Toldot Yaakov Yosef (; ) is a book written by Rabbi
Jacob Joseph Katz of Polonne, a prominent disciple of the
Baal Shem Tov
Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in October 1698. Some Hasidic traditions place his birth as early as 1690, while Simon Dubnow and other modern scholars argue f ...
. It was first published in 1780 in order to strengthen and spread the teachings of
Hasidic philosophy
Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism (), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the Torah (the Five ...
.
History
The book, first published in 1780, was the first Hasidic book to appear in print, and is one of four books written by Katz. His books are considered unique in Hasidic literature, as he was one of a select few to hear the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov firsthand.
It was enthusiastically received within Hasidic circles, but was boycotted in
non-Hasidic circles, and many prominent anti-Hasidic rabbis held public burnings of the book in the towns of
Brody
Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...
by
Yechezkel Landau and
Vilna
Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
.
Contents
Toldot Yaakov Yosef is edited similarly to a commentary on the
parshahs, and includes discussions of Halakha, although not exclusively Hasidic thought. The book also has a lot of content concerning the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, contains more than 280 quotations from him, each preceded by the words "I heard form my teacher."
Criticism
The writing was the first Hasidic book published in print describing the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and as such, attracted harsh criticism from those who rejected Hasidic thought. It was seen as controversial that the book was printed without
pre-discussed agreement between different scholars, as was customary at the time for publication of commentaries of the Torah.
References
External links
Toldot Yakov Yosefon
Sefaria
Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Promoted as a "living library of Jewish texts", Sefaria ...
Toldot Yakov Yosefon Hebrewbooks.org
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1780 books
Hasidic literature
Hasidic Judaism in Ukraine