A Fire in the Forest: The Life and Legacy of the Ba'al Shem Tov (2012)

Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698-1760), known as the Ba’al Shem Tov, is one of the most beloved and celebrated figures in Jewish history, but also one of the most elusive. Today, Jews all over the world, and even many non-Jews, revere him as the founder of the Hasidic movement, and as a model of piety and mystical spirituality. But many also find it difficult to say why he is so important to them, and to characterize his unique contribution to Jewish spirituality. Thus, A Fire in the Forest (running time, 58:21, directed by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez), a new documentary on the life and legacy of the Ba’al Shem Tov, sets itself the task of answering these basic questions, exploring how the Ba’al Shem Tov’s teachings can be applied to our live s today.
To do this, the filmmakers traveled with Rabbi Marc Soloway, our guide on this journey, around the world, talking to leading rabbis, scholars and teachers of Hasidism , traveling to the graves of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s spiritual heirs, and to his own prayer-house and grave in the town of Mezhibozh in the Ukraine. Through stories and historical information, interviews with today’s most important teachers and on-location footage , A Fire in the Forest shows us how the legacy of the Ba’al Shem Tov is still very much alive in our day and relevant to our daily lives.
Featuring interviews with Rabbi Yaakov Dov Bleich, Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum, Rabbi Naftali Citron, Rabbi Alexander Dukhovny, Rabbi Mimi Feigelson, Rabbi Arthur Green, Dr. Susannah Heschel, Yuri Kadustin, Grand Rabbi Yitzhak Aharon Korff, Rabbi Nehemia Polen, Dr. Ada Rapaport-Albert, and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi.
Produced by Throughline Productions (throughlineprod...)
Directed by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez
Videography by Antony Cooper, Charles Murphy, Steven Grosssman
Edited by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez
Written by Netanel Miles-Yépez
Hosted and Narrated by Marc Soloway
Copyright (C) 2012

[@julesdrums6167]

I’m a non-practicing person of paternally inherited Ashkenazi Jewish descent, and I found this incredibly compelling and interesting. I would be interested to learn more about the Baal Shem Tov and read his teachings directly

[@yosefzee7605]

There's much online!

[@havahsterns3833]

I’m supposedly related to him on my father’s mother’s side. Oddly enough, I’ve come to his same conclusions about a lot of human concepts on my own, which I find absolutely fascinating. I think that’s a main reason I’m so interested in getting to learn more about him and his teachings.

[@CarlJohnson-kk4pr]

Mazel Tov Mazel Tov Mazel Tov!!!!!

[@mwellmwell]

This is a hidden gem 💎

[@naseersheikh1118]

חזק מאוד תודה רבה❤

[@elisabethm9655]

Thank you!❤

[@itslightanddark]

Peace and strength to us

[@UniversalYakov]

Thank you for this

[@justinbirkholz]

This was beautiful. Thank you!

[@robdavy1749]

We have lost the art of simplicity

[@WildAntics13]

This is beautiful im Asian ❤