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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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STRENGTH OF A
TZADDIK'S WORDS
He shall write her a bill of divorce. . . .(Deuteronomy
24:1)
The words of the righteous can change
the world.
(Divrei
Chassidim)
And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov
came to visit the city of Slutsk. Many of the local
inhabitants came to greet him. Among them was the
aged scholar, Reb Una Noson Nata, who as a youth
was known as the Ilui (genius) of Karinik.
His son Reb Shlomo had been educated
by him at home, and then at the age of fourteen, left
home to seek a scholarly environment - first in Vilna,
then in Jorodna, and then in Cracow. There he had
met a prominent scholar, Reb Menachem Aryeh, who
was a hidden Tzaddik. Reb Shlomo accepted him as
his disciple in the study of Chassidus on condition
that their connection be kept secret
.
At the
age of
about twenty-two, Reb Shlomo returned to Slutsk. His
father was overjoyed with his progress in learning,
and arranged a marriage with the daughter of a
leaseholder of an inn, Reb Eliyahu Moshe, who lived
in a nearby village.About a half a year after their
marriage, however, the young wife lost her sanity.
Since she was not in a mental state to legally accept a
bill of divorce, Reb Shlomo was unable to
remarry.
During the Baal Shem Tov's visit to Slutsk, Reb
Shlomo's father, Reb Una Noson Nata, described
their sad situation to him and asked for his advice and
blessing. Also, the unfortunate woman's father, Reb
Eliyahu Moshe also asked the Baal Shem Tov for his
advice and a blessing for her recovery.
The Baal Shem Tov invited both fathers to
meet
with him together. He politely asked them if either of
them bore a grudge against the other. The
bridegroom's father, Reb Una Nosson Nata, had
nothing but praise for his mechutan, the bride's
father. Despite the pressure of business, he fixed
times for the study of Torah, maintained a hospitable
house that was open to all corners, supported
Talmudic scholars generously, and maintained his
son-in-law in the most respectable manner. Since
Reb Shlomo had been mentioned, Reb Eliyahu
Moshe now spoke most highly of his noble character.
He was clearly proud of his son-in-law, who
throughout his stay in the village always found time on
weekdays to conduct study circles for the simple
farming folk who lived round about, teaching them
Chumash with Rashi's commentary, and the moral
lessons of Ayn Yaakov; and on Shabbos he would
read for them from the Midrash and the Ethics of the
Fathers. While teaching, he imbued them with a
brotherly love for each other, explaining to them that
no man's profit ever came at the expense of that
which Divine Providence had destined for another. In
a word, he was well loved by the villagers from all
around. They were saddened by his present plight,
and prayed that his young wife would be restored to
complete health, and that he would return to teach
them as in happier times.
The Baal Shem Tov listened carefully to
them
both, and then said: "With G-d's help, I will be able to
help the young woman return to complete health and
restore her mind to its original clarity - but only on
one condition: That when this happens the young
couple not live together, and when several days have
passed, and she is in a fit state according to the
Torah Law to accept a Get (bill of divorce), she
accepts a divorce from her husband with a willing
heart."
The two fathers were stunned! The aged
father of
Reb Shlomo proposed various legal objections to
such a divorce, and Reb Eliyahu Moshe argued that
his daughter would be grieved by such a procedure,
since she respected her husband highly. He was
certain that his son-in-law would likewise be
distressed. He himself was prepared to contribute an
enormous sum to charity - in the merit of which he
begged the Baal Shem Tov to pray for her recovery,
but to allow the young couple to rejoin each other in
the love and harmony to which they were
accustomed. The Baal Shem Tov answered
unequivocally - that if they did not agree to the
condition that he had stipulated, he would not be able
to help them.
A few days later they called on the Baal
Shem Tov
together with the young Reb Shlomo, and told him that
they accepted his condition - though of course they
could not guarantee that the young woman would
agree. The Baal Shem Tov heard their reply, and told
Reb Eliyahu Moshe to go home and tell his sick ailing
daughter that the Baal Shem Tov had come to Slutsk
and had asked her to come to speak with him about a
matter of importance.
The two fathers looked at each other in
amazement.
"But for the last six years," Reb Eliyahu Moshe
questioned, "she has not uttered a syllable! She has
sat herself between the stove and the wall, and can
barely be fed. In a word, the poor young woman is
utterly out of her mind. How can I possibly speak to
her?"
But the Baal Shem Tov did not reply.
