Archive-name: judaism/reading-lists/chasidism Posting-Frequency: Monthly Selected Sources for Additional Reading on Judaism Part III: The Messiah, Kaballah, and Chasidism [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/08 18:00:25 $ $Revision: 2.1 $] [Last Post: Sun May 9 11:00:21 1993] There is nothing more uniquely characteristic of the style of Jewish religious life than the great love Jews have for holy books. [Sie73] This list provides a collection of sources on the more mystical and exuberant side of traditional Judaism. Note that for some of these areas, in particular Kaballah, there has traditionally been great caution. This is deep material here, folks. Make sure you have your water wings :-). Note that no book can substitute for a formal course of instruction guided by one's Rabbi. Note: The books on this list primarily reflect the Chasidic point of view on these subjects. Where appropriate, books from non-Chasidic points of view are included, but are clearly indicated as such. Availability Notes: All books published by Kehot may be ordered from Kehot at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York. The same is true for books published by Sichos in English. For information on where to obtain other books, including an explanation of the and notations, consult Part I of the Reading List (judaism/reading-lists/general). This list is organized as a digest; it may be successfully undigestified by programs such as "gnus". ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: Archival and Credits This list is based on an original list developed by Rob Levine, which was last posted to the net in February of 1991. Rob's list was culled from s.c.j. postings as well as the bibliographies of some of the books on this list. This original list has been augmented based on bibliographic research done by D. Faigin at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, as well as contributions from readers of s.c.j, mail.jewish, and mail.liberal-judaism. It is also based on suggestions found in the excellent _Jewish Catalog_ series, which would serve anyone well as a sourcebook on Judaism. Contributions to the list have also been made by: David Kaufmann, David A Guberman, Rabbi Mark Glickman, Len Moskowitz, Kay Tavill, and Yechezkal Gutfreund. As usual, suggestions for additions or deletions are welcome, as are *brief* annotations for any entry. All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory: ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory: pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism The following files make up the reading lists and are in the "reading-lists" subdirectory: general, traditional, chasidism, reform, conservative, reconstructionist, humanistic, zionism, antisemitism, intermarriage, periodicals. The following files make up the FAQ and are in the "FAQ" subdirectory: 01-FAQ-intro, 02-Who-We-Are, 03-Torah-Halacha, 04-Observance, 05-Worship, 06-Jewish-Thought, 07-Jews-As-Nation, 08-Israel, 09-Antisemitism, 10-Miscellaneous. The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with the following line in the body of the message: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname) Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames; for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say: send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: III.1. THE MESSIAH [Bot93] Boteach, Shmuel. _The Wolf Shall Lie Down With the Lamb_. Jacob Aronson Press, 1993. [An examination of the issues and concepts of Moshiach, as presented in the Talmud, Maimonides and other classic sources, including the public discourses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.] [Pat79] Patai, Raphael; The Messiah Texts; Wayne State University Press, Detroit; 1979. [Ros82] Rosner, Fred, trans.; Maimonides, Moses. _Treatise on Resurrection_. Ktav, New York. 1982. [SchM91a] Schneersohn, Menachem M. _Awake the Dawn_. Sichos in English, Brooklyn NY. 1991. [Collection of public addresses] [SchM91b] Schneersohn, Menachem M. _I Await His Coming Every Day_. Sichos In