Description
Moshe Rosman discusses the 1739 book by Hillel Baal Shem as an example of early modern Jewish culture. It focuses on the tension between manuscript and print culture, and esoteric and exoteric knowledge.
The selected passages highlight Hillel's training, the problems caused by charlatans, the undesirable popularization of mystical techniques fostered by the publication of simplistic handbooks, and the tangled relationship between ba'al shem type practices and "proper" medicine.
Streaming Media
Start Date
24-8-2004 3:00 PM
End Date
24-8-2004 4:00 PM
Location
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Sefer Ha-Heshek Hillel Baal Shem, 1739
Sefer Ha-Heshek by Hillel Baal Shem (1739)
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
Moshe Rosman discusses the 1739 book by Hillel Baal Shem as an example of early modern Jewish culture. It focuses on the tension between manuscript and print culture, and esoteric and exoteric knowledge.
The selected passages highlight Hillel's training, the problems caused by charlatans, the undesirable popularization of mystical techniques fostered by the publication of simplistic handbooks, and the tangled relationship between ba'al shem type practices and "proper" medicine.
