Netanel Miles-Yepez

A professor emeritus of Psychology of Religion and Jewish Mysticism and his student introduce rare and unique translations of Hasidism with personal reflections on their meaning, giving readers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Hasidic wisdom and narrative.

Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters

A Heart Afire

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

A guided tour of Hasidism and Hasidic storytelling introducing the reader to rare and unique translations of Hasidism. Gives readers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Hasidic wisdom and narrative and in the teachings of a modern Hasidic teacer.

Zalman Schacter-Shalomi

A Heart Afire is an intimate, guided tour of many of the lesser-known and previously unpublished stories and teachings of the first three generations of Hasidism, especially those of the Ba'al Shem Tov, his heirs (male and female) and the students of his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.

In this wide-ranging essay, Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-Ypez explore the profound implications of the kabbalistic idea of Tzimtzum, the 'contraction' of God that allows for Creation, through different paradigms of Jewish belief over the centuries, and look at its function in Judaism and Jewish practice today.

An Essay on the 'Contraction' of God in Different Jewish Paradigms

God Hidden, Whereabouts Unknown

"Hasidism is the willingness to make ourselves transparent to God's grace and will, to live in the authentic Presence of God-nokhah p'nai Ha'Shem-as if facing God in every moment, allowing this awareness to change our behavior, to make sacred acts out of potentially profane and purely secular moments." Contrary to what most people think, Hasidism is as old or older than Judaism itself. Indeed, it is a perennial movement of the spirit arising again and again through the centuries in various contemplative movements in Judaism. Among these have been three significant movements, or revolutionary "turnings" in Jewish consciousness that have significantly impacted future generations. Now, the authors tell us, we are on the cusp of a "Fourth Turning of Hasidism," the foundations of which are outlined in this bold little book.

Netanel Miles-Yepez

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