In Praise of Baal Shem Tov (Shivhei Ha-Besht: the Earliest Collection of Legends About the Founder of Hasidism) [Hardcover]

In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov is the first complete English translation of the tales surrounding the Besht, a rabbi and kabbalistic practitioner whose teachings bolstered the growing Hasidic movement in the eighteenth century. An important source on the life, philosophy, and mystical works of the Besht, In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov also reveals the daily life and concerns of eastern European Hasidic Jews in the late 1700s. Though portions of the book have been in print since its original publication in 1814, this edition avoids the common practice of reshaping Hasidic tales according contemporary expectations. With this commitment to accuracy and authenticity, In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov offers readers an unsullied look at the Besht through the eyes of his contemporaries.

Preface
Translator's Note
Introduction
The Printer's Preface
The Writer's Preface
1. Rabbi Eliezer
1a. Rabbi Eliezer: A Second Version
2. Rabbi Eliezer and the Viceroys Daughter
3. The Birth of the Besht
4. The Besht's Education and Youth
5. Rabbi Adam and the King's Banquet
6. The New Coat of Rabbi Adam's Wife
7. The Secret Manuscripts and Rabbi Adam's Son
8. The Besht's Marriage
9. The Besht and the Robbers
10. The Vengeful Robber
11.The Besht's Journey to the Holy Land
12. The Besht and the Frog
13. The Besht Serves as Rabbi Gershon's Coachman
14. The Besht Reveals Himself
15. The Rabbi Reveals Himself to the Sect of the Great Hasidim
16. The Besht Locks up the Secret Manuscripts
17. The Beginning of the Writer's Manuscript
18. Fingernails
19. The Besht's Seclusion
20. The Besht Exorcises a Madwoman
21. The Besht's Prayer Produces Rain
22. The Besht Curses a Madwoman
23. The Besht Exorcises Demons from a House
24. The Innkeeper's Death
25. The Besht Attracts Followers
26. The Besht and the Physician
27. The Besht Predicts a Need for Bloodletting
28. Rabbi Gershon, the Besht, and the Zohar