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The first part of the book Souls on Fire tells us the story of Israel Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem is responsible for Hasidism as it is known today. It was surprising to me that the influential figure in Hasidism only dates back to the Eighteenth century; I always thought that their beliefs dated back to ancient times before the birth of Christianity. It was interesting to me to learn that Baal Shem has become such an enigmatic figure to modern historians. As Wiesel tells us in his book, the Baal Shem eludes modern historians. His character barely emerges, and his story is full of contradictions. As the book tells us, nothing about him can be said with certainty even those who claimed to know him and loved him can only refer to him in a poetic way. There seems to be no clear chronological evidence to his life just many accounts that have been passed down generation through generation. But from I read in the book, my opinion is that the Baal Shem himself created this confusion to his tales because I do not remember reading of him ever writing anything down, but of him encouraging his disciples to tell stories, and as most of us know a narrator always tends to add something to a story he tells; therefore, there are different versions of the events in the life of the Baal Shem.
Approximate Word count = 786
Approximate Pages = 3.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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