Readers of the Bible are probably familiar with the god, Baal, who was one of the chief rivals of the Hebrew God. The term “baal” appears over 90 times in the Hebrew Bible. Perhaps the best ...

as their powers were thought to stem from mystical knowledge of the secret names of God.) The figure of the historical Besht (the acronym by which the Baal Shem Tov is known) is all but lost under ...