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This intimate guided tour of early Hasidism and Hasidic storytelling gives readers an opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Hasidic wisdom. In A Heart Afire, the teachings and tales of old-world Hasidism are richly enhanced by the enlightening insights, interpretations, and personal reflections of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shaolmi, a modern-day Hasidic master and founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, and his disciple Netanel Miles-Yépez, a scholar of comparative religion. Together they add a deeply meaningful dimension to these stories and a facile bridge between old and new interpretations of them. A Heart Afire explores many of the lesser-known stories and teachings of the first three generations of Hasidism, especially those of the Ba’al Shem Tov, his heirs (male and female), and the students of his successor, the Maggid of Mezritch. Readers get a rare introduction to some of the more radical teachings of these popular Hasidic masters, and insights that connect them to the ecological, ecumenical, and feminist values of the modern world. Enlightening and spiritually uplifting, A Heart Afire reveals surprising relevancy today in cherished Hasidic wisdom and narrative of the past.
“A brilliant anthology of early Hasidic teaching, but . . . much more. The teachings are embedded in Reb Zalman’s profoundly felt, life-long practice of Jewish renewal and his universalistic outlook, which encompasses teachings from Sufism, Buddhism, and depth psychology.” —Rodger Kamenetz, author of The Jew in the Lotus
-- Netanel Miles-Yépez is an artist and religious scholar. Born into a Mexican-American family, in his late teens, Miles-Yépez discovered his family's hidden Jewish roots and began to explore Judaism and other religions seriously. He teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at Naropa .
--Arthur Green is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidism. He is a professor in the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He was president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987–1993.
A Note to the Reader
Introduction
Part I. THE HIDDEN TRADITION AND THE BA'AL SHEM TOV
1. The Hidden Light: The Ba'alei Shem and the Hidden Tzaddikim
2. A Heart Afire: The Revelation of the Ba'al Shem Tov
3. The Wheel of Fate and Fortune: Whispers of the Ba'al Shem Tov
Part II. THE CIRCLE OF THE BA'AL SHEM AND THE MAGGID OF MEZRITCH
4. The Knowledge of Fire: Adel Ashkenazi, the Daughter of the Ba'al Shem Tov
5. Awake in the Dark of Night: Pinhas of Koretz, the Silent Sage
6. A Bear in the Forest: Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch
7. The Thirteenth Gate: The Great Maggid and the Voice of the Shekinah
Part III. THE CIRCLE OF THE MAGGID AND THE REBBE KING
8. The Heavens of the Angel: The Lonely Path of Avraham the Malakh
9. Beggars and Kings: Elimelekh of Lizhensk and His Brother, Zushya of Anipol
10. The Kind's Counsel: In the Court of the Rebbe Reb Melekh
Epilogue
Appendix: Tree of Life
Notes:
Glossary
Bibliography
About the Authors
How This Book was Written
Index