Reddit mentions: The best jewish hasidism books

I've got some suggestions!

One of my favorite books is The Jew in the Lotus: A Poet's Rediscovery of Jewish Identity in Buddhist India by Rodger Kamenetz. The book chronicles a journey by the first Jewish delegation to meet with the Dalai Lama. The rabbis involved come from different backgrounds. Some are more mystical than others, but each have important things to say. As a bonus, it's a thrilling adventure and you get to learn a little bit about Tibetan Buddhism. Also, Kamenetz is a beautiful writer.

Now, you mentioned "mysticism." So mysticism in Judaism often defaults to Kabbalah. Many Jews and Jewish denominations do not believe in Kabbalah. So keep that in mind. But of course, there are Jews who do believe in it. So certainly it should be discussed. Anyway, there's a lot of misinformation about Kabbalah out there, much of which spread by the Kabbalah Centre. Just as "Yoga" means something different to a Hindu and an American, so too does "Kabbalah" mean something different in Judaism than to an American. New-Age movements are inspired by ancient traditions, but it's best not to confuse them with the ancient traditions.

Anyway, much of Kabbalah derives from the Zohar. Daniel C. Matt is a wonderful scholar, and has a book with selections of the Zohar translated called Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment. He also has a book called The Essential Kabbalah: The Heart of Jewish Mysticism which presents translated primary sources to explain many concepts in Kabbalah. It's a pretty book, and a fun read. Also, here is a video of Daniel C. Matt speaking, just to give you a taste of who he is.

Daniel C. Matt's Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment has a forward by Rabbi Arthur Green. Green is a leader in Reconstructionist Judaism and Neo-Hasidism, and a scholar of Jewish mysticism. He has a book called Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition which outlines a liberal and panentheistic Judaism deriving from Hasidic Kabbalah. Green is a theologian while Matt is a scholar, so Green is presenting a cohesive spiritual view while Matt is simply presenting documents. Green's book is pretty short. I think some of his ideas are nice, but some of them didn't do anything for me. Maybe it's the kind of thing you'd like to check out.

Green's book is based on Hasidism which is a mystical Jewish movement which is derived from Lurianic Kabbalah. I have a few books on my reading list for Hasidism waiting to be read. Of what I've read, I greatly enjoyed Ellie Wiesel's Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of the Hasidic Masters. Wiesel's book is a collection of tales and descriptions of the different Hasidic leaders. Stories and the character of different leaders have been very important in Hasidism, so this is a good book to give you a feel of Hasidism. Many of the tales invoke a sense of ecstasy, love, and awe. There's also Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim, but I found it a little drier than Wiesel's book.

The Chabad is a well known Hasidic organization. Their website offers a lot of information on regular Jewish concepts, but they also have articles on a whole range of mysticism. Further, the Chabad also has a digital library with many books relevant to their Hasidic philosophy. Their website has a lot to offer, but I have some qualms about the Chabad and am wary to be overly reliant on them. Still, they're certainly a resource you should be aware of.

As /u/juden-shikker points out, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan is a great resource on meditation, Kabbalah, and mysticism. Further, Gershom Scholem is considered the father of academic study of Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism. Scholem has numerous books on a range of mystical topics in Judaism. Moshe Idel was a student of Scholem and in some ways a successor to him. Idel has published many works. Significantly, he has written on Abraham Abulafia and Prophetic Kabbalah (as opposed to Theosophical Kabbalah which is what most people saying, "Kabbalah," refer to). These authors would all serve as great resources for you.

If you're interested in more earth-based spirituality and feminist themes, Rabbi Jill Hammer has a website called Tel Shemesh devoted to these themes. She's also written a beautifully poetic book called The Jewish Book of Days: A Companion for All Seasons. For each day of the Jewish Year she quotes a verse from the Tanakh and a related quote from Midrash or Talmud. She then writes about the importance of that day in the Jewish Year or discusses a seasonally appropriate Jewish legend. It's interesting and beautifully written, however sometimes you have to take what she writes with a grain of salt. I also disagree with some of her sources. Still, though, she's a beautiful writer with something a little different to offer.

And finally there's Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Jewish Renewal. Gosh, what can one even say about Rabbi Zalman and Jewish Renewal? Some love them, some hate them. For some they're purely a phenomenon of one generation which is on its way out. Who knows? Maybe some of his works and the Jewish Renewal organization will be of some value to you. Also, Rabbi Zalman is one of the rabbis who traveled to meet the Dalai Lama in the first book I mentioned.

For the past few months I've been doing a lot of study on Jewish mysticism. So that's why I'm so ready and willing to throw books at you. I have other books as well, but the ones I've listed here give a wide variety of different views in Jewish mysticism and spirituality. Plus, I found all these ones to be pretty fun reads. Hope this could help!

Find a rabbi you are comfortable with, and don't be shy to meet with a few before moving forward.

I had met with two rabbis before choosing the one who made me feel the most comfortable with my decision. The first two I met with were orthodox, quite conservative and I didn't click with either and the process seemed a bit too intense for what my fiance and I were looking for. Then we came across a reform synagogue and we fell in love with the rabbi there and we're completing our first round of classes in a couple of weeks.

