Terry Sampson
Well-Known Member
In Samuel H. Dresner's book, The Zaddik: The Doctrine of the Zaddik According to the Writings of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoy (Schocken Books: N.Y., 1960) [Page 63]:
"But a few years later, in1780, there occurred an event which was destined to strengthen Hasidism immeasurably and at the same time strike a deadly blow at its opponent. This event was the appearance of the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, the first hasidic book, which to this day has remained the single most important work in the entire hasidic literature."
In the early 2000s, after having searched for an English-language copy of the Toldot, I gave up searching my available on-line and paper resources; and went to a bookstore in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles where I bought a two-volume set in Hebrew. (Admittedly, in hindsight, that was a silly thing to do, since I don't know Hebrew and was unlikely to add much more to my Hebrew vocabulary beyond 'Shalom' and 'mazel tov'.)
So here I sit with a two-volume set of the Polnoyer's Toldot that I can't read and a strong desire to know what is in them.
Recognizing that the market for an English-language translation of the book may be small, I note that, according to Dresner, the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, which--as of 1960--was the single-most important work in hasidic literature, had not been translated into English. So I ask here now:
"But a few years later, in1780, there occurred an event which was destined to strengthen Hasidism immeasurably and at the same time strike a deadly blow at its opponent. This event was the appearance of the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, the first hasidic book, which to this day has remained the single most important work in the entire hasidic literature."
In the early 2000s, after having searched for an English-language copy of the Toldot, I gave up searching my available on-line and paper resources; and went to a bookstore in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles where I bought a two-volume set in Hebrew. (Admittedly, in hindsight, that was a silly thing to do, since I don't know Hebrew and was unlikely to add much more to my Hebrew vocabulary beyond 'Shalom' and 'mazel tov'.)
So here I sit with a two-volume set of the Polnoyer's Toldot that I can't read and a strong desire to know what is in them.
Recognizing that the market for an English-language translation of the book may be small, I note that, according to Dresner, the Toldot Yaakov Yosef, which--as of 1960--was the single-most important work in hasidic literature, had not been translated into English. So I ask here now:
- Is the Toldot Yaakov Yosef still unavailable, in its entirety, in English anywhere the world?
- If it is available in English somewhere, where can I buy a copy?
- If it is not, what prevents a complete, English-language version of it from making its way into print?