A Hidden Light

Gaon Books of Santa Fe Wins Prize:  The winners in the 2012 New Mexico - Arizona Book Awards were announced at the Awards Banquest on Friday November 16, 2012.

And Abq Jew is very pleased to announce that one of the winners was

 
A Hidden Light

2012 Best Book on
Philosophy & Thought

written by 

Zalman Schachter-Shalomi

& Natanel Miles-Yepez

published by

Gaon Books

Amazon says of A Hidden Light:

A Hidden Light is a description of early ḤaBaD and Bratzlav Hasidic teaching and storytelling, focusing on the founders of ḤaBaD (Shneur Zalman of Liadi, his son, Dov Baer of Lubavitch, and chief disciple, Ahron of Staroshelye) and Bratzlav (Nahman of Bratzlav and his chief disciple, Nosson of Nemirov).

In this book, the teachings and tales of these two branches of Hasidic spirituality are richly enhanced by the new insights, interpretations and personal reflections of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a modern-day Hasidic master and founder of the Jewish Renewal movement, and Netanel Miles-Yepez, a scholar of comparative religion.

Readers of their previous book, A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters will delight in this sequel, covering the next generations of Hasidism; both casual readers of spirituality and serious students of Hasidism will find something of profound depth.

Publisher Gaon Books says:

A Hidden Light is the account of modern Hasidic life told story by story by Rabbi Zalman, drawn frequently from his own personal experiences. Rabbi Zalman has led Jewish mysticism and the Hasidic experience in new directions for many decades, and he leads the reader to new understandings and meanings in Hasidic traditions.

And Susannah Heschel, Eli Black Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, says:

Hasidism calls our attention to the mobility that takes place throughout the life of an individual Jew: an inner journey. Hasidic teachings, texts, and stories come as guides to that journey. In this beautiful book, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi and Netanel Miles-Yepez recreate the world of early Hasidism, and through their retelling of the journeys of the Rebbes, they bring us to the spiritual landscape of Ukraine, letting us travel from the court of one Rebbe to another, tasting the different traditions and personalities...

This is a book to be read not only with the mind and the heart, but also with the imagination. Think as you read: what would you say if you had the great opportunity to meet with Nahman of Bratzlav, or with the Alter Rebbe? What problem of your soul would you reveal, what spiritual nourishment would you hope to receive? How would you, too, be lifted up and redeemed?

We may not be living the lives of Hasidim in nineteenth-century Ukraine, but our lives have been inspired and transformed by Reb Zalman. For his work as Rebbe, teacher, and writer, we are deeply grateful."

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The New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards is organized by the New Mexico Book Co-Op, a not-for-profit organization serving authors and publishers.

Category sponsors include: Albuquerque / Bernalillo County Public Library; Friends of the Albuquerque Public Library; Humanist Society of New Mexico; Museum of New Mexico Foundation; New Mexico Book Association; New Mexico Book Co-op; New Mexico Business Weekly; Southwest Writers;Tony Hillerman Writers Conference; University of New Mexico Press; Word Harvest Writers Conference.

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Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is the founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement and a leading authority on Kabbalah, Hasidic life and Jewish mysticism. He is Professor Emeritus of psychology of religion and Jewish mysticism at Temple University.

Netanel Miles-Yepez is the Director of the Reb Zalman Legacy Project, scholar of comparative religion and a spiritual counselor. He co-founded the Sufi-Hasidic Inayati-Maimuni Tariqat, a Jewish order of Sufis, with Reb Zalman. He is also editor of The Common Hear: An Experience of Interreligious Dialogue and Living Fully, Dying Well: Reflecting on Death to Find Your Life's Meaning.

Ron Duncan Hart and Gloria Abella Ballen - aka Gaon Books - are companions in the road of life. Ron writes, and Gloria is the visual artist. Their daughter, international musician and Fulbright scholar Vanessa Paloma, adds incredible richness to their lives and the lives of everyone around her.

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Abq Jew happily notes that this is not the first Book Award that Gaon Books has won. Furthermore, three more of Gaon's books were Finalists this year.

To learn more about the outstanding books that Gaon Books publishes, please visit the Gaon Books website - or visit the Gaon Books page in Abq Jew's Amazon Store.