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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE GANG OF
ROBBERS
"He (G d) drove away man, and stationed the
Cherubim at the east of Eden, along with the
revolving sword blade to guard the path of the Tree
of Life." (Bereishis 3:24)
And it was known that before Rabbi Yisrael Ben
Eliezer
(later known as the Baal Shem Tov) revealed himself,
he spent his time in seclusion, meditating, learning
Torah, and studying with his spiritual Master
(Achiyah HaShaloni). He lived deep in the Carpathian
Mountains with his wife Chana and frequently took
long walks in the mountains.
Once, Rabbi Yisrael was walking in mountains at a
place where two cliffs were separated by a deep
ravine formed with very steep walls. Being that he
was in a deep state of meditation, he didn't notice
that he was walking near the edge of one of the
cliffs.
At the same time, a gang of robbers happened to be
meeting on the opposite cliff across the ravine.
They suddenly noticed the Baal Shem Tov walking
towards the edge of the cliff. At first, they thought
they should quickly hide. But then they realized he
wasn't paying the slightest attention to them. In
fact, it looked as if he was in a trance. When it
appeared that he was going to walk off the edge of
the cliff, they all gasped and yelled, "Stop!"
But just as the Baal Shem Tov stepped off the edge,
the two cliffs miraculously moved towards each other
and joined together. The Baal Shem Tov continued
walking as if nothing had happened. Then the cliffs
separated as they were before. The robbers were
dumbfounded. They didn't say a word to him as he
walked past. For the next few hours, the Baal Shem
Tov kept walking and crossing the cliffs again and
again. Each time, they moved towards each other
as he walked across and then returned to their
original location. The robbers realized without a
doubt that the Baal Shem Tov was a very holy
man.
Sometime later, the band of robbers went to the Baal
Shem Tov and told him what they had seen. They
asked him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a holy
man. Would you please pray for us and ask G d to
make us successful in our chosen line of
work?"
The Baal Shem Tov answered: "If you swear to me
that you will not hurt or rob one of my brethren, I will
pray as you ask." Each of the robbers swore to him
and the bargain was struck.
From that day on, the robbers would visit the Baal
Shem Tov. Sometimes to settle a dispute that has
arisen between them and sometimes just to talk with
their new friend.
Once during a friendly conversation, the Baal Shem
Tov confided to them that his dream in life was to
visit the Land of Israel. The robbers became very
excited. "Rabbi Yisrael, we know how to reach the
Land of Israel through caves and underground
passages. We've never traveled the whole distance,
but we are told that it is definitely the way. Would
you like to go?"
The Baal Shem Tov didn't hesitate for a
second. "Yes, my friends. Let's go!"
So the gang and the Baal Shem Tov gathered a few
belongings and some provisions for the way and off
they went. After a day of travel, they reached a
cave deep in the Carpathian Mountains. They lit a
torch, entered the cave and started to travel along
an unused path. For days they traveled deeper and
deeper into the earth. Finally, they reached a
narrow, underground river. The robbers said, "This is
as far as we've ever gone."
The Baal Shem Tov said in an excited tone, "Let's
cross."
Using a fallen tree, the robbers created a bridge to
ford the river. The Baal Shem Tov said, "I'll go first."
So they gave him a pole to balance with and he
crossed. Just before he stepped off the tree on the
other side of the river, he saw a flaming, revolving
sword blade. He stopped suddenly and appeared to
stare into empty space. Without explanation, he
turned back to the other side of the river and told
the gang of robbers, "My friends, the journey has
ended here."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in SHIVCHEI
HABESHT and translated IN PRAISE OF THE BAAL
SHEM TOV by Ben Amos and Mintz.
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TORAH BAAL SHEM TOV
Selection from Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah
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"In the beginning, G d created the heaven and the
earth."
It was impossible to create the world, for it would
have expanded infinitely. Therefore, G d looked at
the deeds of the wicked,1 and greatly
contracted His light.2 Then he looked at
the deeds of the righteous and drew down a line of
life, in the mystery of "below and not
below."
All of this is known from the writings of our Master,
the Arizal, and the Light of Israel, the Baal Shem
Tov.
Heichal HaBracha, Bereishis
When it arose in the will of the Blessed One's to
bestow upon the creation; that is, when He beheld
the deeds of the righteous, there was an arousal of
Will, and a great longing to give to them. Because of
this, it arose in His mind to create the world.
However, the great outpouring of love would have
completely annihilated the creation, and it therefore
had to be restrained. That is, G d looked at the
deeds of the wicked and Gevuros were aroused in
the world.3 This made it possible to
create the
world.4
Teshuos Chen, Chaye Sarah
1The Midrash states that before the
creation, G d foresaw the deeds of the righteous,
and created the world on their account. However,
the world that G d desired to create on their
account was overflowing with love for them. As
such, it was unable to exist in the Divine Effulgence.
G-d therefore looked at the deeds of the wicked,
which resulted in a withholding of His light. But it
was precisely this withholding that allows the world
to exist. There is a constant pendular movement,
between the desire to create and the desire to
restrain. This is known as "below and not
below."
2According to the teachings of the
Arizal, the first stage in creation was the tzimzum;
the contraction of G-d's light to make room for the
existence of a finite universe.
3Gevurah (pl. Gevuros)
means "strength" or "power," and refers to the
forces of contraction and restraint that G d used in
creating the world. (As the Mishnah says in Pirkei
Avos 4:1: "Who is strong? One who subdues his
own nature.")
