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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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REB YOSSELE
"Thus shall you do for them so they shall live and not
die." (Bamidbar 4:19)
AND it happened that the father of
Reb Yossele Chatiner was a Chassid of the Baal
Shem Tov. Before Reb Yossele's father had any
children, he begged his Rebbe, the Baal Shem
Tov, "Please, Rebbe, give me a blessing to have a
son."
The Baal Shem Tov answered, "I will give you a
blessing to have a son. But, you must know that your
son will become rebellious (ben sorer
u'moreh)."
The father asked, "But Rebbe, will my son return to the
path of Judaism?"
The Baal Shem Tov thought for a minute and then
answered slowly, "Yes, eventually."
Without another thought, the father answered, "Yes,
Rebbe, please give me a blessing for a
son."
And so, within the year, Yossele was born to overjoyed
parents. For awhile, everything with Yossele seemed
normal. But after his Bar Mitzvah, Yossele started to
become rebellious, and eventually declared himself
an apostate (renounced his Jewish faith). With time,
Yossele fell so low that he completely lost all
semblance of his Jewishness.
After many fights with his parents, Yossele left his
father's house and went to live and work with a
cobbler, who was also a Jewish apostate.
Yossele's father was extremely distressed over this
situation with his son. He went to the Baal Shem Tov
and said, "Rebbe, if I had known that my son would
turn out this way, I would not have begged you for a
blessing to have a son. It would have been better had
my son never been born!"
The Baal Shem Tov reminded him, "After all, I did tell
you that the boy would turn rebellious."
"That's true but I didn't know then how I would feel
about it. Everyday I feel sick when I think about how
my son is acting," said the father.
The Baal Shem Tov felt compassion for the
anguished father and said, "I will give you an amulet
(hand written charm to bring good fortune)." So the
Baal Shem Tov wrote out an amulet on a piece of
parchment and gave it to the father. "Now, if you can
arrange for your son to touch this amulet, he will do
Teshuva (return to the Jewish path of serving
G·d)."
The father took the amulet home and patiently waited
until his son was away. Then, he snuck into the
cobbler's house and hid the amulet among a pile of
his son's things, where he would certainly touch
it.
Later, Yossele returned and eventually
reached into the pile of his things where the amulet
was hidden. When Yossele touched the amulet, he
was suddenly overcome with tremendous shock and
fear. "What have I done!?" he cried. He immediately
regretted all of his many sins. Reb Yossele decided
to travel to the Baal Shem Tov and beg for help in
returning to the Jewish path followed by his father and
forefathers.
The Baal Shem Tov greeted him warmly and
asked, "What can I do for you, Reb
Yossele?"
"Please Rebbe, I've fallen from the path. Help me
return."
And so the Baal Shem Tov taught Reb Yossele the
path of Teshuva.
In time, Reb Yossele became a great Tzaddik (Holy
man). He traveled around the Ukrainian countryside,
urging Jews to return to a Jewish life.
Wherever R. Yossele went, he would tell him his own
story. He would always end the story with, "Look, my
dear brothers and sisters, just how far Teshuva
reaches. I was already at the forty-ninth gate of
impurity as the Jews were in Egypt when G·d
personally came and took them out. Now, through
doing Teshuva and following the path of the Baal
Shem Tov, I've reached such a high level that I can
read people's thoughts. But you, my brothers and
sisters, who have not sinned very much, if you do a
heartfelt Teshuva, can you imagine what spiritual
levels you can reach?"
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Kovetz Eliyahu,
by R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg, entry Baal Shem Tov 3.
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TORAH BAAL SHEM TOV
Selection from Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah
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"And G·d spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert, in the
Tabernacle of Meeting." (Bamidbar
1:1
Until the Tabernacle was erected, He spoke with him
at the [burning] bush, and afterward, "G·d spoke to
Moses and Aharon in the land of Egypt" (Exodus
12:1); And He spoke with him in Midian; And He
spoke to him at Sinai; But once the Tabernacle was
erected, He said, "Modesty is the best," as it
says, "Walk modestly with your
G·d."1
Rabbi Moshe Isserles writes: "A person should not
be ashamed if other people mock him in his service of
G·d. He should also act modestly."2
That is, when should he not be ashamed of others?
