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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE ZOLOTCHOVER
WATER CARRIER
"Today you are all standing before G d your
L rd..even your woodcutters and water carriers."
(Devarim 29:7)
And then there was the time that Reb Michel Yechiel
of Zolotchov had yichidus (private meeting) with his
Rebbe, the Holy Baal Shem Tov. During the yichidus,
he requested, "Rebbe, please give me a blessing that
I strengthen my service to Hashem (G d)."
The Baal Shem Tov gave him the blessing he
requested and then
suggested that he visit the water carrier of
Zolotchov on his way home and give him the Baal
Shem Tov's warmest regards. Of course, Reb Michel
was happy to carry out the Baal Shem Tov's simple
request. As he was traveling to Zolotchov, he
started thinking, "The water carrier can't be just a
simple Jew (a water carrier was typically one of the
poorest Jews in the shtetl (small town) whose job it
was to keep a wooden barrel in front of every house
full, irrespective of the weather). If the Baal Shem
Tov is sending me out of my way to give
him his regards, he must be a Tzaddik nistor
(Hidden Holy man)."
As soon as Reb Michel arrived in Zolotchov, he found
where the water carrier lived and went directly to his
house.
When the water carrier's wife came to the door, Reb
Michel introduced himself and said, "I have regards
for your husband from the Baal Shem Tov." He
explained that he was returning home from a visit
with the Rebbe and that the latter had asked him to
stop in Zolotchov and convey his warm wishes to
her husband, the Zolotchover water carrier.
"He is not home right now, but he will come shortly,"
the water carrier's wife answered. "You look tired
from your travels," she continued, "Won't you please
come in and sit down and I'll get you a cold drink?"
Reb Michel came into the water carrier's house. After
he had a moment to look around, he thought, "My
G d, this is the most rundown house I've ever been
in. There's almost no furniture and look at the
children, they're so thin and barely dressed in
rags."
A little while later, the Zolotchover water carrier
arrived. He was overjoyed to receive the greeting
from the Baal Shem Tov that his visitor, Reb Michel,
conveyed. The water carrier immediately turned to
his wife and said, "Please prepare a special meal for
our guest. This is a special occasion for us. It's not
everyday that one receives regards from the Holy
Baal Shem Tov."
The wife got busy preparing the feast, while Reb
Michel told the water carrier some of the Torah
teachings that the Baal Shem Tov had spoken while
he was in Medzibush.
After some time, the wife called Reb Michel and her
husband to the table for dinner. When they were
seated, she served two small rolls and a dish of two
tiny fish, one for each.
Before Reb Michel took the first bite, he heard the
children whispering to each other, "He'll probably
leave something for us. After all, a guest is not
supposed to eat everything. That fish will be a real
treat." Reb Michel felt so sorry for the children, he
could barely get himself to even take the first bite.
Then he thought, "These poor children, this poor
family, what a way to live." He felt so bad that he
could not keep from crying.
"Why are you weeping?" the water carrier asked his
guest.
"I feel so sorry that you and your family have to
suffer such poverty," answered Reb Michel.
"It's really not how it looks," answered the
Zolotchover water carrier. "Let me explain with this
parable."
A rich man, who was marrying off his daughter,
invited all the local townspeople to the chasana
(wedding). Being rich, the father spared no expense
in the preparations. Everyone, and especially the
poor people, eagerly awaited the day of the
chasuna. When the wedding day arrived, all of the
towns people gathered to partake in the simcha
(joyful event) and
the dinner and dancing that followed the chupa
(canopy under which the wedding ceremony occurs).
But just as the callah (bride) was being led by her
parents to the chupa, she fell down and fainted.
After efforts to revive her were unsuccessful, the
saddened wedding guests began leaving.
Meanwhile, some of the poor people, who had been
awaiting the wedding party for weeks, sat down at
the food ladened tables and began eating. They said
among themselves, "Of course we feel sorry for our
host and the family, but why should all this food go
to waste." The other poor people, who also had
been looking forward to a big, delicious meal didn't
join their friends because, "It just doesn't seem right
to sit down and eat while our host is
suffering."
"And this is how I look at my life," the Zolotchover
water carrier explained. "The chasuna represents the
Beis Hamikdosh (The Holy Temple) where all the
Israelites gathered, at least three times a year, to
rejoice with their host Hashem (G d). And I am the
type of poor soul who is sensitive to the Ribono Shel
Olam's (Lord of the Universe's) misfortune, the
destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh (70 C.E.). So I
cannot bring myself to enjoy the bounty of this
physical world while I know that the Ribono Shel Olam
is still mourning the destruction of the Beis Hamikdosh
and the exile of His people."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in SIPUREI
CHASSIDIM and translated in STORIES OF THE BAAL
SHEM TOV by Y.Y. Klapholtz.