Making his way homeward with a heavy
heart,
Reb Eliyahu Moshe remarked to his mechutan that if
the Baal Shem Tov had seen the state in which his
daughter was to be found, he would not have spoken
as he had. And from the very depths of his heart, Reb
Una Nosson Nata sighed in sympathy with the
sufferers from all sides.
Not so his son, Reb
Shlomo. For when before his marriage he had been
a disciple of Reb Menachem Aryeh, he had been
introduced to teachings of the Baal Shem Tov. Now
that he had met him, and had heard his teachings, he
became attached to him with all his heart. He
therefore told his father-in-law that he thought that they
should follow the instructions of the Baal Shem Tov
implicitly. Reb Una Nosson Nata added that since
they had already accepted a far more difficult
condition, they should certainly proceed to carry out
the instruction that they attempt to speak to the young
woman.
Opening the door to his house, Reb Eliyahu
Moshe found his daughter sitting in her accustomed
corner behind the stove. He told his wife all that the
Baal Shem Tov had said, adding that he was widely
reputed as a great Tzaddik. To their amazement, their
daughter suddenly rose from her place as soon as
she heard her father's words. She approached her
mother and father quietly, and in a voice they had not
heard for six years, asked who was this person who
worked wonders. They told her that the man about
whom they were speaking was named the Baal Shem
Tov, a renowned Tzaddik. She answered that before
hearing any more, she first wanted to immerse
herself in a mikveh for purification.
After going to the mikveh, the young woman
began eating, speaking and sleeping as if completely
normal, though she felt very weak. On the third day,
she had a high fever and in her delirium spoke about
the Baal Shem Tov. When her father heard her crying
and asking to be taken to the wonder-worker, he was
suddenly reminded of what this turn of events made
him forget - that the Baal Shem Tov had asked to
see her. He told her of the Baal Shem Tov's request
and she was visibly happy to receive the message.
On the very next day, accompanied her parents, she
made the journey to Slutsk.
Reb Shlomo had heard by now of his wife's
recovery, for his father-in-law had sent a special
messenger with the news. He now began to speak
with his father about the principles of Chassidus
taught by the Baal Shem Tov. He explained the
emphasis which the Baal Shem Tov gave to the
mystical teachings of the Kabbalah; the workings of
Divine Providence not only for man, but even
regarding all created things; the intrinsic holiness and
worth of even the simplest fellow Jew; the importance
and obligation of ahavas Yisrael (love of a fellow Jew);
serving G-d with a joyful heart, and so on.
The
aged scholar pondered these matters all day and
throughout the following night. On the next day, he set
out to tell the Baal Shem Tov what his son had told
him of his teachings, and added that he desired to
become his disciple. At the same meeting, he told
the Baal Shem Tov of the good news that had just
reached his son.
The Baal Shem Tov
replied that
on that same day the young woman was again
unwell, but that when her father would carry out his
mission she would recover and come to see him.
When the young woman and her parents arrived
at Slutsk, she and her husband entered the room of
the Baal Shem Tov, who told them that they would
have to divorce. With bitter tears, the unfortunate
young woman told the Baal Shem Tov how highly she
respected her husband for his refined character. If,
however he decreed that they should divorce, he must
surely know that she was unworthy of such a
righteous husband, and felt it her duty to comply.
Reb Shlomo, likewise moved, told the Baal
Shem
Tov that his wife exemplified all the noble attributes by
which the Sages define a good wife. If, however, the
Baal Shem Tov ordered that they divorce, he too would
be agreeable.
The Baal Shem Tov arranged to see them in
four
days; he would then arrange the legalities required.
For the next three days the young couple and their
parents fasted and prayed. When on the fourth day,
with heavy heats, they made their way to the Tzaddik.
They found a Rav, a scribe and two witnesses already
waiting. The Baal Shem Tov asked them if they
agreed wholeheartedly to the divorce. They answered
that they believed that whatever the Baal Shem Tov
told them would be for the best, and since they loved
each other, each of them was willing to proceed with
the divorce - for the sake of each other.
The Baal Shem Tov retired to another room and
stayed there for some time.
When he returned he related the
following: "Six
years ago a threat of terrible suffering hung over your
lives because of accusations of the Heavenly
Prosecuting Angel. The Heavenly Court's verdict was
that you should both undergo the troubles that you
have experienced these last six years. But now you
have shown great faith in my words. Even to the extent
that you were both willing to proceed with a divorce.
This very faith has freed you from the decree of the
Heavenly Court. The charge against you has been
annulled. Live on happily together as man and wife.
May you be blessed with a home filled with sons,
daughters and many grandchildren, and may you both
live to a ripe old age."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane
(Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in A
Treasury of Chassidic Tales by Zevin.