English, Brooklyn NY. 1991. [Collection of public addresses] [SchM92] Schneersohn, Menachem M. _Sound the Great Shofar_. Sichos In English, Brooklyn NY. 1992. [Collection of public addresses] [Sho91] Shochet, J.I., _MASHIACH_, Sichos in English, Brooklyn, NY. 1991 [This is an analysis of sources] [Sil59] Silver, Abba Hillel; A History of Messianic Speculation in Israel; Beacon Press, Boston; 1927, 1959. [Sto91] Stone, Abraham. _Highlights of Moshiach_, Sichos In English, Brooklyn NY. 1991. [A collection of Midrashic and Talmudic sources] ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: III.2. CHASIDISM Chabad publishes a quarterly magazine, _Wellsprings_, targeted at highly-educated but not necessarily religious Jews. For information, see the "periodicals" part of the reading list. [Dre60] Dresner, Samuel H. _The Zaddik: The Doctrine of the Zaddik According to the Writings of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoy_. Abelard-Schuman, New Work. 1960. [Jac66] Jacobs, Louis. _The Seeker of Unity: The Life and Works of Aaron of Starosselje_. Basic Books, New York. 1966. [Kan90] Kantor, Mattis. _Chassidic Insights: A Guide for the Entangled_. Naran Chai Publications, Suite 272 119 Rockland Center, Nahuet NY, 10954. 1990. [Kap8?a] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Chassidic Masters_. Moznaim, NY. 198?. [Short biographies and excerpts from works of leading Chassidic rebbes of the 1st and 2nd generation] [Kap8?b] Kaplan, Aryeh. _The Light Beyond_. Moznain, NY. 198?. [Collection of Chassidic sayings] [Min5?a] Mindel, Nissan. _Arrest and Liberation of Schneur Zalman of Liadi_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 195?. [History of 19 of Kislev and mitnaged-Chassidic controversy] [Min5?b] Mindel, Nissan. _The Tzemeach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 195?. [History of the struggle between traditional Judaism and enlightenment in mid-1850's] [Min--] Mindel, Nissan. _The Great Maggid_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. [Biography of the Maggid of Mezritch, 2nd leader of Chassidism] [Min70] Mintz, Jerome R. and Ben Amos, Dan. _In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov (Shivhei ha-Besht): The Earlies Collections of Legends about the Founder of Hasidism_. Indiana University, Bloomington IN. 1970. [Rub72] Rubin, Israel. _Satmar, An Island in the City_. Quadrangle Books, New York. 1972. [SchD8?] Schneersohn, Dov Ber. _Heichaltzu_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 198?. [Seminal discussion of a basic Chassidic concept] [SchD92] Schneersohn, Dov Ber. _Tract on Prayer_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1992. [Explains how to concentrate in prayer] [SchJ56] Schneersohn, Joseph I. __Memoirs_. 2 vols. Otzar HaChasidim, Brooklyn NY. 1956-1960. [Labavitcher Rebbe's memoirs] [SchJ59] Schneersohn, Joseph I. _On Learning Chassidus_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1959. [SchJ61] Schneersohn, Joseph I. _Some Aspects of Chabad Chassidim_. Machne Israel, 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn NY. 1961. [SchJ8?] Schneersohn, Joseph I. _Likutei Diburim_. 3 vols. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 198?. [Memoirs and sermons] [SchJ89] Schneersohn, Joseph I. _Basi L'Gani_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1989. [Last published discourse of the previous Rebbe, discusses the purpose of creation. Has become a classic and required reading for understanding Chabad/Chassidic thought] [SchM8-] Schneersohn, M.M.. _Sichos in English_. 50+ volumes. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 198-. [Can be ordered individually. Contains translations of the Rebbe's public talks on a wide range of subjects] [Sch62] Schneur Zalman of Ladi. _Tanya_. 5 vols. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1962. [Sho92] Shochet, J. I. _Likutei Sichot_. 3 vols. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1992. [Translation of the 1st volume (Yiddish) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's public discourses on the weekly Torah reading] [Win92] Wineberg, Y. _Lessons in Tanya_. 