Hasidic Tales

Annotated & Explained

Rami Shapiro, Rami Shapiro

• Publisher: SkyLight Paths
• Year: 2011
• ISBN:
  9781594733406
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

The Tales of the Hasidic Masters Can Become a Companion for Your Own Spiritual Journey.

"The wisdom of the Hasidim is earthy, realistic, rooted in the simplicity of the heart. It is alive with the awareness of the holiness of Creation and the boundlessness of God's mercy, and is utterly honest about the necessity of living such awareness in loving service to all beings. It is a wisdom that fuses the highest mystical initiations with the most down-home celebration of life and a rugged commitment to social and political justice in all its forms. In other words, it is a wisdom that is never, as my old prep school headmaster would put it, "too divine to be of any earthly use."
—from the Foreword by Andrew Harvey

Martin Buber, author of Tales of Hasidim, 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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Foreword by Andrew Harvey
• Preface
• Introduction
• Hasidism, a Brief Introduction
• Cast of Rabbis
• Distractions
• Why Are You Here?
• Know Your Path
• Idle Speech
• Ten Letters
• Light
• Hospitality
• Deeds Not Words
• Seeking a Precedent
• A Kosher Tongue
• A Recipe from Heaven
• A Hidden Tzaddik
• The Successor
• You Are What You Think
• Horse Sense
• Receive and Detach
• Nothing New
• The Sermon
• The Frog's Song
• Come with Me
• Why Cry to Me?
• Show Me
• The Hidden Spark
• Nothing
• The New Rebbe
• Eating in the Presence of God
• Avoiding the Mud
• The Alphabet of Sorrow
• A Healing Broth
• A Holy Appetite
• Seeing or Believing
• To Be an Angel
• Placing the Self
• Direct Seeing
• The Prophetic Squire
• Salvation Now
• Ask Yourself
• A Leather Belt
• Hard Work
• Fooling the Evil Inclination
• Alien Invaders
• Salvation through Joy
• The Tailor's Due
• The Rebbe's Love
• The Value of Wisdom
• The Making of a Rebbe
• Without a Doubt
• Two Yids, Two Y uds
• Knowing
• Partners
• What I Deserve
• Good Night God
• Stone Soup
• Livelihood
• The Loaf's Complaint
• Nothing but God
• Praying with the World
• A Kiss Good-Bye
• Praying with; Praying among
• Stick Angels
• The Connoisseur
• Bursting the Gates
• Perfect Repentance
• The Value of Sin
• A Four-legged Esrog
• The Better Leg
• Two Rules
• A Powerful Silence
• The Leaf
• Rules of the Game
• Time to Visit
• Selfless Service
• Robbing Yourself
• Until Our Completion
• The Turkey Prince
• The Whistler
• The Child and the Thief
• You!
• Your Way
• Learn from Everything
• True Prayer
• The Reminderer
• Finding the Way
• A Bet
• Where Am I?
• Suggested Readings
• About SkyLight Paths
• Copyright