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'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.
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