Israel ben Eliezer's early life is shrouded in mystery, as subsequent tales of his exploits tend to stretch the limits of credibility. Founder of Hasidic Judaism, mystic rabbi, kabbalist; whomever he truly was, it seems clear that he was both influenced by occult religious systems and, as a product of them, an influential individual in the continuance of occult thought. This compendium of his life and teachings reach from stories surrounding his birth to some originating after his death. His restatement of panentheism (a god who is part of everything, thus making everything a god) as the model for early Hasidic theology served as the basis for the fledgling movement that can still be witnessed in the writings of Heschel, Kushner and Lerner.
