The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 


 

Beautiful Struggles (updated last in 3/2013 - many of these links are no longer live but you can look for their archives on the wayback machine)

Links to some blogs exploring what it means to wrestle with Jewish spirituality, observance, or practice, to move within and beyond Jewish tradition and the real [sic] world, to live on the edge, and maybe sometimes to get cut by that edge. These links represent a drop in the bucket.

Unpious.com – "Voices on the Hasidic Fringe"

Cannabis Chassidis –  Reb Yosele's meditations on life, cannabis and everything

The One and Only Velveteen Rabbi

Siedarski's blog

Peeling a Pomegranate – subititled "Earth-based Magickal Judaism", from eco-kashrut to jewitchery

Failed Messiah – (often fresh-breaking and often sad) news from the underbelly of Orthodoxy

Theological essays by Julian Ungar-Sargon, who in some ways is my spiritual doppelganger. Also check out his essays on healing, all of it deeply inflected by Rebbe Nachman. Not a blog.

Becoming Frum – the book by Sarah Benor; to compliment it there's a book called Off the Derech about frummies leaving Orthodoxy by Faranak Margolese.

Links on Torah, nigunim, arts, social action, Chasidut, (non-blogs) can be found here.

This blog list started with what Max Ariel sent me in 2005, but many have been added and many have folded. Blogs with years after them have not been updated since that year. Let me know about other blogs that should be here.
BLOGS    A Mother in Israel   A Nice Jewish Girl (2012)   A Simple Jew   ADDe Rabbi   Adventures of Yosele (2009)    Am Haaretz   Amshinover (2007)   Avatiach, avatiach! (2007)   Ayecha   Aussie Echo   Ayecha   Ba'al Tshuvas Anonymous (2007)   Barefoot Jewess   Being a BT (2006)   Beneath the Wings   Beyond Teshuva   Boropark Pyro (2010)   Buchurim Blogs   Chaptzem   Chayalelit (2006)   Daf Am Haaretz (cont'd as Am Haaretz)   Dovbear   Frume Sarah (cont'd as This Messy Life)   Gruntig   Hasidic Rebel   Havdalah! (2007)   Heeb'n'Vegan (2010)   Hitzei Yehonatan   Jewish By Choice   Jewnification (2007)   Judaism and Israel (2009)   Krazy Kazi (2006)   Ketchup & Icecream (2006)   M O Chassid   Mah Rabu   MaNishtana   Matthue Roth   Meshugener (2005)   Modern Uberdox   My Yichud Room (2005)   OTD (Off the Derech)   On Chanting Torah (2012)   On The Mainline   Paleo Judaica   Quicksilver (2007)   Radical Banjo   Rebel Jew   Rishus (2006)   Service of the Heart (2006)   Shamir*Power (2008)   Shirat Devorah   Sustainable Judaism   Take On Pink (2009)   The Apikorsus Companion (2009)   The Rabbi's Kid (2006)   This Messy Life   Unbroken Glass (2006)   Unorthodox Jew   Voices from Our Side of the Curtain (2009)   Water Over Rocks   Wilderness Maggid (2007)   Wolfish Musings   Y Love   Yingele (2006)  


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I actually grew up in Crown Heights; and you missed The Cow. The unmentionable Bizayon [Anarcho-Judaism] is but a disgusting giant blister on the hindside of The Cow. [Note from Reb Duvid: Both of Sholom's sites are no longer accessible to the public.]

Posted by: Sholomanarchy at January 15, 2007 9:58 PM

Thanks for the shout out!

Posted by: Carly at March 3, 2007 1:37 AM

Kiruv Awareness Network aims to provide support for those transitioning away from or reevaluating their relationship to orthodoxy - - from the BT perspective. As such, I think it would be a nice addition to the Blog list. Kol Tuv and thanks for the site. [Note: KAN is no longer maintained.]

Posted by: KAN at January 28, 2008 9:47 PM

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