literatures, the Kavod is referred to by the names of Demut Yakov Chakuk al Kisai HaKavod, Tiferet Yisrael, Kruv, Kisai Hakavod, Atara, Shin, Bas, and Sod.
Many of these references are present in Shir Hakavod by Rabbi Samuel the Pious, a poem aimed to give praise to the Kavod.
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