Originally published in Tzvi M. Rabinowicz (ed.), The encyclopedia of Hasidism (1996), pp. 121-3. The principle behind hasidic exegesis of the Bible, as evidenced in the classical hasidic works, is that of the Zohar (III, 152a), according to which, in addition to the plain meaning, Scripture has an esoteric meaning, the “soul of the Torah.” Once…