Witness to the Sacred: Mystical Tales of Primitive Hasidism

by Alan L. Berger, Ellen Steinfeld (Illustrator)

My intention is to present a perspective on mysticism which suggests a normalized element. Specifically, I hope to demonstrate that normalized mysticism displays a shift in emphasis from theosophical concerns, i.e., information about upper worlds, to the sociological or communal dimension, employing examples from eighteenth-century Hasidism.Hasidic praxis emphasized avodah be-gashmixyut (worship in corporeality). This study deals with one particular aspect of worship in corporeality, the telling of tales. It treats the specificity of tales concerning Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement, and the functions as portraying a normalized mysticism; why they told, what perceptions of the cosmos they reveal, and the nature of their audience.

62 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977