by rabbi lawrence kushner
correspondent
Yitzhak Buxbaum, who has already brought so many titles to the English bookshelves for lovers of Jewish spirituality, including “Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy,” has now given us the definitive collection of stories about and (sometimes allegedly) by the Ba’al Shem Tov.
In over 350 pages of text and another 50 of notes of “The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov,” Buxbaum has assembled, translated, and arranged virtually every tale told about the Besht (the traditional Hebrew acronym for the legendary 18th-century rabbi), making this the most comprehensive work of its kind. And because the Besht is the progenitor of Chassidism, one might say that he is also the father of American Jewish spiritual renewal — so this can be considered a primary “source” book — it’s all there.
In one selection we read that “the Torah says that all the [42] wanderings of the Jewish people in the Sinai Desert … [correspond to] all the journeys of each Jew in his lifetime — everything that happens to him, from the day he is born, to the day he dies … [they are all] symbolized by those same 42 journeys.”
In the same vein, Buxbaum has given us a detailed map of all the wanderings of the Baal Shem Tov in narrative form — from where he had a vision to where he had lunch. (Indeed, there is more here than most readers will ever care to know or be able to digest.)
Over a year ago, when Buxbaum was completing this volume, we spoke on the phone. “Larry,” he said to me, “I think I’ve written a holy book.” He might just be right.
For Yitzhak Buxbaum, the Ba’al Shem Tov is truly a personal rebbe. The author is not trying to be academic (like Dan Ben-Amos or Jerome R. Mintz) or poetic (like Martin Buber) or literary (like Elie Wiesel); he is reverentially channeling all the tales of his personal spiritual master. This is not a reference work, it is a meditative text.
The anthology is unique in another way. It is neither popular (the author is faithful to the original versions of the stories and makes no pretense about making them relevant) nor scholarly (while there are bibliographies and footnotes, there are no indices).
Indeed, “The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov” seems to have been written centuries ago by some 18th- or 19th-century chronicler. When was the last time, for instance, an author addressed you as a “precious Jew?”
Buxbaum continues on this bent: “You have the promise of the Ba’al Shem Tov himself that reading stories about him is mystically potent to bring salvation and help … I, Yitzhak, son of Meyer and Charna [declare that] the spark of holiness in each Jew will never disappear (God forbid)!”
While such a tone might initially take some modern readers aback, this reader soon found it comforting, though it is unclear who is talking — the imaginary chronicler Buxbaum or, indeed, the Ba’al Shem Tov himself. All this, of course, only increases the book’s mystery.
Buxbaum’s devotion to, passion for and faith in his material glisten on every page. He cites a teaching in the name of the Rebbe of Helish, who was once asked to tell a tale and explained that “a person should tell a tale in a way that the telling itself saves.”
And while the telling is compelling, the length of this work may intimidate. We can only hope that, as Louis Finkelstein’s monumental four volumes of “Legends of the Jews” has been edited down to one, some future publisher will do the same for Buxbaum’s “Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov.” But make no mistake — Buxbaum is not writing for us, he is writing for the Besht.
“The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov” by Yitzhak Buxbaum (420 pages, Continuum, $49.95).
CopyrightJ, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California