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Article: 4. [R.sub.x]: soul medicine, spirit pills.(Once upon a time for the soul: a review of the effects of storytelling in spiritual traditions)(Critical Essay)
- Article from:
- Communication Research Trends
- Article date:
- September 22, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Centre for the Study of Communication and Culture. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Long long ago, a man known as the Baal Shem
Tov went to a most secret place in the forest. It
is said that in this secret place, he lit a sacred
fire, spoke an ancient prayer, and uttered a holy
name. In that moment, Hope burned more
brightly in the world. But it came to pass that in
the next generation, his successor knew only the
Place, the Fire, and the Prayer. Yet, that was
enough to preserve Hope. In each succeeding
generation, another spark of knowledge was
lost--until, at last, nothing remained, except the
Story. But telling the Story was still enough.
--Adapted from an oral telling by
Doug Lipman (1996)
When ...