Mysticism in Literature Souls on Fire

Souls on Fire: Mysticism in Literature

Author, humanitarian, and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel’s Souls on Fire examines the strain of charismatic mysticism in Hasidic Judaism through biographical details of its founder Baal Shem and the stories surrounding Shem that proved to be foundational in shaping the Hasidic movement. Unlike other types of religious writing, mysticism focuses less upon analysis and more upon collapsing the divide between human and divine. Wiesel characterizes mystical writing by its “fervent waiting, the longing for redemption,” and stories in the mystical tradition typically feature “the link between man and his Creator,” an emphasis on spiritual wandering away rather than institutional stability, and miracles (Wiesel 5). Words are given significance in the mystical tradition less because of their meaning but more because of the emotional impetus behind those words. They are tales of “passionate involvement” that even the teller may wink and suggest are not true, but the truth is not one of literal action, but rather spiritual truth (Wiesel 7). Wiesel offers an enjoyable as well as an informative introduction to mysticism that blends biography, history, and storytelling all into one, while still making it clear what aspects of the work are scholarly and which are the recounted fictions of Shem.
Although many of the protagonists of the tales included in Souls on Fire are rabbis, they are not necessarily the most learned of rabbis, or, at least, their learning alone does not gain them communion with God. There is a very democratic element to mysticism in that scholarly learning cannot necessarily secure access to it. What is more important is the state of one’s heart, versus the learning in one’s mind, although a holy man such as Shem may act as a guide. “The Hasidic sect served as a framework for direct contact between the leader and his followers, and the communion with God…transmitted to his followers” (Balog and Morganstern). There was no need for the money required to secure an education and institutional support to study the Talmud; even the poorest laborer could find religious ecstasy. In fact, too much learning can act as an impediment to mystical communion with the divine, because often arrogant people mistake their knowledge as knowledge comparable to what is possessed by God.
The mystical writings of Baal Shem, Wiesel notes, were often decried because of their open subjectivity, but their appeal lies in the universal notion that people may be more than what they appear to be on the surface. Although in modern, secular society Hasidim are often seem as very traditional representatives of the Jewish community, Baal Shem was considered a radical in his era. Even today, there is a distinction between the beliefs of modern Orthodox Jews and Hasidic sects. The concept of the holy fool is one which has great currency in mysticism, or the individual whose true spiritual worth cannot necessarily by articulated in words and deep analysis but rather in feelings.
Wiesel himself says that Baal Shem ignored historical details but embraced legend, in other words, Shem was more interested in conveying spiritual truths of the heart than cold, hard facts. Many of Shem’s followers embraced a lifestyle which ran counter to conventional strains of Judaism, including his mortification of the body and fasting. People were loyal to Baal Shem because they viewed him as a defender of the poor and helpless, who had no other advocates elsewhere. Although the Hasidic tradition has become more mainstream, it retails this spiritual focus on what cannot be known or spoken, versus what can be known and put down on paper.





Works Cited
Balog, Yeshayahu and Morgenstern, Mathias. “Hasidism: A Mystical Movement Within Eastern
European Judaism.” European History Online. 2010. Web. February 28, 2019. http://ieg- ego.eu/en/threads/crossroads/religious-and-confessional-spaces/yeshayahu-balog- matthias-morgenstern-hasidism
Wiesel, Elie. Souls on Fire. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1982.