Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters (English and French Edition)

By Elie Wiesel

Book Overview

In Souls on Fire: Portraits and Legends of Hasidic Masters, Elie Wiesel re-enters, like an impassioned pilgrim, the universe of Hasidism. Souls on Fire is not a simple chronological history of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394464370
• ISBN13: 9780394464374
• Release Date: August 1972
• Publisher: Random House
• Length: 268 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Very personal

Wiesel managed to capture the essence of Hasidim in his re-telling of their tales - extremely personal, intimate relationship with the Divine. I enjoyed reading and re-reading this book over the years.

A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL BOOK

The subject is inspiring and the text is prose at its most elegant.

A journey through Hassidism

Hassidism, its tales, legends, and masters, has always been a source of mystery and confusion. "Souls on Fire" is a journey through Hassidism. Traveling from the source and further development of this unique Jewish religious manifestation is a joy when led by the mind and sould of Elie Wiesel. His personal and emotional input, the tales and legends included throughout the book, and his non-academic but rather humane approach (a typical Hassid) is the most sincere attempt in trying to understand and "speak of the unspeakable," sparkling light into a religious fervor born out of anguish and despair. The purpose is not to agree or understand, but rather to believe.

An amazingly written book on a fascinating subject

In this fascinating book, Ellie Weisel gives a personalized history of Hasidism. Using his own memories and insights, plus whatever tales and legends he finds most interesting, he takes us through Hasidism from its beginning through a lot of the Hasidic masters. The subject is interesting by itself, especially since many of the legends are profound or funny, and Mr. Weisel's wonderful writing style is the perfect vehicle for it. Buy and read this book!