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TORAH BAAL SHEM TOV
Selection from Sefer Baal Shem Tov on the Torah
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When you go out to war against your enemies, and
the L·rd your G d gives them into your hand, so that
you will take captives. (Deuteronomy 21:10)
Through the very devices of the evil inclination, the evil
inclination itself can be defeated. If it is quick in its
work to entice a person to sin, in order to fulfill G·d's
commandment (as the Zohar relates with the parable
of the prostitute 1), then a person should
also learn to be quick in his efforts not to listen to the
evil inclination, which is the will of G·d [for him].
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Bechukosai
1The Zohar (2:163a) defines the nature
of the evil inclination with a parable: "This is like a king
who had an only son, whom he loved very much. He
ordered him not to not to associate with any evil
woman, for whoever drew near to an evil woman is
not fit to enter the king's chamber. The son promised
that he would fulfill his father's will in love. Outside the
king's palace was a prostitute, of beautiful
appearance and form. Days past, and the king said, 'I
want to see my son's commitment to me.' He called
that prostitute and told her to seduce his son. She
followed the king's son and began to hug him and
kiss him, and to seduce him in many different ways. If
that son is upright, and upholds his father's orders,
he will berate her and not listen to her, and push her
away. Then the father will be happy with his son, and
bring him into his chamber, and give him gifts and
great honor. Who caused the son to receive such
honor? That prostitute."
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 82
I heard in the name of my Master that one must bind
oneself to prayer, its mystical mediations ("kavanot"),
and unifications ("yichudim"). For it is known that a
person is a microcosm. And following a lower
arousal, there will be an arousal far above, which will
flow down until the very level that the meditator is on,
and he will receive this effluence.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 100a
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 19
A soul like that of the Baal Shem Tov comes into this
world once in a thousand years.
R. Yisroel of Koshnitz, in the name of the Tzaddikim of
Karlin
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 108
"When all these things happen to you - the blessing
and the curse - then you will take it to heart. . . . and
return to G·d."1
The Baal Shem Tov taught:2
We can understand
why one would repent in response to suffering, but
why does the verse mention also blessing?
This can be explained with the following parable:
There was once a peasant who rebelled against the
king, striking and stoning the king's statue. Upon
hearing, the king immediately appointed him to a
position in his government, and continued to elevate
him higher and higher, until the peasant became the
viceroy. But the more the king treated him nicely and
elevated him to a higher position, and the more he
witnessed the dignity of the king and the royal palace,
the more this peasant was pained when he
remembered how he had rebelled against this great
and benevolent king, and that rather than punishing
him justly, the king is treating him graciously.
But the king acted this way intentionally, for had the
king simply put the peasant to death, the peasant
would have suffered momentary pain and no more.
This way, though, the peasant lives in constant pain
for the rest of his life, and his pain increases each
time the king elevates him, by causing the peasant to
beat himself over how he ever dared to rebel against
such dignity.
This parable is alluded to in the verse, "G·d is a G·d of
vengeance. G·d of vengeance reveal
Yourself!"3 G·d
exacts vengeance by way of His mercy,4
unlike the
norm for a human king. This is accomplished when
G·d reveals His greatness to someone, who is then
pained by realizing how he has rebelled against such
a great King. What greater pain can there be?
This, then, is the meaning of returning to G·d in
response to "the blessing and the curse." When a
person sins and rebels against G·d - the Great and
Awesome King, the Master and Controller, the Root
and Source of all worlds - that person deserves to be
punished severely. But instead, G·d grants him
blessing. There can be no greater curse or suffering
than this, from his knowing that he rebelled against
G·d, Who only graciously blesses him with good. This
person will certainly weep bitterly in pain for the rest of
his life for his having rebelled against
G·d.5
And this pain, which is greater than any punishment
could exact, is itself the atonement.
1Deuteronomy
30:1.
2Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph,
Bo
3Psalms
94:1.
4This is alluded to by the fact
that the Divine Name of mercy is used in this
verse.
5Reality, though, seems to
contradict this, because the most fortunate and
materially blessed people in the world are rarely the
most righteous, and in fact, sometimes quite to the
contrary. This is because these people do not
acknowledge that their blessing comes from G·d, and
they have no inkling of G·d's greatness. Indeed, the
Toldot (ibid.) concludes that this teaching only applies
to an understanding person, but when the spiritual
fool sees that he can act against G·d's Will without
forfeiting his bounty, he thinks that either his bounty
does not come from G·d, or that there is no difference
to G·d between the saint and the sinner.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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