4Implied in both this teaching and the
previous one is that deeds of the wicked also contain
a point of goodness, since they provide the context
in which G d could create the world. This reflects
the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that there is a spark of
holiness in all things, and that light shines greater
when it comes out of darkness.
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 37
Where a Psalms begins 'A song to David,' it means
that David would play, and
the Divine Presence would rest upon him; i.e. "A song
to bring holy
inspiration to David."
According to this, we should be thoroughly ashamed
of how we recite Psalms,
for when does the holy spirit ever rest upon us
afterward? Make sure, then,
that you recite them in holiness and purity, with fear
and awe.
Kesser Shem Tov, 2
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 27
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye, author of Toldos
Yaakov Yosef was opposed to the path of the
Baal Shem Tov at first, though he eventually bound
himself to the Baal Shem Tov with great love and
awe. Though there are many versions of how this
came about, the author of Shivchei
HaBesht1 relates an account that
he heard directly from Rabbi Yaakov Yosef.
The first time that Rabbi Yaakov Yosef prayed in a
house where the Baal Shem Tov was staying, he
began to weep in the middle of his prayers more than
ever before in his life. He realized that his feelings
did not originate in himself, but came through the
influence of the Baal Shem Tov. From then on, he
attached himself to the Baal Shem Tov in
love.
Because of this [source], I did not copy here the
lengthy stories from the books Notzer
Tenah2 or Ma'asiyot u'Ma'amarim
Yikarim.3
Tzror HaChayim, p. 10d
1The first book of stories about the Baal
Shem Tov, published in 1814, 55 years after his
death. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef passed away in
1782.
2By Shimon Rebi, published in Krakow,
1899.
3By Yeshaya Wolf Tzikernik, published in
Zhitomer, 1903.
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 39
Rabbi Ze'ira said, "Whoever repeats the Shema
Yisrael should be silenced."
Rabbi Papa asked Abaye, "Perhaps this person
simply did not concentrate well the first time, and
the second time he is able to concentrate."
"Does G d have any friends in heaven? If he is unable
to concentrate the first time," he answered him, "He
is struck with a sledgehammer until he is able to
concentrate."1
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The question still remains that perhaps this person
wants to repeat the verse because he was unable to
concentrate the first time, and now he wants to
fulfill his obligation and recite it with concentration.
Furthermore, why does Rabbi Ze'ira only speak about
someone who repeated the Shema Yisrael, and not
about any other verse in the Keriath Shema, or any
other verse, for that matter?
This can be understood by understanding what it
means to accept the yoke of heaven. A person
should believe that G d's glory fills all worlds, and
that there is nothing in which He does not exist.
Thus, G d's existence is inherent in all of man's
thoughts, and each and every human thought is a
complete spiritual structure on its own. Hence, when
an untoward thought arises in one's mind during
prayer, it arises so that he rectifies it and raises it
back to its Source. If one does not believe this,
then one has not fully accepted the yoke of heaven,
for he is placing a limit on G d's existence.
Thus, the person who repeated the Keriath Shema
was because he had an untoward thought the first
time. But had he known that even in that untoward
thought he could have found G d, he would not have
had to repeat the verse. This is what the Talmud
alludes to by being struck with a
sledgehammer.2 The thoughts
themselves are striking the person like a
sledgehammer so that he rectify them and elevate
them, so why does he have to repeat the Shema,
which implies that G d could not be found in his first
recitation. By doing so, he places a limit on G d's
existence, and in the acceptance of the yoke of
heaven, which is why he must be
silenced.3
However, sometimes there are thoughts that one
must push aside. The question is then, how is one
to know which to push aside and which to elevate?
The answer is that one should take note if when the
untoward thought arises in one's mind, if a
corresponding thought of how to rectify and elevate
it arises simultaneously in one's mind, then one
should work with that thought to elevate it.
However, if the thought of rectifying and elevating
the untoward thought does not arise in one's mind,
then the untoward thought was probably sent to him
simply to confuse him and distract him from his
prayers. In that case, one may push the thought
aside, following the rule, "If someone is pursuing you
to kill you, you may kill him
first."4
In conclusion, if one has recited several words of the
Keriath Shema or the prayers without proper
concentration, one should not repeat those words
orally, but one may think those words in his
mind.5
1Tractate Brakhoth 33a-34b
2The usual understanding of this phrase
in the Talmud is that he should be struck with
a sledgehammer, but the Baal Shem Tov explains it
to be saying that he is being struck by a
sledgehammer.
3In this context, the opening
exclamation, "Does G d have friends in heaven?"
means that if one could say that G d is not alone in
heaven, then one could argue that He is not
everywhere, since He has to "share" the world with
other beings, but since this is not so, then He must
be everywhere, as the Baal Shem Tov says here.
4Brakhoth 58a
5This entire section is from the Ben
Porath Yoseph 50b-c. The Avodath Yisrael (at
the end of Terumah) also quotes the idea, but with a
nuance of meaning. He says that the reason why
the untoward thought arose in the person's mind was
because he was anyway not concentrating properly.
Although some Chassidic texts warn against working
with untoward thoughts in this way, saying that only
tzaddikim should tackle this advanced spiritual
practice, because one can easily get caught up in
and carried away by the actual untoward thought,
this warning may not apply if all one does is only
acknowledges the presence of the thought,
attributes it to G d, and just lets it pass by.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua
Starrett
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