Paths Are Many
← Back to all teachers
In memoriamPortrait of Baal Shem TovIsraeli postage stamp, designed by A. Vardimon, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. No portrait made from life exists.
Teacher profile

Baal Shem Tov

Kabbalah · Kabbalah

Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov, regarded as the founder of Hasidism; he taught that devotion and joy are open to everyone and not only to the learned.

KabbalahUkraine
Watch talks →
✓This profile is compiled from publicly available sources. Some details (video length, full event calendars) could not be independently confirmed and should be verified before relying on them. Know something about this teacher that belongs here? Please tell me.
About the teacher

Baal Shem Tov

Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov, regarded as the founder of Hasidism; he taught that devotion and joy are open to everyone and not only to the learned.

Talks & videos

Watch.

Short introductions and longer conversations, to hear this teacher in their own words.

58 min
Documentary

A Fire in the Forest: The Life and Legacy of the Baal Shem Tov

A film on Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the elusive figure at the beginning of Hasidism, directed by Chuck Davis and Netanel Miles-Yépez.

Path

The wider context.

✡
Concealment & the hidden light

Kabbalah

The Jewish mystical tradition centred on hidden dimensions of scripture and the nature of the divine, often explored through symbolic systems such as the Tree of Life.

Explore the path →
Explore further

Related teachers.

View all teachers →
JS
Kabbalah

Jason Shulman

Founder of A Society of Souls and creator of Nondual Kabbalistic Healing, a multi-year training combining Kabbalistic study with nondual awareness and energy healing, taught in the US and Europe.

JM
Kabbalah

Jay Michaelson

American rabbi, writer and scholar (born 1971) who teaches Jewish meditation and vipassana and writes about mysticism, law and religion. He is a visiting scholar at the Emory Center for Psychedelics and Spirituality, was a visiting professor at Harvard Law School in 2025, and won a National Jewish Book Award for scholarship in 2023.

BY
Kabbalah

Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks

American rabbi and meditation teacher, ordained in the Jewish Renewal lineage of Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, who leads the online Jewish meditation community Torah of Awakening.

MG
Kabbalah

Moshe Gersht

American author, rabbi, and spiritual teacher who translates Kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings into contemporary language on purpose, consciousness, and unconditional love.

Monthly selection

Stay connected with our newsletter.

Receive new talks, upcoming events and thoughtful editorial selections in one monthly email.