Behar-Bechukotai

"If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter (looses his ability to support himself) in your proximity, you shall strengthen him (come to his aid and help him). . ." Leviticus 25:35

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SINCERE PRAYER

And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov and several of his closest followers were traveling by horse and wagon to an unknown destination.

On the afternoon of the third day, they were all freezing, exhausted and very hungry. The followers had already asked the Baal Shem Tov on several occasions, "Rebbe, when are we going to get to our destination." But each time he indicated that he didn't know himself. At some point, they started to hear the sounds of people working in the distance. In a few minutes, they arrived at a tiny, secluded village. To everyone's relief, the Baal Shem Tov announced, "We'll stop here for the night. I think we'll be able to collect a large sum of Tzedeka (charity) from one of the villagers."

They looked at each and rolled their eyes in disbelief that they would collect a large amount of Tzedeka. Given the dilapidated appearance of this tiny village, they were skeptical that any of the villagers had much money to give. And besides, they reasoned to themselves, they were far from their hometown of Mezibush and they doubted that the villagers had even heard of the Rebbe.

The horse, also tired and hungry, slowly pulled the wagon into the village and stopped by itself in front of a run down house of a poor Jewish family. With a sigh of relief, they all got down from the wagon and knocked on the door. The woman of the house gave them a warm welcome and asked them to come in and sit down. Upon entering, they quickly saw that the interior of this two room house was just as decrepit as the outside.

After sitting by the heated stove for a few minutes, they said, "Rebbetzyn, we can't thank you enough for your hospitality. We've been traveling all day and we're still cold and very hungry."

She felt sorry for them so she heated water for tea and gave them the little bread that she had been saving to feed her children. This didn't go unnoticed by the children who were walking around in rags and starring at this group of strangers eating their meager dinner. They began crying, "Mama we're hungry. Please give us something to eat." The mother was heart sick, but after feeding the men, there just wasn't any more food. All of the men, except the Baal Shem Tov, were mortified by the scene of the children crying. They looked with questioning eyes at the Rebbe but he seemed unmoved.

Just then, Reb Moshe, returned home. He visibly cringed when he saw his children crying of hunger, his upset wife and the group of unknown Hasidim sitting around the table eating their last morsel of food.

Immediately, the Baal Shem Tov stood up and introduced himself and the others.

Moshe's business was selling liquor from his house and he had just returned from an unsuccessful trip. He had tried to purchase a keg of whiskey on credit but was turned down because he was already deeply indebted to the whiskey dealer from previous purchases.

At first, Moshe was very flattered that the famous Baal Shem Tov had come to visit him of all people. But that feeling soon changed when the Baal Shem Tov said, "My dear friend, we've come all this way to collect eighteen rubles from you. It is for a very good cause and I'm sure you'll be blessed from giving this tzedeka (charity)."

"Eighteen rubles!" gasped poor Moshe. "But Rabbi, I don't even have one ruble."

"Maybe you could sell something to get the money," replied the Baal Shem Tov.

"But Rabbi, look around. I don't have anything to sell," answered Reb Moshe.

"Why don't you sell the bedding," suggested the Baal Shem Tov.

The followers were so embarrassed by this conversation that they couldn't even look in the direction of Reb Moshe or his wife.

Once Reb Moshe realized that the Baal Shem Tov was serious about his request, he asked if he could wait until the next morning to sell the bedding.

"Okay, we can wait until tomorrow, but then we must be on our way," answered the Baal Shem Tov.

The next morning, Reb Moshe gathered up all the pillows and blankets in the house and took them to the marketplace. A few hours later, he returned with exactly eighteen rubles. "Here Rabbi," he said, as he hesitantly handed the money to the Baal Shem Tov. With barely a thank you, the Baal Shem Tov took the money. Then he got into the wagon and motioned for the rest to get in also. As the wagon drove away, the Baal Shem Tov yelled back to Reb Moshe, " G'd be with you."

Moshe, his wife and children followed the wagon for a short time, hoping that the Baal Shem Tov would stop and return the eighteen rubles. But the Baal Shem Tov never even looked back and the wagon soon disappeared from their sight.