4 vols. Kehot, NY. 1992. [Hebrew text, with translation and running commentary] [Zev80] Zevin, A. _Treasury of Chassidic Tales_. Mesorah. 1980. [Complete on the Torah and holidays] The following books on Chasidism have been recommended by many, but their approach (i.e., the academic point of view) is not universally accepted. Many Orthodox scholars, and especially Chassidic thinkers, consider them unreliable; they have been accepted by some Orthodox and non-Orthodox scholars. [Bub58] Buber, Martin. _Hasidism and Modern Man_. Horizon, New York. 1958. [Bub60] Buber, Martin. _Origin and Meaning of Hasidism_. Horizon, New York. 1960. [Bub61] Buber, Martin. _Tales of the Hasidim_. 2 Vols. Schocken, New York. 1961. (Vol 1: The Early Masters; Vol 2: The Later Masters) ------------------------------------------------------------ Subject: III.3. KABALLAH AND MYSTICISM [Gab??] Gabbai, Meir Ibn. _Avodat ha-Kodesh_. [The Jewish Catalog says of this "a beautifully written text which is also a great encyclopedia of the kabbalists' rereading of biblical and rabbinic sources (available only in a reprint of the more-or-less illegible Warsaw edition)"]. [Gik??] Gikatilia, Joseph. _Shaarei Oreh_ (new edition by Prof. Ben-Schomo). [Kap78] Kaplan, Aryeh, "Meditation and the Bible," Samuel Weiser Inc., York Beach, Maine, 1978, ISBN 0-87728-617-5 [Kap82] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Meditation and Kabbalah_. Samuel Weiser Inc., York Beach, Maine, 1982, ISBN 0-87728-616-7 [Kap85] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Jewish Meditation_. Schocken Books Inc., New York, 1985, ISBN 0-8052-4006-3 (hardcover), ISBN 0-8052-0781-3 (paperback) [Kap90] Kaplan, Aryeh. _Innerspace, Introduction to Kabbalah, Meditation, and Prophecy_. Maznaim Publishing Corp., 4304 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219, 718-438-7680, New York/Jerusalem, 1990. [Keh89] Kehot. _A Jewish Mysticism Primer_ Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1989. [A collection of essays from an international conference] [Low90] Lowenthal, Naftali. _Communicating the Infinite_. University of Chicago, Chicago IL. 1990. [Sho90] Shochet, J. I. _The Mystical Dimension_. Kehot, Brooklyn NY. 1990. [3 volumes: _The Mystical Tradition_ (explains basics of Jewish mysticism), _Deep Calling unto Deep_ (mytical examination of prayer and repentence), _Chassidic Dimensions_ (Chassidic application of mysticism).] [Spe33] Sperling Harry, and Simon, Maruice, trans. _The Zohar_. Soncino, London. 1933 [Difficult to read without Hebrew text] [Wei69] Weiner, Herbert. _9 1/2 Mystics, The Kabbala Today_. Holt Rinehard and Winston, New York. 1969. The following books on Jewish Mysticism have been recommended by many, but their approach (i.e., the academic point of view) is not universally accepted. Many Orthodox scholars, and especially Chassidic thinkers, consider them unreliable; they have been accepted by some Orthodox and non-Orthodox scholars. [Dan??] Dan, Joseph. _Jewish Mysticism and Jewish Ethics_. [Sch60] Scholem, Gershom. _Jewish Gnosticism, Merkvah Mysticism and Talmudic Tradition_. Ktav, New York. 1960. 2nd Ed. Block, New York. 1965. [Sch41] Scholem, Gershom. _Major trends in Jewish Mysticism_. Schocken, New York. 1941. [Sch65] Scholem, Gershom G. _On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism_. Schocken, New York. 1965. [Sch73] Scholem, Gershom G. _Sabbatai Sevi_. 2 vols. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton NJ. 1973. [Sch49] Scholem, Gershom G. _Zohar: The Book of Splendor-Basic Readings from the Kabbalah_. Schocken, New York. 1949. ------------------------------------------------------------ -- Please mail additions or corrections to me at faigin@aero.org. End of Judaism Reading List Part III (Chasidism) Digest ************************** ------- -- [W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228 [Email]:faigin@aerospace.aero.org [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149 "And as they say, the rest is compost"