'Letters of Light' is a translation of over ninety passages from a well-known Hasidic text, 'Ma'or va-shemesh', consisting of homilies of Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow, together with a running commentary and analysis by Aryeh Wineman. With remarkable creativity, the Krakow preacher recast biblical episodes and texts through the prism both of the pietistic values of Hasidism, with its accent on the inner life and the Divine innerness of all existence, and of his ongoing wrestling with questions of the primacy of the individual vis-a-vis of the community. The commentary traces the route leading from the Torah text itself through various later sources to the Krakow preacher's own reading of the biblical text, one that often transforms the very tenor of the text he was expounding. Though composed almost two centuries ago, 'Ma'or va-shemesh' comprises an impressive spiritual statement, many aspects of which can speak to our own time and its spiritual strivings.

Zohar, or "brilliant light," is the central text of Kabbalah. In Jewish mystical tradition, it is the meeting of midrash (storytelling that expands on events in the Bible) and myth. This selection offers original translations of eight of the most well developed narratives in the Zohar along with notes and detailed commentary. The tales deal with the themes of sin and repentance, death, exile, redemption, and resurrection. Most importantly, they are "stories," they are literature, and here they are finally analyzed as such. Using comparative information, Aryeh Wineman places the tales in their historical and etymological contexts. He cites a variety of theorists of myth, including Otto Rank, C. G. Jung, Mircea Eliade, and Joseph Campbell, all of whom sought to connect the motifs of the Zohar to universal motifs. He ties the stories to the tenets of Kabbalah, to one another, and to the world's universal symbols and meanings.

The teachers of Hasidism gave new life to the literary tradition of parable, a story that teaches a spiritual or moral truth. In "The Hasidic Parable," acclaimed author Aryeh Wineman takes readers through the great works of the hasidic storytellers. Telling parables, explains Rabbi Wineman, was a strategy that the hasidic masters used to foster a radical shift in thinking about God, the world, and the values and norms of religious life. Although these parables date back 200 years or more, they deal with moral and religious themes and issues still relevant today. Each is accompanied by notes and commentary by the author that illuminate their ideological significance and their historical roots and background. These parables have been culled from classical hasidic homiletic texts, chosen because of their literary qualities, their explanation of key concepts in the hasidic world-view, and also because of what they say to us about the conflicts and tensions accompanying Hasidism's emergence and growth.

Fifty-four charming and evocative tales, especially translated from Hebrew for this volume, recapture a rich yet virtually forgotten chapter in the history of Jewish narrative. They form the important transistional link between the esoteric mystical teachings of the sixteen-century kabbalists and the populists tales of the eighteenth-century Eastern European Hasidim. The author's running commentary further enhances the reader's appreciation of this capitivating material.

Mystic Tales from the Zohar translates eight of the most interesting and well-developed narratives found in the Zohar, together with notes and detailed commentary. Wineman's commentary combines a keen literary sensitivity with a deep knowledge of Jewish mysticism and of the milieu in which these stories were created. It traces the zoharic author's transformation of earlier motifs and defines the qualities of the underlying mindset that expresses itself in these stories. In addition to his clear and comprehensive introduction to the Zohar, Wineman has provided a glossary, notes, and a bibliography, making the book accessible to the widest possible readership. The beauty of the words and the art in Mystic Tales from the Zohar make it a lovely gift book.