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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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PESACH
"The people believed in G d and Moses His servant."
(Exodus 14:31)
And then there was the time that Rabbi
Dovid Leikes, one of the Chevrayah Kadisha, was
speaking with several followers of his son-in-law, Reb
Mottel of Chernobyl (also known as the Chernobyler
Rebbe).
Reb Dovid asked the followers of Reb Mottel, "Tell me.
Do you have perfect faith in your Rebbe, Reb
Mottel?"
None of the men responded.
After a pause Reb Dovid persisted, "So nu?"
Finally, one of Reb Mottel's adherents came back
with, "Who can say he has perfect faith?"
Reb Dovid nodded and continued. "My friends, let me
tell you a story about faith. Once, several of us in the
Chevrayah Kadisha spent a Shabbos at an inn with
the Rebbe. As usual, Seudah Shlishit went late into
the night."
"The Baal Shem Tov told us of the mystical insights
he had received while meditating, praying, and
studying Torah during that Shabbos.When he
finished speaking, we Benched, said Maariv and then
Havdalah. "
"Immediately afterwards," Reb Dovid continued, "we
sat down together with the Baal Shem Tov for Melava
Malkah."
"After a few minutes, the Baal Shem Tov turned to me
and said, 'Reb Dovid, reach into your pocket and take
out a gulden, please, and buy us some mead (honey
wine) from the inn keeper.'"
"I was still wearing my Shabbos clothes and of course
I never carry money on Shabbos. Yet, without thought
or hesitation, I reached into my pocket to take out the
gulden, as my Rebbe had requested. And — the most
amazing thing! I found a gulden in my
pocket."
The disciples of Reb Mottel, after hearing this story,
commented to Reb Dovid, "You know, that is really not
that amazing. It's just another miracle story about the
Baal Shem Tov."
"Yes. That is so," said Reb Dovid. "But the point of my
telling you the story is not to show that the Baal Shem
Tov does miracles. My point is that my faith in my
Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, is so great that I didn't
even think to question his request. I just reached into
my pocket for the money. That it was there is
secondary."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a letter from the Rav of
Medzibush as 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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PESACH
"Then G d said to Moses: 'Behold, I will make bread
rain down to you from heaven; and the people will go
out and gather enough for each day." (Exodus 3:4)
.
A poor person has the privilege of speaking to the
Holy One every day. A rich person, however, receives
all his sustenance from G d at once, and doesn't
need to ask Him for his daily requirements — not
unless he is very righteous, and realizes that
everything he owns is worthless, without G d giving it
life-force to sustain him. The proof is that a sick
person has all the food he needs, but still cannot
sustain himself.
A poor person, with nothing to eat, must beseech G d
each day. Thus, he merits speaking to Him every
day.
Furthermore, G d must also remember the poor
person daily, to arrange his livelihood. However, G d
does not need to remember a rich person each day,
for He already gave him everything at one
time.
Rav Yebi, Tehilim
Translation and commentary by
Rabbi Doctor Eliezer Shore
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THE LIGHT OF THE EYES
On the Greatness of the Baal Shem Tov
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A man once came to the Baal Shem Tov with
a question. He had studied the natural sciences and
philosophy, and discovered that according to the laws
of nature, the Red Sea was supposed to split at that
very moment the Children of Israel arrived
there.
"Why, then, do we believe that the
splitting of the sea was such a great thing?, he kept
asking himself. This question deeply troubled him so
deeply that he decided to travel to the Baal Shem
Tov.
When he arrived there, even before
presenting his question, the Baal Shem Tov went to
the study hall, where he summoned all the
townspeople to hear a sermon.
"There are
fools and heretics in this world who have trouble
believing that the splitting of the sea was a miracle,"
he said. "These people have eyes, but cannot see. It
is written: 'In the beginning, G d created the heavens
and the earth.' G d's Name 'Elokim' has the
numerical value of 'Nature,' for nature is also created
by G d. Thus, the Sages said on the verse: 'And the
sea returned to its strength' (Exodus 14:27), that 'G d
made a condition with the sea.' From the very
beginning, G d built it into the sea to split before the
Children of Israel at that time. This makes the miracle
even greater! For from the beginning of creation, G d
created the natural order for the sake of Israel, as it
says: 'In the beginning' — for the sake of Israel, who is
called 'the beginning.' This nature of the sea was
created for Israel. Had they not required this miracle,
G d would not have built it into the sea."
Beis Yaakov, Bereishis and
Beshalach
Translation and commentary by
Rabbi Doctor Eliezer Shore
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