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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE INHOSPITABLE
RABBI
"And he said [to the three angels disguised as men],
'My Lords, if I find favor in your eyes, please pass
not away from your servant.'" (Bereishis 18:3)
Our father Avraham, on the third day after his
circumcision, when the pain is the greatest and the
patient is most weakened, made a great effort to
welcome his guests.
And then there was, in the time of the Baal Shem
Tov, a strong opposition to the
"Sect," later known as the Chassidic movement. This
opposition was led by learned Torah scholars who
feared that the wisdom of Torah would be diminished
by the teaching of Chassidus, and its appeal to the
simple, unlearned Jews.
In one small town, there was a Rabbi who was a
virulent opponent of the Baal Shem Tov. The Rabbi
went so far as to issue a decree to the members of
his community that they were forbidden to offer any
hospitality whatsoever to the Baal Shem Tov and his
followers.
As it happened, the Baal Shem Tov and some of his
students were traveling through this town just
before Shabbos. They sought a house to spend
Shabbos. But the community, following the
instructions of their beloved Rabbi, did not offer
any hospitality. Seeing that all doors were closed
to him, the Baal Shem Tov continued on his
travels.
That very day, a woman came to the Rabbi with a
personal question regarding her purity. The Rabbi
considered the issue carefully and came to the
conclusion that she was indeed pure. Late that
night, however, he found a similar case, described
in a sefer of halacha (Jewish law), where the ruling in
a similar case was rendered as impure. He was
overwhelmed with
panic. He immediately called his shammos
(attendant) and told him, "Quickly, go to this
woman's home and tell her that she is impure." The
shammos hurried, but soon returned with the report
that he arrived too late.
The Rabbi was visibly shaken. From this time on, he
was a changed man. As he had always prided himself
in being as meticulous as possible in the
performance of every mitzvah, he could not bear the
guilt of his grave error which had caused the woman
and her husband to transgress one of the most
important laws of the Torah. As time went on, the
Rabbi became more and more anguished.
Everyone in the town watched the deterioration of
their beloved Rabbi. Doctors were brought in to
treat him. No matter what remedies were tried, the
Rabbi kept sinking into deep depression.
Finally the local people learned of a man who lived
near Medzibush, known to possess strange powers
and
able to heal people. Several of the townsfolk took
the Rabbi via a coach to meet this man. The night
they arrived, they stayed at an inn. Naturally the
conversation turned to the Rabbi and his forthcoming
meeting with the man who would hopefully heal him.
The innkeeper suggested they first visit the Baal
Shem Tov who happened to live in Medzibush, which
was nearby to the inn. "After all," said the
innkeeper, "If you've come this far already, you
should surely go to the Baal Shem Tov first."
The townsfolk accompanying the Rabbi considered the
idea. In light of their rabbi's deep-seated
distrust and dislike for the Baal Shem Tov and his
followers, they initially dismissed the idea.
"But what do we have to lose?" said one. The others
agreed and the next day they started to travel
towards Medzibush.
As they traveled, there was a noticeable change in
the Rabbi. The closer they got to the city of
Medzibush, the better the Rabbi began to feel. Soon
he began looking around him with interest and began
speaking with his usual clarity and wisdom. By the
time he stepped down from the carriage in front of
the Baal Shem Tov's beis medrash, he seemed to be
completely returned to his former good
spirits.
When the Rabbi entered the office of the Baal Shem
Tov, he was warmly greeted.
"Shalom aleichem (Peace be to you)," said the Baal
Shem Tov. "Rabbi, I've just come across a case
regarding a woman's purity that I thought you might
find to be of interest." The Baal Shem Tov had a
sefer of halacha open that he showed to the Rabbi.
"Do you see what is written here?"
When the Rabbi looked, the case discussed in the
sefer was exactly the same circumstances as those
on
which he had "incorrectly" ruled. The Rabbi
excitedly related how he had ruled regarding the
purity of a woman and, and what occurred after he
found that he had ruled incorrectly.
The Baal Shem Tov said, "Your ruling that the woman
was pure was a correct ruling. You have no reason
to feel guilty. Your confusion in this halachah
(law) was caused by your preventing me from
receiving hospitality in your town. But in the end,
everything has turned out for the best. We have
finally met and your unfounded animosity towards me
has finally dissolved and you are cured."
Later, the Rabbi became an ardent follower and
student of the Baal Shem Tov.
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in 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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"And he said, please my L rd, if I have found favor in
your eyes, please do not pass by your servant."
(Bereishis 18:3-4)
Greater is welcoming in guests than receiving the
face of the Shechinah. (Shabbat 127a)
1
Even though welcoming guests sometimes wastes a
person's time from Torah study, or can lead one to
hear defamatory stories, it is still greater than
receiving the Shechinah.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 109b
"Guest" — Oreyach is Or Chet — the "Light of Eight."
Thus, Abraham received guests, for chet is the World
to Come,2 like a guest that comes. This
is the World of Binah. Abraham was the Attribute of
Kindness (Chesed), "the day of all
days,"3 and the light of Chesed that
passes through all the Sefiros.4
Therefore, Abraham would bring the Light of Chet, of
Binah, into all the Sefiros.5 And thus,
he merited the entire Torah by means of the letter
hey added to his name.6 For this is the
World of Binah, from where the Torah issues
forth.
