Hasidism: A New History

 

Hasidism: A New History by David Biale, David Assaf, Benjamin Brown, and others, will probably be the definitive history of this Jewish movement for some time.  There is the scope of the work, from the very early day of Hasidism, when it really wasn’t even an organized movement, to its present-day forms, where Hasidic groups have been revitalized after their terrible losses in the Shoah.  There is also its detailed orientation: contemporary scholars have reassessed historical investigations of Hasidism, to ask new questions and reach new conclusions.

This in-depth work is for anyone interested in Hasidism who wants to go knee-deep. 

The Non-Dual Siddur, and More

 

Well of Living Insight: Comments on the Siddur by Arthur Green is a handy commentary on the siddur, written from Arthur Green’s distinctive angle on Jewish non-dualism.  This is the kind of book you want to read a bit at a time, soaking it in; it is also the musing of a man who has studied the siddur for years and comes at it from a variety of interesting, often unexpected angles.

The Stoic’s Guide to Emotional Mastery: Learn How to Stay Calm and Disciplined

 

The Stoic’s Guide to Emotional Mastery: Learn How to Stay Calm and Disciplined by Winston Meskill, is one of the many books about Stoicism to come out in the last few years.  I think we live in a quintessentially Stoic age: we are part of a dying empire, living many degrees away from feeling any power or control of our own lives.  Stoicism worked in the Greco-Roman age as it gave its adherents control over what they could control, and the tools to let go of what was not under their control.  We need these skills as well – and this book is an excellent guide.

Revisionist Reading

 

I haven’t read D.H. Lawrence in more than a decade.  After seeing a decent movie version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, I decided to read, once again, the novel.  Understand that Sons and Lovers, Women in Love, and The Rainbow deeply influenced me as a reader and writer when I was young.

Now, over a hundred years since it was written, Lady Chatterley has not aged well.  Few people would agree with Lawrence’s notions of the role of the sexes, both in and out of bed.  What was radical in 1928 is no longer so - and some of his words are harmful.  Lawrence’s fascist tendencies are also on display here, with the narrator’s sweeping and narrow generalizations about humanity. Returning to this book was a real exercise in revisionist reading.