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The teachings of hasidic master Rabbi Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza, known as the Mei HaShiloach, have been translated into English by a Joseph Straus Rabbinical Seminary student who drew inspiration for his work from Elie Wiesel and the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach. Boston-born Betsalel Philip Edwards, 33, calls the Mei HaShiloach, who was a student of Reb Simcha Bunem of Pshiske, "one of the great spiritual teachers of all time."

The teachings of Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza are really a continuation of the Baal Shem Tov, focusing on how someone seeking G-d can know G-d's will, based on the study of the Torah," says Edwards. Explaining the commentary's relevance to the soul-searching of our generation, Edwards states, "The Mei HaShiloach teaches that every soul seeks birur, or spiritual clarification. Each individual must find a way to look eternity in the face and say, 'This is truly what G-d wants from me.' Birur is a state one moves in and out of, on different levels, throughout his or her lifetime. It is a process through which one can experience a personal form of redemption."

Edwards, who is also a musician, was first introduced to Hassidic thought in a seminar with Elie Wiesel at Boston University. Through the seminar, he met Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, with whom he later studied, traveled and played in concerts. "Everywhere Reb Shlomo went, he brought the teachings of the Mei HaShiloach," Edwards recalls. "He once even said, 'you cannot understand the Torah without the Isbitzer.'" Rabbi Chaim Brovender, rosh yeshiva of the Joseph Straus Seminary, expresses pride that Edwards was able to combine his writing with his rigorous yeshiva studies. "With this translation, Betsalel has made a significant work available to a much greater audience," he says.

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