Keter Shem Tov

Keter Shem Tov
Title page of Zalkevo edition
AuthorRabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov
LanguageHebrew
SubjectJewish mysticism, Hasidic philosophy
GenreReligion
Published
  • First edition, Zalkevo, 1794
  • Complete edition, Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, 2004
Media typePrint
Pages4336
ISBN978-0826654557

Keter Shem Tov (Hebrew: כתר שם טוב, "The Crown of the Good Name"[1]) was the first published work of the teachings of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. The book was published in Zalkevo, 1794, more than thirty years after Rabbi Israel's passing. The book contains numerous, but brief, Hasidic interpretations of the Torah (Hebrew Bible).[2]

The Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement has republished the work in a number of new editions.

  1. ^ The name derives from Avot.4:13 "There are three crowns: the crown of torah, the crown of priesthood, and the crown of royalty, but the crown of a good name supersedes them all."
  2. ^ Golding, Peretz. "The Baal Shem Tov: A Brief Biography." Chabad.org. Accessed June 29, 2014.