Wrapped in a Holy Flame: Teachings and Tales of the Hasidic Masters

Shalomi sets himself a difficult assignment with this book: to get to the heart of Hasidic inner life and spirituality. While he lauds both Gershom Scholem and Martin Buber for bringing Hasidism to the consciousness of modern readers, he thinks they did not venture far enough because neither participated in the vibrant musical and ritual life of the Hasidim, as he has. Hasidism, he writes, cannot be assessed by reference to texts alone, since it has always valued ecstatic experience over knowledge. The book, which contains lectures Shalomi delivered to audiences at the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colo., is unevenly successful. The opening essay is dry and academic, but the book picks up steam from there. Shalomi includes stories from many different Hasidic masters, including Reb Nachman, the Ba'al Shem Tov and seven generations of Chabad rebbes (including Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the last Lubavitcher rebbe, who died in 1994 and was one of Shalomi's teachers). The book is best when Shalomi personally engages with the texts, using the stories and teachings as catalysts to discuss key issues in Jewish spirituality.