Reb Moshe returned to an empty house, a crying wife and starving children. By this time it was late afternoon and time to daven mincha (the afternoon prayers). He was so upset he could barely speak. He prayed as never before. Big tears streamed down his face and he begged, "Dear Heavenly Father, please provide us with a lot of food and money and give us good health."

That night, the family, each with an empty stomach, got into bed and huddled together to try and stay warm. In the middle of the night, Moshe heard a loud knocking at the door. "Who is it?" he asked fearfully.

"Moshke, let me in," said a peasant in a rough voice. "I'm freezing and I want a glass of whiskey."

Our Reb Moshe had sold the last drink from his whiskey barrel over a week before. But he was afraid of the peasant so he quickly got up, opened the door and him in. He told the peasant to sit down by the stove and get warm while he got him a glass of whiskey. Then he went into the next room and poured a glass of water into the empty whiskey barrel. After mixing the water around in the barrel, he poured it back into a glass. "Here," he said, handing a full glass of the "whiskey" to the peasant.

The peasant downed it in one gulp. "Uumm," he said as he licked his lips. "It's been a long time and I really needed a good, strong drink. And that drink was really good and very strong. The only problem is that I don't have any money so I'll have to pay you later."

Moshe, still sleepy said, "Sure, pay me when you can." He was thinking, "What a day, what a night." As soon as the peasant left, he lay down again and fell back to sleep. A few hours later, he was again awakened by a loud knocking at the door.

"Who is it?" he yelled out. It was the same peasant, back for another glass of whiskey. Moshe served him as before but this time the peasant reached into his pocket and gave him a dirt covered coin. "Here, I don't know how much it is worth but it should cover my drinks."

Early the next morning, Moshe took the coin to the market in the next town. He could hardly believe it when he learned that the coin was worth enough to pay for much more than the peasant had drunk.

When the peasant returned again the very next night for another glass of whiskey, Moshe gave him a drink and the change from the coin. The peasant was astonished at Moshe's honesty and began to return every night. It wasn't long before whiskey sales were booming and Moshe was getting richer by the day. In almost no time, the days of poverty were forgotten and Moshe was involved in many other lucrative businesses.

About a year later, the Baal Shem Tov and the very same group of his followers happened to be passing the little village where Reb Moshe lived. Instead of the dilapidated house, there stood a stately mansion surrounded by a number of smaller, but equally beautiful buildings. The followers stared with open mouths. "Rebbe, what happened?" they asked.

"All of this wealth was set aside for Reb Moshe on Rosh Hashanah," explained the Baal Shem Tov. "But he did not get it because he accepted his lot of poverty without any complaints. As it says, 'He opens His hand and fulfills the will of every living being.' (Psalm 145:16). So I had to take everything he owned from him. When he was left without food or even his bedding, he had no one to turn to but the Holy One, Blessed be He. And from one sincere prayer requesting his needs, G'd heard and opened His hand to fulfill the requests of our friend Reb Moshe. So the poor man of last year is a rich man today, thanks to his fervent prayer."

And so it was.

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Devorin Araivim as translated in STORIES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV by Y.Y. Klapholtz

And the L-rd said to Moses: Speak to the priest. (Leviticus 21:1)

This is what the verse says: "Day to day utters speech" (Psalms 19:3)¹

I heard from my Master [a commentary on the verse]: "Day to day utters speech, and night to night expresses knowledge." The Sages have said, "A person is judged first² for the time he wasted from Torah study, as it says: 'The beginning of strife is [like] the release of water' (Proverbs 17: 14)."³

Does a person really believe that he can escape judgment due to the burden of making a living by day, and the [need to] rest from his work at night? The days of winter contradict this, and the nights of summer destroy [his argument].⁴

Ben Poras Yosef, p. 127c

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

¹ From the Midrash on this verse (Vayikra Rabbah 26:4).

² In the World to Come.

