Hasidism Books - Page 2

The Light And Fire of the Baal Shem Tov

Yitzhak Buxbaum

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A living spiritual portrait of a, once, factual man 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

A profound and moving book on many levels. Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov or 'Besht' was the founder of the Hassidic movement among Eastern European Jews in the 1700's, which survives to this day in Israel, the United States and elsewhere.

The author says: "...I want it to be a book in which the Besht is alive", and: "the main goal is spiritual understanding." He succeeds in both, through the care in which he presents and orders stories about the Besht's life. One can also see how the spiritual approach of the Baal Shem Tov resonates back through two millennia to Hillel, and beyond, and forward two centuries, and beyond, to include the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlson, Yitzhak Buxbaum's own Rebbe.

There is another side to this work, perhaps not intended. One can also read it as a lesson in how the spiritual, cultural and traditional intellectual resources of an oppressed people can be drawn upon for their emancipation and liberation -- here spiritual -- or can be turned in many directions, not all for liberation. Looked at from this side, this is a very contemporary book, and could interest readers from many different traditions including from the Caribbean, Africa, Latin America and perhaps Tibet, or others, who struggle with parallel issues.

For Jews, and others, far from the world in this book, or who imagine ourselves to be so, there is nothing wrong with discovering how to turn a bowl of kasha or borscht into a holy meditation; or smoking a pipe (of tobacco) into an ascent; and perhaps being able to use these in turn to develop compassion or love of people.

The Baal Shem Tov's natural successor, it would appear from the book, would have been his daughter Edel. I wonder how things would have changed if she had been accepted as such.

[Written in honor of the memory of Aimee Cesaire: poet, philosopher, politician of Martinique and elsewhere; died April 17, 2008]

Editorial Review:

This is a life, in stories, of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), the founder of Hasidism. The Baal Shem Tov, or the Besht, as he is commonly called, led a revival in Judaism that put love and joy at the center of religious life and championed the piety of the common folk against the rabbinic establishment. He has been recognized as one of the greatest teachers in Jewish history, and much of what is alive and vibrant in Judaism today, in all denominations, derives from his inspiration. Abraham Joshua Heschel, who was descended from several illustrious Hasidic dynasties, wrote: "The Baal Shem Tov brought heaven to earth. He and his disciples, the Hasidim, banished melancholy from the soul and uncovered the ineffable delight of being a Jew."

Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers: An Intimate Journey among Hasidic Girls

Stephanie Levine, Carol Gilligan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

From the ardently religious young woman who longs for the life of a male scholar to the young rebel who visits a strip club, smokes pot, and agonizes over her loss of faith to the proud Lubavitcher with a desire for a high-powered career, Stephanie Wellen Levine provides a rare glimpse into the inner worlds and daily lives of these Hasidic girls.

Lubavitcher Hasidim are famous for their efforts to inspire secular Jews to become more observant and for their messianic fervor. Strict followers of Orthodox Judaism, they maintain sharp gender-role distinctions.

Levine spent a year living in the Lubavitch community of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, participating in the rhythms of Hasidic girlhood. Drawing on many intimate hours among Hasidim and over 30 in-depth interviews, Mystics, Mavericks, and Merrymakers offers rich portraits of individual Hasidic young women and how they deal with the conflicts between the regimented society in which they live and the pull of mainstream American life.

This superbly crafted book offers intimate stories from Hasidic teenagers' lives, providing an intriguing twist to a universal theme: the struggle to grow up and define who we are within the context of culture, family, and life-driving beliefs.

Boychiks in the Hood: Travels in the Hasidic Underground

Robert Eisenberg

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A delightful introduction to a hidden world 5 out of 5 stars.
9 of 9 people found this review helpful.

The Hasidic world has always seemed somewhat impenatrable, even to other Jews; Eisenberg does a wonderful job at introducing the secular and the non-Jew to this world and the people in it. He is always sympathetic, and never critical. Most importantly, he presents the Hasidm as individuals, not a faceless monolith.

I was raised conservatiove- sort of on the edge of Orthodoxy- and have lived for the last 14 years in close proximity to a large Hasidic community. And yet, until reading this book, I never really had a good understanding of that community or the people in it.

Others note that this is by no means an encyclopedic or authoritative work on the Hasidic world and the people in it. But it is an exceptionally affectionate and humorus one, and well worth reading, and rereading.

Editorial Review:

Boychiks in the Hood is your passport to the Hasidic "underworld" -- a destination far different from popular expectations. Join Robert Eisenberg as he hangs out with an ex-Deadhead in Antwerp, makes a pilgrimage to the grave of the revered Rebbie Nachman in the Ukraine, munches mini-bagels with Rollerblading kosher butchers in Minnesota, discovers the last remaining religious Jews in Poland, talks sex with a karate-champion-turned-rabbi in Israel, and more.Simultaneously respectful and hilarious, Boychiks in the Hood is a surprising and unforgettable journey through the world's flourishing Hasidic communities that reveals this vibrant tradition as never before.

The Language of Truth

Arthur Green

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Universalism and Judaism 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 23 people found this review helpful.

