'A Zealous Reader Is Required'

If you’re in need of bedside (or bathroom, I suppose) reading, the sort of book Max Beerbohm called “dippable-into,” a volume to be opened and closed and opened again, casually, let me suggest an unlikely title: The Hasidic Anthology, Tales and Teachings of the Hasidim. It was published by the Bloch Publishing Co. (“The Jewish Book Concern”) in 1935, on the cusp of the Holocaust, which lends its contents poignancy. The second subtitle is impressive, worthy of Robert Burton: The Parables, Folk-Tales, Fables, Aphorisms, Epigrams, Sayings, Anecdotes, Proverbs, and Exegetical Interpretations of the Hasidic Masters and Disciples; Their Lore and Wisdom.” So too are the editor’s credits: “Translated from the Hebrew, Yiddish, and German, Selected, Compiled and Arranged by Louis I. Newman.”

Newman (1893-1972) was a Reform rabbi and a champion of Revisionist Zionism. His co-editor was Samuel Spitz. The book will remind some readers of Martin Buber’s Tales of Hasidim collections, though Newman’s excerpts are generally briefer than Buber’s, seldom longer than half a page. What’s striking is the amount of practical, commonsensical wisdom found in Hasidic lore. Here’s an example, from the section titled “Self-Knowledge”:

“A man of piety complained to the Besht [better known as the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism], saying: ‘I have labored hard and long in the service of the Lord, and yet I have received no improvement. I am still an ordinary and ignorant person.’

“The Besht answered: ‘You have gained the realization that you are ordinary and ignorant, and this in itself is a worthy accomplishment.’”

That seems to be the ultimate lesson of any worthy spiritual tradition. This is from the “Modesty” section of Newman’s anthology: “A Hasid asked the Gerer Rabbi why he still visits the Kotzker Rabbi though he himself is more renowned. The Rabbi replied: ‘As long as a man finds that there is someone from whom he can learn, he should not teach others.’”

And from “Books”: “Rabbi Bunam said: ‘One who devotes himself to the study of the Torah but neglects the service of the Lord, is like a book-case filled with good books. The book-case stands by itself and the books stand by themselves, entirely without connection. A zealous reader is required.’”