Product Description
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.”

“Yitzhak Buxbaum’s book is the scripture that should have been written about the Baal Shem Tov two-hundred-and-fifty years ago, but wasn’t….No one who wants to draw from the wellsprings of Hasidism should be without this book. If you don’t have enough money to buy it, pawn your shoes and run to the bookstore barefoot.”