Additional information
by Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Author), Aryeh Wineman (Author)
Letters of Light is a translation of over ninety passages from a well-known Hasidic text, Ma'or va-shemesh, consisting of homilies of Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow, together with a running commentary and analysis by Aryeh Wineman. With remarkable creativity, the Krakow preacher recast biblical episodes and texts through the prism both of the pietistic values of Hasidism, with its accent on the inner life and the Divine innerness of all existence, and of his ongoing wrestling with questions of the primacy of the individual vis-a-vis that of the community. The commentary traces the route leading from the Torah-text itself through various later sources to the Krakow preacher's own reading of the biblical text, one that often transforms the very tenor of the text he was expounding. Though composed almost two centuries ago, Ma'or va-Shemesh comprises an impressive spiritual statement, many parts of which can speak to our own time and its spiritual strivings.
Author Biography
The author of several books and numerous articles, Dr. Aryeh Wineman has combined his life's work, both in education and in the congregational rabbinate, with his pursuit of scholarly interests in the fields of Hebrew literature and Jewish mysticism. His writings include Beyond Appearances--Stories from the Kabbalistic Ethical Writings, Mystic Tales from the Zohar, and The Hasidic Parable.
Kalonymus Kalman ha-Levi Epstein (1753-1823) was the pioneering figure who, against significant opposition, introduced Hasidism to the Jews of Krakow, Poland. The book comprising his homilies, Ma'or va-shemesh, first printed in 1842, became one of the most popular of the Hasidic homily-texts.