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TORAH BAAL SHEM TOV
Selection from Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah
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"Then the L rd your G d will bring back your
remnants, and have mercy on you, and will once
again gather you from among the nations where the
L rd your G d has scattered you." (Devarim
30:3)
Every single Jew must perfect and make ready the
part of the Messiah1 that relates to his
own soul. As it is known, the word "Adam" is an
acronym for the words "Adam, David, Messiah."
Adam's size was from one end of the earth to the
other,2 and included in it all the souls of
Israel. After the sin of eating the forbidden fruit,
however, his stature was
diminished. Likewise, the Messiah's soul will be made
up of all the 600,000 souls of Israel, as it was before
Adam's sin. Therefore, every Jew must make ready
that portion of the Messiah that corresponds to his
own soul, until the entire structure is fixed and
established. Then there will be a universal
Unification, without end. May it be soon in our days!
Me'or Einayim, Pinchas
1Komat HaMoshiach — literally,
the "structure of the Messiah." The soul of the
Messiah, like that of Adam, incorporates all the souls
of the Jewish people, from the forefathers until the
last generation. Every Jew has his place in the soul
of the Messiah. By working to refine one's own soul,
the collective soul of the Messiah is built, and the
redemption draws nearer.
2Chagiga 12a
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer
Shore
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THE PILLAR OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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Section 31
Be very careful what you say [in the morning, before
praying]. Our Sages were strict even regarding
permissible words, such as greeting someone before
prayer,1 because even this can cause a
blemish. It is
known that the world was created with thought,
speech and action. The first level is thought.
Speech is an offshoot of thought, and action an
offshoot of speech. When a person rises each
morning, he is a new creation, as the verse
says: "They are new every morning"
(Lamentations
3:23). If his first words are mundane (and all the
more so, if they are forbidden),2
everything he says
later will be influenced by them, even his prayers and
Torah studies. Because just as speech follows from
thought, so the second word follows from the
first.
1Berachos 14a.
2Such as profanity, gossip or
slander.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer
Shore
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THE LIGHT OF THE EYES
On the Greatness of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 22
The Zohar says: "If a person is worthy, they give him
the nefesh-soul. If he is more worthy, they give him
the
ruach-soul. If he is still more worthy, they give him
the
neshama-soul. And finally, if he is extremely worthy,
they give him
the neshama to the neshama-soul."1
Rabbi
Mordechai of Chernobyl said that the Baal Shem Tov
attained the neshama to the neshama-soul. It is
known that the nefesh comes from the
world of Asiyah (Action), the ruach from Yetzirah, the
neshama from Beriyah, and the neshama to the
neshama from Atzilus. The soul of the Baal Shem Tov
was from the world of Atzilus.2
Tzror HaChaim, p. 29a, in the name of the Trisker
Rav
1Zohar 2:94b
2The highest of the four spiritual worlds.
See the
work Zohar Chai, by the Komarno Rebbe: "Our Master
the Baal Shem Tov merited the nefesh-soul from the
world of Atzilus, and our Master the Arizal merited the
ruach-soul [from the world of Atzilus]."
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer
Shore
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 32
"Today I arrived at the well."1
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The Divine Name connected with translocation is
found in the acronym of these words.2
"If she was speaking with someone in the
market.."3
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
This teaching can be understood with another
one: "The one who reviews his lessons one hundred
times is not comparable to the one who reviews his
lessons one hundred and one times,"4
that is, one hundred times with One — with G d.
Hence, a person must be able to remain with One —
with G d — even when one is speaking mundane
conversation in the market: he must be able to see
G d in that conversation.5
1Genesis 24:42
2 This alludes to the singular Force that
connects the earth with the heavens, meaning that
the Supernal Light is evident even in the darkness on
earth. From G d's perspective, this is of course
always true, but in order for it to be true from our
perspective, this truth must be a vivid reality in one's
life. When this is so, one is close to G d, and as
such, is not limited by the normal constrictions of
time and space (Sod Yesharim II 72b).
3Tractate Ketuboth 13:1
4Tractate Chagigah 9b
5 This teaching was probably placed
together with the previous one because the
verse, "Today I arrived at the well," (which contains
an allusion to the Divine Name and to what was said
in n. #2,) was said in mundane conversation, i.e. it
was expressed while maintaining G d
consciousness.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua
Starrett
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