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Title: The Legend of the Baal-Shem by Martin Buber ISBN: 0-691-04389-2 Publisher: Princeton University Press Pub. Date: 17 April, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 1
Summary: This book was good for me spiritually....
Comment: This book was good for me spiritually: it bored the hell out of me!
Rating: 5
Summary: Greet the day which enchains thee . . .
Comment: Martin Buber (1878 - 1965) was a German Jewish philosopher-theologian and one of the most original and influential thinkers of the 20th Century. In this work, he does not set forth his own theology so much as trace one of its roots. "The [Hasidic] legend is the myth of I and Thou [the title of Buber's most famous work], of the caller and the called, the finite which enters into the infinite and the infinite which has need of the finite." (13) Buber provides a brief introduction and an essay on the spiritual life of the Hasidim (both written in somewhat difficult, mystical language), but the bulk of this book is Buber's retelling of 20 stories from the life of the Ba'al Shem Tov. The stories are beautiful, told in simple and direct language, and convey the lessons that the Ba'al Shem taught (or was taught -- the Ba'al Shem occasionally errs himself and has to be guided back to the correct path). The lessons are about living with dedication, uniting with God in joy, overcoming the evil impulse, and finding the holy in everything around us. Greet the day which enchains thee . . . art thou not already freed?
These stories are for everyone who is interested in the mystical experience. You will need to have some basic background in Kabbala to understand some aspects of some of the stories (the chapter on Kabbala in Barry Holtz' "Back to the Sources" is probably enough), and you may want to review the Glossary before starting on the stories if you are not familiar with basic Jewish religious terms. Highly recommended.
Rating: 5
Summary: Beautiful
Comment: Buber begins the book by giving an introduction to the Hasidim, the ultra-orthodox, mystically inclined branch of Judaism founded by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, a.k.a. the Baal-Shem Tov (which literally means "master of the good name" = master of God's name). Buber then proceeds to relate 20 stories/legends about the Baal-Shem's life and teaching, followed by a glossary of the key terms in the book.
The wonderful thing about this book is its beautiful, poetic simplicity. The language is poetic, and the stories are profound because they show that in the middle of the 1700's, God became a vibrant, living reality to a group of common folk in eastern Europe. "God desires the heart," taught the Baal-Shem.
On a personal note, this book opened my eyes to a side of both life and God that I have never seen before. Live life with joy and humility, live it deeply and with passion. God rejoices and dances with us in our joy.
"God desires the heart." How simple, yet how utterly profound.
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Title: Tales of the Hasidim: Book One : The Early Masters and Book Two : The Later Masters/Two Books in One by Martin Buber ISBN: 0805209956 Publisher: Schocken Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1991 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: The Way of Man: According to the Teaching of Hasidism by Martin Buber ISBN: 0806500247 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: 01 May, 1995 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: Tales of Rabbi Nachman by Martin Buber ISBN: 1573924539 Publisher: Humanity Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 1988 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Good and Evil by Martin Buber ISBN: 0023162805 Publisher: Prentice Hall Pub. Date: 01 December, 1980 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: I And Thou by Martin Buber ISBN: 0684717255 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: 01 June, 1970 List Price(USD): $11.00 |
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