143 pages, hardcover, no dust jacket, good condition: present inscription and owner's name on front endpaper.

The two great brothers, the Rebbe Reb Shmelke of Nikolsberg, and Rav Pinchas Horowitz, the author of the sefer Haflaah, were traveling for the first time to the Maggid of Mezritz. When they arrived they asked him to explain the Mishna in Brachos 54 that says: "A person should bless Hashem for bad as well as for good."

The book aims to give the reader a taste of Hasidism. Contents: In the Wake of Shabbetai Zevi; Bringing Heaven Down to Earth; Hasidism Becomes a Movement; Cleaving to God; The Zaddik; Fervor Plus Reason; Bans and Book-Burnings; The Zadik who Talked Back to God; The Rebel of Kotsk; The Hasidic Life; Satmar, Lubavich - and in Between; Continuity or Revolt?

Hasidism has been described as "the rebellion of the half-illiterate rural Jew against the supremacy of the learned urban Jew." Like many thumb-nail characterizations, however, this is something of an over-simplification of a problem which students of Hasidism are still debating.

Contents: The Beginnings of Hasidism; The Foundation Stone; Spirit and Body of the Hasidic Movement; Spinoza, Sabbatai Zevi, and the Baalshem; Symbolical and Sacramental Existence in Judaism; Love of God and Love of One's Neighbor; The Place of Hasidism in the History of Religion.

The Appearance of Hasidism within the history of faith of Judaism and its importance for the general history of religion cannot be understood on the basis of its teaching as such. Regarded by itself the hasidic teaching offers no new spiritual elements, it presents only a selection, which it has taken partly from the later Kabbalah, and partly from popular traditions among the people. It is true that these spiritual elements have been worked out anew, formulated anew, shaped into a new unity; but also the point of reference which determined this selection is not a theoretical one.

A chassidic discourse on the verse "I am asleep yet my heart is awake..." (Song of Songs 5:2).

I am asleep
The exile of the Jewish soul - the apparent loss of Jewish identity - is compared to a state of sleep. In sleep the eyes are closed to outer reality. The power of sight, together with the other conscious powers of mind and heart, disappear into their subconscious source.  Though this source may reflect itself in dreams and other involuntary phenomena of sleep, these phenomena occur at the most external levels of the soul and, not being based upon objective sight, are unreal. This is indicated by their lack of intrinsic order and consistency.

251 stories, a mixture of legend, parable and history, that offer a fascinating introduction to the Baal Shem Tov.

Rabbi Eliezer, our teacher, the father of the Besht, lived in the state of Walachia near the border. He and his wife were old. Once bamdits came to the city and captured him, but his wife managed to escape to another town. She was so poor that she became a midwife and in this way earned her living...

Stories about The Vilna Gaon: double signe, Le Gaon dans son enfance, exil pour expier les fautes, consoler les orphelins, les derniers jours du Gaon, and more.

A selection of Hasidic tales and aphorisms retold by Martin Buber and arranged according to major themes: God and man; prayer; heaven and earth; service; teachings; love; good and evil; pride and humility; redemption.

126 pages, paperback, fair condition: spine is rubbed and the back wrapper has some water stains.

There are two kinds of people who believe in God. One believes because he has taken over the faith of his fathers, and his faith is strong. The other has arrived at faith through thinking and studying. The difference between them is this: The advantage of the first is that, no matter what arguments may be brought against it, his faith cannot be shaken; his faith is firm because it was taken over from his fathers. But there is one flaw in it: he has faith only in response to the command of man, and he has acquired it without studying and thinking for himself. The advantage of the second is that, because he found God through much thinking, he has arrived at a faith of his own. But here too there is a flaw: it is easy to shake his faith by refuting it through evidence. But he who unites both kinds of faith is invincible. And so we say, "Our God" with reference to our studies, and "God of our fathers" with an eye to tradition.

This book provides a history of Hasidism, thumbnail sketches of Hasidic saints, and an insightful introduction to their modern plans and applications. Table of Contents: The Rebel. Holy Man and Renegade. Burning Words and Burning Books. The Maggid of Meseritz. Excommunication. The Charade, Chains and Two Czars. The Occult as a Practical Art. Growing up in a Hasidic Family. Xorruption. The Whirlwind with a Glib Tongue. The Rav. Chabad: The Average Man's Path to God.

It is necessary for man always to bear in mind that God is with him always and everywhere; that He is, so to speak, the finest of matter, which is poured everywhere; that He is the master of all that happens in the universe. These are the words of Israel, the Baal Shem Tov, and they provide us with a clue to mystical vision. The mystic looks at the world and sees God. Most of us, even on the Sabbath, even in the most holy of places, look for God and see the world.

The photographs in this book reflect the life in the Hasidic courts in Jerusalem and Safed. The stories that are gathered together here and interwoven with the pictures were derived from various sources, some from promary sources and others from collections of Hasidic stories.

A certain Hasid came to Rabbi Abraham of Stretin and asked him for a formula to become God-fearing. "A formula to become God-fearing?" said the rabbi, I don't have one. But I do have a formula to achieve love of heaven."
"That's even better," responded the Hasid in great joy, "because our Sages tell us that love of heaven is even greater than fear of heaven."
"If so, said the rabbi, "Go and teach yourself to love your fellow Jews, for there is no better formula than that to achieve love of heaven."

Elie Wiesel portraits Hasidic Masters such as Israel Baal Shem Tov, The Maggid of Mezeritch, Nahman of Bratzlav, Menachem-Mendl of Kotzk, and more,  through retelling of their legends. Translted from French (Celebration Hassidique).

And it came to pass that the great Rebbe Israel Baal Shem Tov, Master of the Good Name, known for his powers in heaven as well as on earth, decided to try once more to force his creator`s hand.

The book includes the Tales and sayings of Rabbi Nachmanh, an essay on Rabbi Nachman and Jewish Mysticism, and a chapter about Rabbi Nachman's Journey to Palestine.