It's been a beautiful process so far and it's exciting! There are several books I too found good, some of them were provided with our classes as well:

• What is a Jew? by Morris Kertzer
  
• Living a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant
  
• Jewish Literacy by Joseph Telushkin
  
• Jewish Book of Why by Alfred Kolatch
  
  Best of luck in your research!

Yeae I’m not the big party type… I enjoy purim because other people enjoy purim. 😝 The kids love it and a lot of secular people show up who we otherwise don’t see which is nice. But yea, A (non-Chabad!) rabbi invited me over to his house to get sloshed this afternoon and I’m like… no thanks.

If the reveals part of Purim doesn’t do it for you, try and connect to it spiritually… I’d recommend starting here I’m sure a local Chabad house has a copy you could borrow for free.

Sparks of Mussar is a collection of brief stories and sayings from the great baalei mussar, starting with R' Yisrael Salanter and his disciples and ending with the Chofetz Chaim.

Even Sheleima is a very interesting collection of teachings from the Vilna Gaon. There is at least one English translation out there, but I don't know anything about it.

Orchos Chaim of the Rosh is a classic work of brief instructions in Mussar and Jewish living.

Artscroll just published a little book of inspirational quotes from many gedolim titled, Great Jewish Wisdom.

R' Aryeh Kaplan's The Light Beyond is an extensive collection of short passages from chassidic works, covering the full range of chassidic masters, organized by topic.


R' Aryeh Kaplan also put out a very interesting work of short selections on prayer, from all traditional sources, titled A Call to the Infinite.

That's all that comes to mind off the top of my head.

I grew up there. Ezra Friedlander and R Alexander Rapaport are both good people to know. Glatt A La Carte is one of the best kosher restaurants in the city but only eat there if someone else is picking up the check. The days before Sukkos (October 10th through the 13th) is a wonderful time for a photo essay. If you could only read one book about Hasidic power dynamics in 2019, make it Hellman’s latest book. The the Boro Park based stringer is probably Gifter. You should probably buy him lunch and see if he can give you a tour.

I really like James Micheners "The Source", which tries to tell the story of the origins of religions in the form of a novel.

For Islam you absolutely must read "Islam: The Religion and the People" by Bernard Lewis.

For Judaism I would suggest "The Jewish Book of Why" for traditions and "Our People" for history.

And for Atheism you can read "The Rubayat" by Omar Kayyan.

Someone gave me this one at some point. It's pretty much exactly what you describe. It's short and little, easy to transport. I'm not really sure on how much it will 'draw you back' though, since it doesn't contain any longer things.

"The Jewish Book of Why" explains the reason/s behind various Jewish traditions. As a fellow secular Russian Jew, I found it to be the perfect combo of informative and not preachy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0142196193/

http://www.amazon.com/Things-Everyone-Should-About-Judaism/dp/1593373279

I saw this cheap lil' thing at a bookstore once. I flipped through it and it seemed like it addressed most things without opinion. It seems like it'd be nice for establishing a frame of reference.

Also, the strings are called tzitzyot (pl; tzitzit, singular) and are attached to a Tallit Katan (small cloak) worn under the clothes. There are a lot of ideas associated with the fringes and the reason for wearing them, but it's a mitzvah that when you wear a 4-cornered garment of a certain size you attach tzitzyot to the corners. A tallit gadol (or just tallit) is worn during prayer, over the head.

In no particular order, I'd recommend: The Early Kabbalah, The Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis, Meditation and Kabbalah, Lessons in Tanya, 138 Openings of Wisdom, Anatomy of the Soul, Sefer Yetzirah, and A Tapestry for the Soul.

Rabbi Arthur Green is professor and director of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College in Newton, MA. His book entitled Radical Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition was featured on the cover of Tikkun magazine. So if you're implying some sort of anti-semitism, you're wrong.

Halacha is the locus of instruction as to what is permitted and what is forbidden for the practicing Jew. Therefore 365 out of 613 times (hypothetical) Halacha instructs the Jew what not to do. That is what one may call a restriction.

This is not the role of Chassidut in the life of a Jew. In relation to Halacha Chassidut comes to a) explain each Halacha on a spiritual level and b) show how each Halacha is to be applied in adova (spiritual service to connect oneself with G d) See, Hayom Yom, 11 Adar 2.

Additionally, the tendency for Chassidut to promote hithapcha (transformation) over hitkafya (abstinence) / asei tov (doing good) over sur mera (abstaining from bad) lends to this conceptual relationship with Halacha. See for example, Maamar Hei Lachma Anya, Nissan 5739.

For an explanation of Chassidut more broadly, see On the Essence of Chassidut

https://www.amazon.com/Essence-Chassidus-Menachem-M-Schneerson/dp/0826604706

A book written by a woman who grew up in the Hasidic world. http://www.amazon.com/Hole-Sheet-Orthodox-Hasidic-Judaism/dp/081840437X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321483439&sr=1-1
Very interesting, with many WTF moments.