³ Sanhedrin 7a. The simple meaning of this verse is that strife and contentiousness break forth like a gush of water. Water is a classic metaphor for Torah, as in the verse: "Ho, every one that thirsts, come you for water" (Isaiah 55:1). However, the Talmud interprets this verse different: "The beginning of strife" — that is, the beginning of a person's judgment is over "the release of water" — the time he wasted from studying Torah.

⁴ In the past, most people would work only until nightfall. The short winter days prove that a person can finish work early and still make a living, thus contradicting the argument that a person must work long hours, leaving himself no time for Torah study. Likewise, the short nights of summer demonstrate that a person can make do with less sleep and still function. Why, then, should he need so much sleep the rest of the year, rather than study Torah?

The connection of this teaching to the verse from Psalm 19 may be that day and night express words that negate a person's arguments. Alternatively, the Midrash that cites this verse (Vayikra Rabbah 26:4), speaks of the day and night as "borrowing" from each other throughout the year. The long summer days borrow hours from the night, and the long summer nights borrow hours from the day. Only on the spring and autumn equinoxes are day and night equal. This is in order to prove to people that there is always time to study Torah.

1.6 Whatever you see, remember the Holy One. If it is something you love, remember the love of G-d; if it is something you fear, remember the fear of G-d. ¹ Even when you go to the bathroom, you should think to yourself: "I am now separating the bad from the good, so that the good should remain for the service of G-d."

This is the meaning of Yichudim (Unifications). Tzivos HaRivash, p. 3b

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

¹ Once, when the Baal Shem Tov was walking alone in the forest, he encountered a lion. He started to meditate on the letters of the word "lion" — aryeh, and how they also compose the word "fear" — yirah. He came to such an intense fear of G-d, that the lion was suddenly ripped in half. (Kovetz Eliyahu, p. 6)

1.6 The holy Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz¹ said: "From the Ramban² until the Ari, ³ and from the Ari until the Baal Shem Tov, and from the Baal Shem Tov until me, there were many souls lost in the kelipot, with no one to uplift them."

He also said: "From the Ramban until the Ari, and from the Ari until the Baal Shem Tov, and from the Baal Shem Tov until me, there was no one [else] who could ascend to the supernal worlds. And after me, there won't be another, until the coming of the Moshiach." Midrash Pinchas HaChadash 120

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

¹ A disciple of the Baal Shem Tov (1726-1791).

² Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194- 1270).

³ Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572)

1.6 "If any case is too difficult for you, bring it to me." (Deuteronomy 1:17)

The Baal Shem Tov taught in the name of the Ramban (Nachmanides), who advised his son the following:

"Whenever there are various possible options of how to go about doing something, and you are in doubt as to which is the best way, or if you are in doubt whether or not doing it is at all G-d's will, (if it is His will, it should be done, or it is against His will, in which case it should not,) you must first of all disattach yourself from all personal gain or honor you might derive from this action. Only then can you objectively weigh the options, for anything from which one derives any personal gain, one will search to find some way to permit even if it is forbidden. After doing this, G-d will guide you to the truth and you can feel secure that you are doing the right thing."

This, then, is the meaning of the verse, "If any case is too difficult for you," that is, you don't know how or whether at all to do something, the doubt arises from you—from the personal gain that you would derive from doing it. Therefore, disattach yourself from the personal gain you would derive from doing it, and "bring it to Me"—that is, intend to do it for the sake of Heaven, without any motive for personal gain. Then [as the verse concludes], "I will hear it"; i.e., I will make it heard—I will give that person the understanding of how to behave.¹

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett

¹ The Baal Shem Tov adds to the Ramban's teaching that all doubts and difficulties we confront in life arise from our being out of touch with G-d and with our deepest selves. Instead, we live superficially, from momentary and ephemeral physical pleasure to the next momentary and ephemeral emotional gain, completely out of touch with what our souls deeply crave and need. We are thus torn in different directions at once, for we all have conflicting desires and interests. Only when we are able to see through those pleasures and gains, and touch with our deepest needs and with G-d, are we able to act assuredly from a place of Truth (Sfath Emeth, Deuteronomy 56:31; Likkutim, Lekh Lekhah)

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