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Shivhei ha-Besht (In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov) — Baal Shem Tov

Later compilation · Essential works

Shivhei ha-Besht (In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov)

שבחי הבעש״ט

Portada de la primera edición de Shivhei ha-Besht (Kopys, 1814–1815)
byBaal Shem Tov

Some two hundred and fifty narratives that follow the Besht's life from the legend of his father, captive in a distant land, to his death on Shavuot 1760: the orphaned childhood, the years as a hidden saint, the revelation, the healings and exorcisms, the ascents of the soul, the encounters with disciples and opponents, the thwarted journey to the Land of Israel. Each tale usually states from whom the compiler heard it, which allows historians to reconstruct chains of transmission. The annotated English translation by Dan Ben-Amos and Jerome R. Mintz (1970) is the reference in that language.

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EnglishHebreoyi

Authorship note

Collection of tales gathered by Dov Ber ben Shmuel, ritual slaughterer of Linits and son-in-law of Alexander, the Besht's scribe, from what he heard from people of the circle; Israel Jaffe printed it in Kopys in 1814–1815, with a preface and some narratives added by the printer from Chabad tradition. A shorter edition appeared in Berdichev the same year, and Yiddish versions soon after. It is hagiography, not biography, though it contains a historical core that scholars try to isolate.

Editions and translations

Editions in your language first, without hiding the others. Each with its cover and its store.

English

  • In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov (Shivhei ha-Besht) — Baal Shem Tov

    In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov (Shivhei ha-Besht)

    Jason Aronson, 1993

    Translation: Dan Ben-Amos y Jerome R. Mintz

    ISBN 9781568211473

  • In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov

    Schocken Books, 1984

    Translation: Dan Ben-Amos y Jerome R. Mintz

    ISBN 9780805207583

  • In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov [Shivhei ha-Besht]: The Earliest Collection of Legends about the Founder of Hasidism — Baal Shem Tov

    In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov [Shivhei ha-Besht]: The Earliest Collection of Legends about the Founder of Hasidism

    Indiana University Press, 1970

    Translation: Dan Ben-Amos y Jerome R. Mintz

    ISBN 9780253140517

    ISBN de la reimpresión de 1972.

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Hebreo

  • Shivhei ha-Besht

    Israel Jaffe, Kopys, 1815

    Primera edición (1814–1815); digitalizada por la Biblioteca Nacional de Israel y transcrita en Sefaria.

yi

  • Shivhei ha-Besht (versión en yídish)

    1815

    Versiones yídish publicadas el mismo año (Ostroh, Korets, Łaszczów).

Other works by Baal Shem Tov

Sources

  • Dov Ber ben Shmuel de Linits, Shivhei ha-Besht, Kopys, 1814–1815; texto hebreo de la edición de Kopys en Sefaria (dominio público).

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