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Storytelling and Spirituality in Judaism PDF

276 Pages·1994·10.991 MB·English
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STORYTELLING AND SPIRITUALITY IN JUDAISM Storytelling and Spirituality in Judaism YITZHAK BUXBAUM A JASON ARONSON BOOK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder' New York· Toronto' Oxford A JASON ARONSON BOOK ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INe. Published in the United States of America by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.rowmanlittlefield.com PO Box 317 Oxford OX29RU, UK Copyright © 1994 by Yitzhak Buxbaum All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Buxbaum, Yitzhak. Storytelling and spirituality in Judaism I by Yitzhak Buxbaum. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7657-6166-1 (cloth: alk. paper) - ISBN 1-56821-173-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN: 978-1-56821-173-2 1. Hasidim--Legends--History and criticism. 2. Parables, Hasidic History and criticism. 3. Legends, Jewish-History and criticism. 4. Spirituallife--Judaism. 5. Storytelling-Religious aspects--Judaism. r. Title. BM532.B85 1994 296.1'~c20 94-6122 Printed in the United States of America e .... The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSIINISO 239.48-1992. CCoonntteennttss DDeeddiiccaattiioonn aanndd AAcckknnoowwlleeddggmmeennttss xxiiiiii IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn:: SSttoorryytteelllliinngg aanndd SSppiirriittuuaalliitryy xxvv SSttoorryytteelllliinngg RReevviivvaall aanndd RReelliiggiioouuss RReevviivvaall FFrroomm SSttoorriieess ttoo SSttoorryytteelllliinngg PPAARRTT II SSTTOORRYYTTEELLLLIINNGG IINN HHAASSIIDDIISSMM HHIISSTTOORRYY AANNDD DDEEVVEELLOOPPMMEENNTT OOFF HlIAAssIIDDIICC SSTTOORRYYTTEELLLLIINNGG 11 WWhhaatt MMaaddee HHaassiiddiicc SSttoorryytteelllliinngg DDiiffffeerreenntt?? 55 SSttoorryytteelllliinngg ffrroomm BBiibblliiccaall ttoo PPrree--hhaassiiddiicc TTiimmeess SSttoorryytteelllliinngg iinn HHaassiiddiissmm 22 HHaassiiddiicc PPrraaiissee ooff SSttoorriieess aanndd SSttoorryytteelllliinngg 99 TThhee BBaaaall SShheem m TTo ovv:: SSttoorryytteelllliinngg aanndd tthhee DDiivviinnee CChhaarriioott TThhee MMaaggggiidd ooff MMeezzrriittcchh:: PPrraaiissee IInnssppiirraattiioonn aanndd IImmiittaattiioonn SSaaccrreedd AAccttiivviirtyy GGoodd LLoovveess SSttoorriieess vv vi Contents RabbiIsrael of Rizhin RabbiAaron ofKarlin The Ultimate Compliment 3 The First Hasidic Storyteller: The BaalShem Tov 17 The HiddenTzaddikim EvenSimple Folk Children The uBaal Shem TovJew" IrresistibleCharm 4 The Besht's Stories 23 The Sighand the Sneer Selecting the Right Stories 5 The Besht's Use ofSecularTales 27 The TaleofThe Wife'sTest The Tale's Interpretation Controversial Storytelling DeeperMeanings of SecularTales Condemnation and Praise AServiceofGod 6 The Besht's StorytellerDisciple 33 The Storyteller and the Bishop Storytelling Elements in the Tale 7 Storytelling in Hasidic Life 41 The Beshtand His Disciples Establishing aConnection Rebbes andDisciples: The Maggid ofMezritch The Oral Tradition Hasidot Contents vii Settings TypicalScenes 8 AnEstablished Placein Hasidism: The Mitzvah 49 ofStorytelling ToTell,to Listen,and toAsk The Haggadah ACandle in the Dark Cleavingto the Sagesthrough Storytelling Comforting the SpirituallyIII 9 DrawingPeople toGod through Storytelling S9 Repentance fromStorytelling OPPOSITIONTO AND DEFENSEOF HASIDICSTORYTELLING 10 Traditional Opposition toStorytelling: Storiesversus Teaching 67 Two-PartTorah Rashi One-sidedness THE HASIDIC VIEWABOUTTHE RELATION BETWEEN STORIESAND TEACHINGS The BaalShemTov The MaggidofMezritchand His Disciples TheWhole Person StoriesAre"SoReal" RabbiIsrael ofVishnitz 11 Scriptural Support forStorytelling 7S Rashi's Question The Storytellingofthe Patriarchs' Servants: Eliezer,the ServantofAbraham StoriesBecomeTorah viii Contents 12 Storytellingamong the Misnagdim 83 and Non-hasidim Storytellingand Personality ADifferencein Emphasis The Maggidim Storrtelling aboutand by the Hafetz Hayirn PARTII HASIDICTEACHING ABOUTTHEMETHODS AND PRACTICES OF STORYTELLING HowTO LEARN,TELL,AND LISTEN 13 DerivingLessons from Stories 95 The "Therefore" Lessons and the Power to Fulfill Them Lessons from Stories, Stories for Lessons PracticeMakesPerfect More Than theJoy ofTelling Staying Power Every Detail Intentional Two Lessons of a Story Acting on Inspiration Tell"andTalk AFavorite Story with Some Lessons 14 How to Tell, How to Listen 109 Kawanah CountlessTimes To Separate Light from Darkness Between Holy and Profane The Hidden Light In the Land of Israel Everyone on His Own Level Stature Contents ix Preparation Alive Rabbi]oseph Isaac Schneersohn The Kelmer Maggid Our Lesson 15 Hearing the Hints in Stories 117 Storytellingwith the HolySpirit PASTSINS Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Cracow Rabbi Israel of Rizhin The Lesson FUTURE MIRACLES In Retrospect Life-story PROBLEMSANDRESOLUTIONSINSTORYTELLING 16 Miracle Stories: What to Believe 125 ATraditional Place An Argument for the Sake of Heaven Skepticismversus Piety Hasidic Views Suggestions Fiction MayBeTruerThan Fact Believing in the Story The Test of the BaalShem Tov 17 Different Story Versions: Issues ofTruth and Falsehood 137 AProblem One Perspective Another Perspective

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