When he acts modestly. For the main thing is that
one's Torah study and service of G·d be done in truth
and faith. One's words and heart should be together,
be he among others or alone.3
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Ki Setze, p. 198a
There are two types of laughter: When a person is on
the level that the entire world laughs at him, for "He
who departs from evil makes himself ridiculous."
(Isaiah 59:15) And when he laughs at the entire
world, and serves G·d with complete confidence, for
G·d is with him on his path.4
Rishpei Esh HaShalom 211
1Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar
1:3
2Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim
1:1, based upon Micah 6:8: "What does the
L·rd require of you, but to do justly and to love true
loyalty, and to walk modestly with your G·d?" Rabbi
Isserles seems to present these as two separate
traits: not to be embarrassed of others, and to be
modest in one's behavior, even when alone in one's
house (See Mishnah Berurah, note 7). The
Baal Shem Tov explains the connection between the
two.
3Meaning, when a person is completely
sincere in his service of G·d, and behaves the same
whether he is at home alone or with others, then he
will not be ashamed when others mock him.
However, if his piety is only external and done to
impress others, he should certainly be ashamed
when others mock him. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of
Polnoye also writes in the name of the Baal Shem Tov
that when a person is attached to G·d, he will pay
absolutely no to those who mock him. Only when he
falls from his spiritual attachment will the attitude of
others affect him.
4Admonitions like these were especially
important for the early Chasidim, who broke
conventions with the ecstatic prayers and
performance of mitzvos. However, they apply to us as
well. A person may feel that people are laughing at
him for choosing to fulfill G·d's will. However, he or
she can laugh at the world, knowing that G·d is with
him, and that he follows a path of meaning and
spiritual growth.
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 66
At times, a person may long to pray with enthusiasm,
but cannot because his limbs feel heavy. Therefore,
King David prayed, "Do not cast me off in the time of
old age." (Psalms 71:9) That is, when my
limbs feel heavy like those of an old person.
Ohr Torah, Ekev
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 3
When the Maggid of Mezeritch wanted to take leave of
the Baal Shem Tov, the latter objected and kept
delaying his exit. When the Maggid asked the Baal
Shem Tov why he prevented him from going, he
replied that his mind was like a flowing spring, and
the more you draw from a spring, the stronger it
flows.1
1The Degel Machane Ephraim writes on
this: "Every person, in relation to his friends who heed
him, who are the aspect of students, is like a fountain
of wisdom, flowing every stronger the more they draw
from him, the same way a spring flows." As long as
the Maggid was with the Baal Shem Tov, the latter's
mind flowed with spiritual insights. When he left, the
spring flowed less.
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 86
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
It is known that the Hebrew letter aleph represents
wisdom and thought, as the verse
alludes.1 With this we can understand
the first verse in the Torah, "Breishith bara Elokim,"
which the Targum renders, "G·d created with 'reishith,'
with wisdom," which is the letter Aleph. Hence, G·d
created the world with the letter aleph.
For all of the twenty-two letters of the aleph-beit
are "garments" for one another. For example, the
aleph is hidden within the beit, because beit is
numerically two - two alephs, each of which is
numerically one. Similarly, the gimel is three
alephs.
Thus, the initial stage of creation was with the letter
aleph, which represents wisdom, meaning that
everything was created with wisdom, as the verse
indeed says, "You created everything with
wisdom."2 Hence, the spirit of G·d was
enclothed within the aleph, with which G·d created the
light - the ohr [which begins with the letter aleph],
which is the Light of the World of Atziluth [which begins
with an aleph]. After that, the spirit of G·d in the letter
aleph became enclothed within the letter beit, with
which G·d created the World of
Beriah.3
1Job 33:33
2Psalms 104:24
3Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, Breishith
#1
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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