Living Waters - The Mei HaShiloach: A Commentary on the Torah by Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza (1800-1854) is the collected teachings on the Torah by the hasidic master Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza. Born in Poland to a rabbinic family, Reb Yosef was a student of Reb Simcha Bunem of Pshiske. It was from Reb Bunem that he received the well springs of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the hasidic movement.

Even before its original publication in 1860, the Mei HaShiloach was attacked by Hasidic groups in Poland; attempts were even made to sabotage the press on which it was being printed. Izbicy is sometimes referred to as 'New Age Hasidism', a tribute to its radical modernity. Rabbi Mordechai Yosef stressed personal responsibility in attaining true spiritual growth and self-knowledge. Throughout the Mei HaShiloach one finds strong currents compelling us to focus on our selfhood, individuation, truth, identity, and transcendence, and inviting us to re-examine our sin, failure, and despair in the light of his unique and radical philosophy. In his reading of the personalities in the Biblical narratives, the Izbicy explores their choices, doubts, and compulsions in a way that seems startling modern, and was extraordinary for its time - and even for ours. He devoted uncommon attention to emotions, human relationships, and intimacy.Rabbi Worch's meticulously annotated translation opens up all the nuances of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef's elusive world, providing full access to his weltanschauung. This translation empowers the reader to enter the Mei HaShiloach on its many different levels - intellectual, emotional, and psychological.

"This book, which describes the lives of Rabbi Ashlag and his students, is not about personages who lived in some remote period with whom we have no connection. It is a book about living people, some of whom I had the privilege of knowing personally."--Preface

All of Scripture is holy, but the Song of Songs is holiest - and most cryptic. The MALBIM's multi-layered commentary, first published in 1857, is his most passionate masterpiece, that blends Zohar, Immanuel Kant, Maimonides and Lurianic kabbalah in a dazzling display of poetic creativity, unmatched in rabbinic literature. Had the Malbim published nothing but this, his commentary to the Song of Songs, his reputation as a major Parshan of the Torah - Biblical Exegesis - would have been assured. It is a rare gem.This is the first time it is being presented to the English reader. J. Hershy Worch is well know for his other popular translations: Sacred Fire: Torah from the Years of Fury 1939-42. Sefer Yetzira: Chronicles of Desire, and Mei HaShiloach - Izbicy Torah.

Each of the poems in Seventy Faces arose in conversation with the Five Books of Moses. These poems interrogate, explore, and lovingly respond to Torah texts-the uplifting parts alongside the passages which may challenge contemporary liberal theology. Here are responses to the familiar tales of Genesis, the liberation story of Exodus, the priestly details of Leviticus, the desert wisdom of Numbers, and the anticipation of Deuteronomy. These poems balance feminism with respect for classical traditions of interpretation. They enrich any (re)reading of the Bible, and will inspire readers to their own new responses to these familiar texts.