The Hasidic parable / Aryeh Wineman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wineman, Aryeh.

Language:

English

Hebrew

Subjects (All):

Hasidic parables.

Hasidic parables--History and criticism.

Physical Description:

xxv, 191 pages ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : Jewish Publication Society, 2001.

Summary:

The teachers of Hasidism gave new life to the literary tradition of parable, a story that teaches a spiritual or moral truth. In The Hasidic Parable, acclaimed author Aryeh Wineman takes readers through the great works of the hasidic storytellers.

Telling parables, explains Rabbi Wineman, was a strategy that the hasidic masters used to foster a radical shift in thinking about God, the world, and the values and norms of religious life. Although these parables date back 200 years or more, they deal with moral and religious themes and issues still relevant today. Each is accompanied by notes and commentary by the author that illuminate their ideological significance and their historical roots and background.

These parables have been culled from classical hasidic homiletic texts, chosen because of their literary qualities, their explanation of key concepts in the hasidic worldview, and also because of what they say to us about the conflicts and tensions accompanying Hasidism's emergence and growth.

Contents:

Paradox and the Unexpected 1

Sadness in Finding a Treasure 3

The Clown on the Day of Judgment 6

Chipping Away at the Mountain 10

God in Transit 15

The Correct Motivation 20

The Talking Bird 23

Compassion as Punishment 26

That Each Occasion Be like the Very First 29

The Evil Inclination 33

Redefinitions 35

The Crown and the Container 37

Beyond Request 41

Sound without Words 43

On the Language of Melody 49

When Truth Confronts Limited Understanding 52

When a House of Sticks Is Shattered 56

The Suffering of the Shekhinah 58

Unconventional Ways to Serve 61

On the Need for the Spontaneous 65

The Miraculous within the Everyday 68

Seeing a Woman's Beautiful Clothing 74

Deepening the Implications of Divine Oneness 77

The Barriers to the Palace 79

The King's Two Messengers 82

On Evil as a Divine Instrument 85

On Intruding Thoughts 88

It Is God Who Awakens Our Minds 91

Child and Parent 94

The Ultimate Disloyalty 101

Transforming Sadness from Within 103

Echoes and Transformations of Older Motifs 107

The World Is like a Wedding Feast: A Parable Tradition 109

The Exiled Prince and the Gem on the Ocean Floor: A Parable Tradition 118

The Polemics of an Hour of History 139

Arms without Fire 141

On the Inability to Hear the Melody 145

A Holy Man's Dependence upon His Followers 148

Parables by Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav on Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav 151

To Break Down All the Doors and Locks 159

Which Class Really Makes the Wheels Go Around? 162

More Treasure Tales 165

Where the True Treasure Is to Be Found 172.

Notes:

Includes 40 parables translated from Hebrew.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-191).

ISBN:

0827607075

OCLC:

45505914