Hasidic Wisdom

Collected in this volume are over one thousand of the most popular and trenchant aphorisms of the past several centuries of hasidic teaching that have captured the heart and soul of world Jewry since the birth of hasidism. Most remarkable about these pithy hasidic sayings is how they combine the wisdom of Jewish tradition with sound modern psychological and spiritual insight.

The wisdom of Jewish spirituality and mysticism can be a companion for your own spiritual journey. Tanya, "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers. In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based--God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness--to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development. Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives and to which all life returns.

In its Hebrew translation, Widsom, Understanding and Knowledge is the acronym for Chabad--the hasidic movement dedicated to the affirmation of Judaism's fundamental and mystical beliefs. This book is based on the public orations of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, which were compiled and presented by the great hasidic scholar Rabbi Yoel Kahn.

The wisdom of Jewish spirituality and mysticism can be a companion for your own spiritual journey. Tanya, "It Was Taught," is one of the most powerful and potentially transformative books of Jewish wisdom. Written in 1797 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, Tanya sets forth the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality and mysticism. While a focus of daily study by tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews, Tanya is little known outside the world of Jewish mysticism. Until now, its kabbalistic terms and esoteric language have made this essential text of Jewish spirituality inaccessible to most readers. In this engaging volume, Rabbi Rami Shapiro offers a contemporary English translation of key selections of Tanya coupled with commentary designed to clarify and amplify the wisdom it contains. He also outlines the philosophical and spiritual framework on which Tanya is based—God's nonduality; the five dimensions of reality and their corresponding intelligences (body, heart, mind, soul, and spirit); the purpose of mitzvot, the practices of Jewish life, as catalysts to God realization and the hallowing of all life through godliness—to help you understand the selected Tanya translations in a way that enhances your own spiritual development. Now you can benefit from the wisdom of Tanya even if you have no previous knowledge of Judaism or Hebrew terminology. This SkyLight Illuminations edition presents the core teachings of Tanya, with insightful yet unobtrusive commentary that will deepen your understanding of the soul and how it relates to and manifests the Divine Source from which all life comes, in which all life lives and to which all life returns.

Spiritual direction for today's spiritual seeker from the wisdom of the Hasidic rabbis.

Applying the classic teachings of Judaism, Connected Capitalism is an empowering call to fix what is currently broken in our social, political, and economic spaces.

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.

The first-ever English translation of and commentary on The Book of Departure, which compiles the end-of-life stories of 42 holy men, sheds light on Jewish traditions about death, the afterlife and how to care for people in their final days. Modern insights drawn from these stories help caregivers make greater meaning out of end-of-life care.

The first-ever English translation of and commentary on The Book of Departure, which compiles the end-of-life stories of 42 holy men, sheds light on Jewish traditions about death, the afterlife and how to care for people in their final days. Modern insights drawn from these stories help caregivers make greater meaning out of end-of-life care.

Mystical and practical wisdom—for daily life. The least known of the Hasidic masters’ teachings—the hanhagot, or “spiritual practices”—are at the heart of this book. These short lists of instructions were created for their followers, inspirational treasures intended to be carried with you at all times. They were to be read again and again—providing spiritual guidance, centering, and aid in bringing joy and God’s presence into daily life. Practical, personal, and wise, these brief teachings range from straightforward instructions to visualization exercises, meditations, and mantras. Also included are the hanhagot of two neo-Hasidic thinkers: the modern journalist and mystic Hillel Zeitlin (1871–1942), and the contemporary theologian Arthur Green.