The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov

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."

Author: Yitzhak Buxbaum
Publisher: Continnuum-3PL
Published: 05/09/2006
Pages: 448
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.75lbs
Size: 9.80h x 6.90w x 1.10d
ISBN13: 9780826418883
ISBN10: 0826418880
BISAC Categories:
- Biography & Autobiography | Religious
- Religion | Judaism | General

About the Author
Yitzhak Buxbaum is a maggid, a traditional Jewish Storyteller. He is the author of nine books, including Jewish Spiritual Practice, Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy, Jewish Tales of Holy Women and Storytelling and Spirituality in Judaism.