Presents a study derived from, and based upon, Judaeo-Hasidic ethics. Proceeding from the cabalistic-Hasidic concept of contraction, the author shows that it is not a personal-social construction, but self and social contraction that explains how the "is" and "ought" of society are developed.

Mordechai Rotenberg, who is well known for his work on the pessimistic impact of Protestant ethics on the Western social sciences, presents here a systematic study derived from, and based on, Judeo-Hasidic ethics. Proceeding from the cabalistic-Hasidic concept of contraction (tzimtsum), according to which God's voluntary withdrawal into Himself to evacuate space for the world serves as a model for human behavior, Professor Rotenberg shows that it is not personal-social construction, but self- and social contraction, that explains how the "is" and the "ought" of society are developed and maintained.