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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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REB YOSSELE
"When Moses came into the Tabernacle, to speak
[with G·d], he would hear the Voice speaking with
him." (Naso 7:89)
AND it happened that in the town of
Mezibush, where the Baal Shem Tov lived, there was
a successful businessman by the name of Reb
Naftali, who owned a local dry-goods business. Reb
Naftali worked long hours in his store, and had little
time to devote to Torah study, communal activities, or
even some family gatherings. He reasoned, that as
he was so occupied with his business, the generous
charity he gave to the needy would make up for his
lack of Torah study, and that his family would surely
understand that he was working for their
benefit.
Reb Naftali and his wife had an only son,
Yoseph, who worked with his father in his
store.
Reb Yoseph was well learned in Torah
and known for his "midos tovos" - fine character
traits. Reb Yosef would travel a few times each year to
the city of Breslau to buy merchandise to stock his
father's store.
Usually, the trip took about one month. Once, Reb
Yosef departed for Breslau as usual, but after a month
he had not yet returned. His parents were not overly
concerned, as sometimes he would find additional
merchandise to examine, which could take additional
time. But after two months had passed and there was
no sign or word from their son, they became worried
for his safety.
Reb Naftali's wife begged her husband to
speak to the Baal Shem Tov for advice and a blessing
for their son's safe return. But Reb Naftali came from
a family of misnagdim - those fiercely opposed to the
Holy Baal Shem Tov and his teachings and he
refused.
Finally, Reb
Naftali's wife begged him: "Please Naftali, put aside
your personal feelings and your family's dislikes, and
ask the Baal Shem Tov for his advice about our son.
People travel from all over to Mezibush to seek his
advice and blessing, and he helps them. You who live
right here, - five minutes away, refuse to go?
The welfare of our son may be at stake! I beg you to
go!"
But Reb Naftali wasn't easily swayed by
his wife's pleading, and he still refused to go. But as
the days passed and Reb Yosef still did not return
home,
Reb Naftali became increasingly worried. "What could
be so bad about asking the Baal Shem Tov his
opinion?" he reasoned. So he made his way to the
Baal Shem Tov's shule.
It was late Friday afternoon, before the holy
Sabbath, when he approached the Baal Shem Tov's
gabai (assistant) to ask if he could have a few
minutes of his Rebbe's time. When he was admitted
to the Baal Shem Tov's study, he asked, "Rabbi, it is
more than two months since our only son, Reb Yosef
left for Breslau to purchase merchandise for our
store. He hasn't yet returned, and we've heard not a
word from him or about him."
The Baal Shem Tov sat quietly at his desk
for a moment, then rose and walked to his bookshelf
and removed a volume of the holy Zohar from the
shelf. He opened it at random and closely studied the
page open before him. After a few minutes of silence,
he looked up at Reb Naftali and said, "Your son is
alive and well and with G·d's help he will stay this very
Shabbos in a small village not too far from
here."
Reb Naftali couldn't believe his
ears! "How could that be?" he thought. "No doubt his
son knows his parents are worried about him. If he
were close to home, surely he would spend whatever
necessary to rent a carriage and return home for
Shabbos. Perhaps he ran out of money?" he
thought.
It would soon be Shabbos, so Reb
Naftali quickly arranged for one of his non-Jewish
servants to take a carriage and ride to the nearby
village and to remain there until nightfall. Perhaps his
son would arrive in enough time to travel home with
his servant before Shabbos started.
It was well after dark when Reb Naftali's
servant returned and reported that Reb Yoseph had
not arrived in the village.
Reb Naftali was livid! "You see," he
screamed at his wife, "This proves what I've been
saying. This rabbi is a fake, with words of empty
promises. It's probably just another scheme to make
money."
In fact, Reb Yoseph had set out for
Mezibush with ample time to arrive home before the
Sabbath. But, Divine providence would have it
otherwise, and his wagon had broken down several
times on the road. He arrived at the little village as
predicted by the Baal Shem Tov just minutes before
the beginning of the Sabbath - just enough time to
find lodging in the local Inn. He remained there until
the holy Sabbath had ended, and then returned home,
where his parents where overjoyed to see him in good
health.
When Reb Yoseph explained his delay to
his parents, Reb Naftali realized that the Baal Shem
Tov's words were indeed true.
He immediately went to the Baal Shem
Tov to ask forgiveness. "Rebbe, I have said some
terrible things about you. Please forgive me."
The Baal Shem Tov smiled. "Don't worry
Reb Naftali - all has turned out for the best. I
completely forgive you for whatever you may have
said."
Then Reb Naftali asked the Baal Shem
Tov, "Rebbe, how were you able to know the
whereabouts of my son?"
