An Open Heart: The Mystic Path of Loving People (The Jewish Spirit Booklet Series, 2) [Paperback]

Yitzhak Buxbaum (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Jewish Spirit Pub Co; 1 edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965711226
• ISBN-13: 978-0965711227
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #832,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My first love was Zoology and my original goal was to become a university professor. I received a B.S. in Biology from Cornell University in 1964 and then entered the PhD. program at the University of Michigan. Because of the turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War, all my goals and plans changed. I dropped out of school after receiving my M.S. in Zoology and passing my PhD. exams. From that time my direction changed, and I was seeking meaning in life. I began to read, first the world's great literature (something I'd not previously done) and then came to focus on Philosophy. I was in the PhD. program in Philosophy at Boston University for a year and a half. Finally I came to see that the place to discover meaning was in Religion, not Philosophy. I became Jewishly conscious and then turned to Religion.
After contact with Judaism through Martin Buber's writings and then Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, I entered a Lubavitcher yeshiva. I studied there for half a year; I entered as an atheist and came out a religious Jew ' although I don't identify with any denomination. Later, I lived in Israel (Jerusalem) for two and a half years -- working, living, learning Hebrew. For almost thirty years I was close to Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, my Rebbe. I have been studying Torah intensively for all that time and have become knowledgeable, particularly in Jewish Mysticism, Hasidism, and especially hasidic stories. Stories were an important part of my own entrance to Judaism, are my special spiritual nourishment until today, and as a result I became a "spiritual storyteller." Shlomo gave me s'micha (ordination) as a maggid (inspirational speaker and storyteller) and later, so too did Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. Devoted to helping Jews see the beauty of Judaism, I have made efforts as a maggid, teaching and telling stories in synagogues, Y's, Hillel's etc. I have taught in settings of every denomination -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Havurah, Renewal. I also teach courses in Jewish Mysticism at The 92nd St Y. in New York City.
Three years ago, wanting to spread the transmission I received as a maggid from Rabbis Shlomo Carlebach and Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, I began a program to train people to come maggidim. The two-year program, for both men and women, is a great success, and very gratifying to me. Over the last two terms, I have ordained six people to spread God's light. If you're interested in such work, please contact me!
Aside from working as a maggid -- teaching and storytelling -- my main effort has been in writing. I have written ten books. My newest book, The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov, which I'm so excited about, is the only comprehensive book in English about this greatest Jewish mystic!
I sometimes describe myself as a "spiritual Jew." I try to be open, inclusive, and non-judgmental. My goal is be a Jew myself and to inspire other people to become committed, spiritual Jews -- "spiritual," meaning that they know the essence of religion. I have friends across the Jewish religious spectrum. I have broad Jewish sympathies and also broad ecumenical sympathies. As a Jewish teacher, I try to provide a bridge not only between different kinds of Jews but also between Jews and people of other faiths. I could use your blessings to continue my work.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding the reason for human existence., June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: An Open Heart: The Mystic Path of Loving People (The Jewish Spirit Booklet Series, 2) (Paperback)

A pomegranate of a book where each seed of truth plants itself within your heart as living awareness: person to person, moment to moment. Again and again I have read, reread, absorbed, mulled, contemplated and meditated upon the fruits contained within the covers of this book. Buxbaum reveals and explains insights "found at the beginning of the Torah and at its very heart." An Open Heart: The Mystic Path of Loving People holds significant teachings for every human being. This is a very important book to have and to share with others.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book to go back to, June 23, 2004

By 

Anthony Elman (Santa Monica, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: An Open Heart: The Mystic Path of Loving People (The Jewish Spirit Booklet Series, 2) (Paperback)

I have never found such a rich synthesis of loving God and loving one's fellow, and the teachings this little book brings together - so much, taught so clearly and concisely - will, I am sure, continue to nourish me; a book to go back to.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Deepest Truth, February 24, 2010

By 

Steven S. Klaper - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: An Open Heart: The Mystic Path of Loving People (The Jewish Spirit Booklet Series, 2) (Paperback)

In many ways, this is Yitzhak Buxbaum's finest book -- the purest, the holiest. He's done scholarly work before this, deep research -- his Jewish Spiritual Practices is monumental, the Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov and The Life and Times of Hillel gave us a trove of information that was simply unavailable -- but really, if someone wants to know, "What was Buxbaum's torah? -- what was his deepest truth?" An Open Heart is the book I'd send them to.