First published at the end of the 19th century, this is a work of startlingly radical theology. Green summarizes one short comment:

"There is an openness in this teaching to an authentic universalism that is rare in Jewish sources. All the tongues of humanity praise G*d, each in their own distinctive way but as part of the universal chorus. The Moses who "created openings, gates of Torah" in all the places and tongues of the world is not like the religiously imperialistic missionary who translates his own Bible into all the languages and thus rejoices at the spread of G*d's word. Here the "openings" have to come from within those languages and the cultures that are an inseparable part of them. If we understand that there is really but one G*d and listen to the prophet who says: "Everywhere incense and sacrifice are offered to My name" (Mal. 1:11), we will begin to understand our task as participants in and listeners to the truly universal human chorus."

The Gerer rebbe points out the real Torah was the innermost utterance of Hashem which created the universe. Everything in the universe is manifestation of Hashem. Even the Hebrew Torah itself is a "clothing" on top of the original Torah - a kind of translation, if you will.

One can only marvel at the succinct style and unique vision of this great spiritual master. While studying the Sefat Emet, I am struck by the spiritual poverty of this generations Torah leaders.

Editorial Review:

The Torah Commentary of the Sefat Emet - this books brings together a wide slection of the Sefat Emet's teachings along with Green's own commentary.

Hasidic Tales: Annotated & Explained (Skylight Illuminations)

Rami M. Shapiro

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Martin Buber was the first to bring the Hasidic tales to life for modern readers in the middle of the twentieth century. His groundbreaking work was the first time that most readers had ever encountered the lives and teachings of these profound and enigmatic spiritual masters from Eastern Europe.

In Hasidic Tales: Annotated & Explained, Rabbi Rami Shapiro breathes new life into these classic stories of people who so marvelously combined the mystical and the ordinary. Each demonstrates the spiritual power of unabashed joy, offers lessons for leading a holy life, and reminds you that the Divine can be found in the everyday.

Without an expert guide, the allegorical quality of Hasidic tales can be perplexing. But Shapiro presents them as stories rather than parables, making them accessible and meaningful. Now you can experience the wisdom of Hasidism firsthand even if you have no previous knowledge of Jewish spirituality. This SkyLight Illuminations edition offers insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that explains theological concepts, introduces major characters, offers clarifying references unfamiliar to most readers, and reveals how you can use the Hasidic tales to further your own spiritual awakening.

Holy Days: The World Of The Hasidic Family

Lis Harris

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Strong book with strange lapses 4 out of 5 stars.
24 of 24 people found this review helpful.

This is a lyrical look at a world that is not accessible to most people on a daily basis. Lis Harris felt a strong attraction to the Hasidic Jews she saw around her from time to time, so she found a way to learn more about the people who live this life. Her book is respectful and informative.

A weakness of the book is that her level of personal involvement in the writing seems uneven. This book is an unabashed memoir, where she describes how she got involved with the project (a longing to know more about what she saw in her own family pictures and felt drawn to, in the face of a quite secular upbringing). However, having described how she got involved in this project, she then fails to tell us how she resolved her longing. What did she learn about these people that enables her to look at the photographs without feeling the same drawing-in?

I say this despite the fact that the individual parts of the book are highly personal -- her descriptions of the mikveh and of the lives of unmarried girls are lyrical and moving.

The book is well worth reading, but the author's nearly completely assimilated background does make it hard for her to distinguish between "ultra-orthodox" religious practices, and more common practices of observant Jews (say the modern Orthodox, for example). Many things she encountered elicited a "gee whiz -- how odd!" response from her, and it was strange that she couldn't distinguish between the practices she encountered which are unique to Hasidic life and the practices which are common to practicing Jews of many stripes. The book would have been stronger had she spent less time looking for academic explanations of what she encountered and spent more time understanding the context -- how do these people fit into the context of observant Jewish practice?

On the whole, however, it is an excellent book, well-written and worth reading.

Toward a Meaningful Life, New Edition: The Wisdom of the Sages

Simon Jacobson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

With a new foreword and chapter that address the upheaval that followed the events of September 11, this revised edition of Toward a Meaningful Life traces the root causes of our fear and uncertainty and lucidly outlines strategies for recovery and redemption. Profound yet accessible to readers of all backgrounds and beliefs, Toward a Meaningful Life provides comfort and renewed hope, showing us how to find solace even as we endure overwhelming suffering and inexplicable loss.

Toward a Meaningful Life is a spiritual road map for living based on the teachings of one of the foremost religious leaders of our time: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Head of the Lubavitcher movement for forty-four years and recognized throughout the world simply as "the Rebbe," Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who passed away in June 1994, was a sage and visionary of the highest order.

Although the Rebbe's teachings are firmly anchored in more than three thousand years of scholarship, the urgent relevance of these age-old truths to contemporary life has never been more manifest. The principles the Rebbe derived from the sages embody a distinctly universal message, calling for humankind at all times to lead productive and virtuous lives, and for unity among all peoples and all nations. The new chapter, "Upheaval and Change," guides us through the challenges of the new millennium.

