Bene Mahshavah Tovah is a work by Rabbi Kalonimus Kalmish Shapira
(1889-1943), the Piasetsna Rebbe. Rabbi Shapira wrote a number of works
with the purpose of assisting young people to grow spiritually through the
teachings and practice of Hasidut. He believed that the essence of Hasidut
is to arouse one's emotions to serve G-d through the utilization of one's
imagination. He prescribed meditational exercises with the goal of
accomplishing this.
(A similar approach is expounded by R' Menachem Ekstein [a Zdikover hasid]
in his work: Tenae ha-nefesh le-hasagat ha-Hasidut. This work has recently
been translated into English and published as: Visions of a compassionate
world : guided imagery for spiritual growth and social transformation [New
York : Urim, 2001].)
In Bene Mahshavah Tovah, Rabbi Shapira details the rules and goals of an
envisioned fraternal order dedicated to spiritual growth through Hasidut.
His hope was that the work would be used to actually create such a group.
Bene Mahshavah Tovah was translated/adapted into English and published as:
Conscious Community: A Guide to Inner Work [Jason Aronson, 1996].
- Yisrael Meyerowitz
Librarian
Tuttleman Library of Gratz College
Melrose Park, PA
Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author
and are not necessarily endorsed by the AJL
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