Hasidic Thought

Books in The Chain of Tradition Series by Louis Jacobs:
JEWISH LAW

A combination of fresh translations of the classic sources of Jewish legal tradition—Halakhah, Halakhic Midrash, Mishnah, Talmud, the Codes, and the Responsa—and the deft commentary and interpretation of Louis Jacobs, Jewish Law allows the primary source materials to speak to the modern reader in an urgent and compelling planner.

JEWISH ETHICS, PHILOSOPHY AND MYSTICISM
The depth and variety of. Jewish belief and its expression is explored here through modern translations of the works of the great Medieval Jewish thinkers—Maimonides, Gersonides, Luz-zato, Saadya, Bachya, and more. The mystic strain in Judaism is explored from Medieval times to the present, including the work of the great modern mystic, Ray Kook. The form encourages students to develop their own thinking through give and take as practiced by the masters of our tradition.

JEWISH THOUGHT TODAY
A balanced selection of modern thought stemming from the works of our best Jewish minds : Samson Raphael Hirsch, Hermann Cohen, Solomon Schechter, Kaufmann Kohler, Martin Buber, Mordecai Kaplan, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Emil Fackenheim, Eugene Borowitz, Milton Stein-berg, Richard Rubenstein. In this volume the reader is encouraged to examine the modern manifestations of our heritage in the context of intellectual freedom.

JEWISH BIBLICAL EXEGESIS
Extending chronologically from Bashi through the towering commentators, century by century—Ibn Ezra, Gersonides, Lunschitz, Abravanel, Malbim, Rashbam, and others—to the present day, this single volume opens the field of biblical exegesis to the modern reader, Many of the selec-tions appear in translation for the first time. Each source is accompanied by an instructive narration which clarifies, explains, and amplifies the discussion of the commentator inviting the reader to participate in the search for meaning.

HASIDIC THOUGHT For the first time in English, the charismatic masters of the Hasidic movement speak for themselves rather than through an intermediary like Martin Buber. The authentic texts—some written down by the rebbes themselves, others lovingly transcribed by their students and disciples—present a picture somewhat at variance with the legend that has grown up around them, and closer to the down-to-earth concerns of the masses to whom they were both saints and earthly rulers. For instance, Flayyim of Zanz discusses "Is it true that religious people are bound to be poor?" Moses Teitelbaum preaches on women's role in Judaism. Menahem Mendel of Kotzk explains why there was an outburst of scientific achievement in the early 19th century. Also: Jacob Joseph of Pulnoyye on "What can one learn from the clown?" and the Besht himself on "What is real and what is an illusion?"