Toward a Meaningful Life gives modern readers -- even the most secular -- fresh perspectives on every aspect of their lives, from everyday cares to the most profound crisis of the soul. The book brings the Rebbe's perspective to the full range of life's cycles -- birth to death, youth to old age; marriage, love, intimacy, and family; the persistent issues of career, health, pain, and suffering; and education, faith, science, and government. We learn to bridge the divisions between accelerated technology and decelerated morality, between unprecedented worldwide unity and unparalleled personal disunity.

At the threshold of a new world where matter and spirit converge -- an age of knowledge and information -- Toward a Meaningful Life proposes spiritual principles that unite people as opposed to the materialism that divides them. Guided by the wisdom of the sages, readers discover that we are indispensable and can and must make our unique indelible marks n our common future. A true leader, the Rebbe continues to lead us toward personal and universal redemption, toward a meaningful life, and toward God.

Rabbi Nachman's Stories

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Definitve commentary based on authentic Breslov sources 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 13 people found this review helpful.

This translation and copious commentary was oficially commissioned by the Breslov Research Institute, and is considered definitive by most English-speaking Breslover Hasidim. (We should clarify here that "Breslov" is what the group calls itself, named after the town of Breslov in Ukraine. "Bratzlav" is a mistranslation by Martin Buber, who apparently confused the Ukrainian town with one in Germany. Both names refer to the same Rabbi Nachman, great-grandson of the Ba'al Shem Tov.)

In preparing this volume, Aryeh Kaplan (translator/compiler) drew upon authentic Breslov source materials, many of which existed only in manuscript form or oral tradition. Other sources were rare volumes that had never before appeared in English. (A detailed bibliography is included, with brief bios on the authors and info on the various editions cited.) Of special interest are the little histories of each tale, i.e., the exact circumstances which prompted Rabbi Nachman to tell it.

In addition to the better-known tales such as "The Lost Princess" and "The Seven Beggars," this book includes many shorter tales and parables that, to my knowledge, have not appeared in any other English collection. My only complaint is that the asterisks and brackets within the text (referring to notes below) detract from readability, and the English is rather clumsy at times. For oral storytelling, I prefer Adin Steinsaltz's "Beggars and Prayers." But for good scholarship, Kaplan's book is unsurpassed.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks's Haggadah: Hebrew and English Text With New Essays and Commentary by Jonathan Sacks

Jonathan Sacks

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"The seder service on Pesach is the oldest surviving ritual in the Western world, dating back some 3,300 years....Through the Haggadah more than a hundred generations of Jews have handed on their story to their children....Few texts have received more attention than the Haggadah. There are thousands of commentaries, and more are published each year. Anyone who contemplates adding to this number must ask not `Why is this night different?' But `Why is this edition different?' My answer is that I wrote this commentary because, amongst all the many I have read, I could not find one that explained in their full richness and scope the fundamental themes of the Pesach story: the Jewish concept of a free society, the role of memory in shaping Jewish identity, and the unique connection that exists in Judaism between spirituality and society, giving rise to what I have called elsewhere `the politics of hope.'"-Jonathan Sacks

This Haggadah is actually two books in one. At what would be the back of an English-language book is the Haggdah in large, beautiful Hebrew typography, with an English translation adapted and with a running commentary by Rabbi Sacks. The Hebrew text and accompanying English translation are carefully arranged so as to be easy to use at the seder table. As such, this book is an ideal companion for use at the Passover meal. At the other end of the book are Rabbi Sacks's Essays on Passover. The 21 short essays demonstrate the qualities that make Rabbi Sacks one of the world's foremost religious leaders: keen intelligence, acute moral sensitivity, and a wide-ranging historical and literary imagination.

Your Word Is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer (A Jewish Lights Classic Reprint)

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Exploring the Mystery of Prayer 5 out of 5 stars.
17 of 18 people found this review helpful.

This is a wonderful, wonderful reader in Hasidic perspectives on prayer. The book blossoms with deep insights into the spiritual dynamic between God and humans. Please consider the following:

"A father has a young child whom he greatly loves. Even though the child has hardly learned to speak, his father takes pleasure in listening to his words." (p. 102)

There is something both bold and humbling about and such a perspective on prayer. God is not only King, but Father as well. The Infinite One is both large and small, far and near.

Many of the different dynamics of prayer are explored in this work, each in its own section, and everything is referenced at the end of the book. The book opens with an academic essay that provides a good context for the Hasidic exploration of the vast sea of prayer, the experience of union with the Divine Presence (p. 80). As with most readers, any background knowledge of Hasidism is helpful, but at the same time not necessary to have in order to be touched by the wisdom of these mystics.

I think, though, that this book needs to be approached as an open door to the myster of prayer. Rather than just being read, it should be tested: to approach God as a child who is unable to speak is a humbling thing. To persist, nonetheless, and draw close to God as God draws us and pulls us close is to experience God's love. The reader of this book will have some far reaching light as s/he travels and progresses down the path of such prayer.

Editorial Review:

The power of prayer for spiritual renewal and personal transformation is at the core of all religious traditions. Through the advice, parables, and explanations presented in this book, the Hasidic masters of the past speak to our own attempts to find meaning in prayer, and pierce to the heart of the modern reader s search for God.