Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy

Jewish Tales of Mystic Joy......Page 5
Contents......Page 9
S’micha as a Maggid......Page 15
Acknowledgments......Page 17
Note to the Reader......Page 18
Mystic Joy......Page 21
Mystical and Joyful Hasidism......Page 23
Tracing Joy to Its Source......Page 25
Joy Above and Below......Page 27
Loving Joy and Hating Sadness......Page 28
God Is with Us......Page 31
Joy and Judaism......Page 34
About the Tales......Page 36
The Tales......Page 39
Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov......Page 41
The Baal Shem Tov’s Parable of the Fiddler......Page 42
The Baal Shem Tov Dances with the Spiritual Torah......Page 43
Heikel the Water Carrier......Page 44
The Parable of the Sweeper......Page 47
His Disciples Dance on the New Moon......Page 48
With Joy and with Sadness......Page 49
Inheriting a Treasure......Page 55
A Jew Lives Here!......Page 57
A Real Jew......Page 58
The Bach’s Partner in Heaven......Page 64
Even the Least Devotion Is Precious......Page 68
The Joy of Sabbaths and Holidays......Page 73
The Parable of the King’s Letter......Page 75
The Two Thrones......Page 76
Sabbath like the Chernovitzer......Page 86
Hasidic Snowmen......Page 88
A Hasid Persecuted for His Joy......Page 90
Simhat Torah Joy on Yom Kippur......Page 100
Rejoicing at Your Brother’s Simha......Page 107
The Baal Shem Tov About Joy on Tu BeShvat......Page 108
The Dance of Tu BeShvat......Page 110
How Joy and Love Can Conquer Hate......Page 115
Rebbe David of Dinov Celebrates Purim......Page 116
A Prison Seder......Page 120
Dancing with Your Archenemy......Page 125
Portraits in the Ecstasy of Joy......Page 128
Rebbe Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev......Page 129
The Stained Tallis......Page 131
Rebbe Shlomo of Zevill......Page 134
Ecstasy from Tefillin......Page 135
Rabbi Yaakov Filmer......Page 136
It’s Good!......Page 139
Rabbi Yaakov Arye of Radzimin......Page 140
Thou Shalt Not Steal......Page 141
An Unforgettable Dance......Page 142
The Hidden Light......Page 144
Flashes of Godliness......Page 146
The Effect of Viewing a Holy Face......Page 148
The Holy Clock......Page 150
How to Be Joyful......Page 156
The Baal Shem Tov Learns Love of God from a Shepherd......Page 157
Rebbe Zusya Never Afflicted......Page 159
Rebbe Zusya About Joy and Anger......Page 161
Dancing into Gehinnom......Page 164
The Shirt of a Happy Man......Page 167
Somersaulting for the Holy Flock of Lambs......Page 168
Somersaulting for the Glory of God......Page 169
Dancing into Jerusalem......Page 172
Dancing in Ecstasy......Page 175
Watching the Grandfather Dance......Page 176
The Revelation in Dancing......Page 177
The Dance of Parting......Page 178
The Dance of Holy Friendship......Page 181
Dancing with God......Page 182
Forgetfulness......Page 183
No One Noticed......Page 184
Ravished......Page 186
Living with the Times......Page 187
Eating in Ecstasy......Page 191
Rabbi Yaakov Koppel Dances Before the Table......Page 192
A Holy Meal in a Sukkah in Tiberias......Page 193
Happiness Even While Suffering......Page 198
The Old Man Coughing......Page 199
Poverty and Bliss......Page 200
The Rebbe of Azarov’s White Beard......Page 202
The World of Pure Joy......Page 203
Revived by a Song......Page 205
Joy and Ecstasy Remove Suffering......Page 207
From My Naked Flesh I Would See God!......Page 210
Reb Arele’s Sukkot......Page 212
Joy Saves from Death......Page 216
Only Joy, for There Is No Bad, No Trouble, No Sadness, No Death......Page 217
An Ecstatic Passing......Page 225
Joy Until the Final Moment of Life......Page 226
The Joy of Humor......Page 230
The Joy of a Wedding......Page 232
Telling Jokes for the Sake of God......Page 239
The Secret of Dying......Page 242
The Dancing Bear......Page 245
The Power of Joy......Page 246
More Important Than Ecstasy......Page 248
In the Subway......Page 251
The Joy of a Holy Brother......Page 261
Notes......Page 269
Glossary......Page 283
The Author......Page 289