Dov ben Samuel Baer (of
Linits) was a
Polish Ḥasidic writer of the end of the 18th century.
He is the author of ''Shivḥe ha-Besht'' (''Praises of
Israel Ba'al Shem-Ṭob''), which his son Judah Löb published after his death, in 1815. The book, which is a collection of some 230 stories, arranged in series united by common themes, heroes, and motifs contemporary in Ḥasidic circles about the founder of Ḥasidism, is also of great
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
value. Baer, being a son-in-law of the Alexander who was for several years a secretary of the Besht, received from his father-in-law valuable information on the origin of Ḥasidism, and on the founder of the sect; hence his book is almost the only source of authentic information on those subjects. The book exists in two different versions, one being the
Kopys edition (1815), and the other being that of
Berdychiv
Berdychiv ( uk, Берди́чів, ; pl, Berdyczów; yi, באַרדיטשעװ, Barditshev; russian: Берди́чев, Berdichev) is a historic city in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center ...
of the same year; in the latter many
legends are omitted which are found in the former, especially those that might give offense on account of their extraordinary nature. Later editions, of which there are perhaps twelve, follow either of these editions, and some are combinations of the two.
Sources
External links
Historical analysis of Shivhei HaBeshtby Moshe Rosman, hasidicstories.com
Hasidic Judaism in Europe
18th-century Jewish theologians
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian writers
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
{{Poland-writer-stub