The Egyptian ḥasidim · the Jewish pietists

The circle around Abraham Maimonides in Fustat and its successors — a Jewish pietist movement, running for generations after him, that practised vigils, retreat, prostration and controlled breathing, and whose Judeo-Arabic writings survived largely in the Cairo Geniza.

The contact, as an institution rather than an anecdote. Not one man's enthusiasm: a movement with leaders, texts, opponents and a two-century run, led from the top of the community.