The Baal Shem Tov explained, "To The
Almighty, each Jew is a ben yochid - an only son.
Just as a father is always mindful of his only child, and
always tries to protect him from danger, so to our
Father Above protects each and every Jew as if he or
she were His only child. Sometimes, even the Jew
who realizes that he is a ben yochid, becomes lost, or
perhaps overly 'occupied' with material pursuits. Then
he may forget that his father is concerned about him.
And sometimes, the father needs to send
a 'messenger' to remind his son of his purpose in
this world."
"You asked how I knew of your son's
whereabouts. The Almighty first created light and then
put it into the Torah. The light
illuminates. If one can use it correctly, one can see
from one end of the world to the other, and even use it
to find a lost child."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Shivchei Halest
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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"Speak unto the children of Israel: When a man or
woman shall commit any sin that men commit, to
commit a trespass against the L·rd, and that soul is
guilty. Then they shall confess their sin which they
have done; and he shall make restitution for his guilt
in full." (Naso 5:6)
I heard from my Master (the Baal Shem Tov) that the
pleasure of sin derives from the sparks of the
Primordial Kings that fell during the Shattering [of the
Vessels] into the Bright Shell (Kelipos
Nogah).1 It is through this very spark
that a person comes to repent. For when a person
regrets his sins, he uplifts this spark to the Supernal
World, as it is written, "Who bears iniquity." (Exodus
34:7)2
Tzafnah Paneach, Terumah 3, p.
90b3
1The Zohar and Lurianic writings speak
of a cataclysmic event at the early stages of the
creation called the "Breaking of the Vessels," or
the "Death of the Eight Kings," based upon the verse
from Genesis 36:31: "These are the kings that
reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned any
king over the children of Israel." According to this
teaching, the light that emanated from the G·d Head to
fill the vessels of creation was too strong, and the
eight lower Sefiros, from Da'at to Malchus, shattered
and fell into the Kelipos Nogah, a realm of creation
that stands between the pure and the impure. (See
Sefer HaTanya for a full discussion of this level of
creation and our relationship to it.) These are the
sparks of holiness that are enclothed in and enliven
all elements of creation. They are the spiritual root of
all physical pleasure, including the pleasure derived
from sin. It is the role of human beings to uplift these
sparks to their supernal root. This is done through the
path of Torah and mitzvos, and in the case of sin,
through the act of repentance, as this teaching of the
Baal Shem Tov explains.
2That is, a person who repents literally
bears, or lifts up, the sin that he committed and
returns the spark of holiness to its source.
3The second paragraph in this
translation is from Tzivos HaRivash, p.
19b.
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 67
"Do not cast me off in the time of old age." That is, do
not cast time into old age, for it can happen that with
the passing of time a person's service of G·d falls into
old age.
Ohr HaMeir, Yisro
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 4
When the Baal Shem Tov would study Torah with his
holy students, they would be surrounded by fire, and
the ministering angels would gather around them.
They would hear the voices and thunder [of Mount
Sinai], and hear the words "I am the L·rd your G·d,"
from the mouth of G·d.
This is very famous.
Heichal HaBracha, Va'eschanan
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 87
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
"Sweetening the harsh judgments at their source,"
spoken about in the writings of the Arizal, is
accomplished by a transmutation of letters, for any
decree is only letters. This is the deeper meaning of
Noah being instructed to make a window - a tzohar -
in the ark: he was supposed to mitigate the harsh
judgments into mercy by transmuting the letters of
misfortune - tzarah - to
tzohar.1
This is also alluded to in the verse, "When you go out
to war against an enemy [in Hebrew, ha'tzar], sound
a stacatto on the trumpets."2 For the
sound of a stacatto arouses joy, the opposite of the
sound of the shofar, which arouses fear. This means
that by accepting the pangs of battles with joy, the
suffering - tzarah - is transformed into Divine grace -
ratzah.
This is accomplished by binding the harsh judgments
connected with Malkut to Binah,3 or by
finding within the harsh judgments some element of
kindness to which the judgment can be attributed.
Then, the harsh judgment is mitigated at its source in
kindness, and is revealed to be indeed
kindness.4
1Furthermore, the Hebrew word for ark
can also mean a word. Thus the verse would be
explicitly saying, Make the word into tzohar!
2Numbers 10:9
3Malkhut is connected with a state
of "not knowing," as the Malkhut is referred to
as "having no eyes," while Binah is connected with a
state of understanding. Hence, when one is able to
transcend one's not knowing, to submit one's human
understanding to that of G·d, one is able to mitigate
the harsh judgments by accepting them as being
G·d's "better judgment," even if one does not
understand it.
4Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, Noah
#3
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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