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The Legend of the Baal-Shem

Paperback

Main Details

Title The Legend of the Baal-Shem
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Martin Buber
Translated by Maurice Friedman
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback
Pages:224
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenreLiterary essays
Judaism
ISBN/Barcode 9780415282659
ClassificationsDewey:296.8332
Audience
Undergraduate
Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Professional & Vocational
Edition 2nd
Illustrations glossary

Publishing Details

Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint Routledge
Publication Date 3 October 2002
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

These twenty captivating stories about the founder of the Hasidic faith, Israel ben Eliezer, called the Baal-Shem or Master of God's Name, provide a profound and charming account of the genesis of Hasidism, still Judaism's most important religious movement. Prefaced by an explanation of the life and principles of the Hasidim, tales such as The Werewolf , and The Heavenly Journey tell of the Baal-Shem's life in early eighteenth-century Podolia and Wolhynia, and of the birth of his revelatory faith, founded on active love, joy and private longing for God. Initially scorned by the Rabbinical establishment, the Baal-Shem's intense piety and fierce spiritual honesty ultimately made him a figure of devotion amongst commoners, peasants and visionaries. As a delicate and moving portrayal not only of the power of the Baal-Shem's mystical faith, but also of Eastern European Jewish daily life, The Legend of the Baal-Shem is an ideal introduction to Hasidic religious thought, and to Martin Buber's own influential philosophy of love and mutual human understanding.

Author Biography

Martin Buber (1878-1965) has been described as the greatest religious thinker of the twentieth century, and was as influential to Christian theology as to Jewish philosophy. A prolific commentator on topics as diverse as art, sociology, education and religious philosophy, and was the author of I and Thou, The Way of Man and Good and Evil