Martin Buber 
Legend of the Baal-Shem [PDF ebook] 

These twenty captivating stories about the founder of the Hasidic faith Israel ben Eliezer called the Baal-Shem or Master of God’s Name, provide a profound and charming account of the genesis of Hasidism, still Judaism’s most important religious movement. As a delicate and moving portrayal not only of the power of the Baal-Shem’s mystical faith, but also of Eastern European Jewish daily life, The Legend of the Baal-Shem is an ideal introduction to Hasidic religious thought, and to Martin Buber’s own influential philosophy of love and mutual human understanding.