Degel Machane Ephraim, "Things I heard from my
Grandfather"
1The Talmud deduces this from the use
of the word L rd in the above verse, which refers to
G d, and not one of the travelers. Abraham had
been in a state of communion with G d, but when
the three travelers passed by, he asked G d to wait
while he tended to their needs.
2The number seven represent the
completion of creation, as in the seven days of the
week. The number eight (chet) represents one level
above the creation, which is the transcendent World
to Come. It also corresponds to the Sefirah of Binah,
which is the eighth Sefirah when counting up from
Malchus.
3See Be'er Mayim Chayim, on
Parashas Yisro 19:6.
4See the writings of the Arizal in the
laws on Succah.
5The Sefirah of Chesed is one below the
Sefirah of Binah and is the first the configuration of
the lower seven Sefiros, from Chesed to Malchus.
Thus, it draws from the light of Binah, which
corresponds to the World to Come, and shines it into
the Sefiros below.
6The Sages say that Abraham knew and
observed the entire Torah, as the verse
says: "Because Abraham hearkened to My voice, and
kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes,
and My laws" (Genesis 26:5). According to
the Baal Shem Tov, this is because G d added the
letter heyto his name, changing it from Abram to
Abrach) The first letter hey in the Tetragrammaton
corresponds to the Sefirah of Binah, which is the
source of the Torah.
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 40
It forbidden to pray earlier than the rest of the
congregation,1 for it precedes the
desire and agreement of all the limbs.
Kol Aryeh, Toldos
1See Berachos 28b and
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim,
90:10.
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 31
The holy rabbi of Ruzhin said that while many people
claim
that Reb Yisrael was called the Baal Shem Tov
because he used holy Names,1, this
is not the case. Rather, "The Tzaddik rules with the
fear of G d" (II Samuel 23:3), for "G d
decrees and the Tzaddik annuls."2 He
was called the Baal Shem Tov because he annulled
many decrees issued by G d against many Jewish
communities and individuals.3
Yeshuos Yisroel, 2:6
1"Baal Shem Tov" literally
means, "Master of the Good Name." The Baal Shem
Tov used these names for contemplative and healing
purposes.
2Mo'ed Katan 16b
3Meaning, the words "Master of the
Name" — Baal Shem — are read as "Master of HaShem
(G d)," for the Tzaddik has the power to annul
heavenly decrees.
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 46
"The Jewish people were not exiled until they denied
G d and the dynasty of
David."1
"The only difference between the world at the
present and the world at the time of the Messiah is
the subjugation to the [gentile]
kingdoms."2
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The Talmud teaches, "Whoever has not suffered for
forty days has received thereby his future reward.
And what is considered suffering? Even if one puts
his hand into his pocket to take out a golden coin
and instead takes out one of lesser
value."3
However, since suffering is only an atonement for
liability, how can such minor inconvenience
constitute atonement?
The explanation is that since the righteous person
lives with G d, he believes in Divine providence. This
person knows that G d is guiding all events in his life
down to the smallest minutiae, and that all his
suffering is an expression of Divine justice — DINA,
which is
represented by the Divine Name of ADoNaI — on
account of his sins.
Hence, as soon as the righteous person suffers
however slightly, he immediately [searches his soul
and] regrets [any misdoing], and becomes filled with
anxiety and fear of G d. He is thus immediately
forgiven, since he believes [that his suffering is from
G d], and he repents and binds his mind to
G d.
Therefore, even when one is only slightly
inconvenienced by having not taken out the coin he
intended, since this only happened because of his
sin, and he [is aware of this and] repents, this
constitutes atonement.
This concept is referred to as "David" [made from the
letters daleth, vav, daleth], for the Infinite One, Who
is referred to as Ayin (Nothingness), is represented
by the [first] daleth. "Nothingness" is then conveyed
via
the vav to the [second] daleth, which represents the
nadir of nothingness, which is expressed by a belief
that everything that happens is Divine providence
from G d.
However, when a person does not believe that
everything that happens is Divine providence from
G d, but rather attributes things to his own actions,
this is considered having denied G d and the
aforementioned concept of "David," for he is denying
the justice [providence] of the Kingdom of
G d/ADoNaI.
But G d's Kingdom is hidden and subservient to the
kelipoth (shells) that cover and conceal G d's
providence from mankind.4 In the
future, though, with the coming of the Messiah, who
will banish the spirit of impurity from the earth, G d's
providence will be revealed even in the minutest of
events.
With this we can understand, "The Jewish people
were not exiled until they denied G d and the
dynasty of David," and, "The only difference
between the world at present and the world at the
time of the Messiah is the subjugation to the
[gentile] kingdoms."
Understand this well,5 for everything
that a person is able to comprehend about G d is
only regarding His Malkhuth (Kingdom) but above that
cannot be comprehended.
1Yalkut Shimoni, I Samuel
#106
2Tractate Pesachim 68a
3Tractate Erkhin 16b
4These "shells" are the "laws" of
nature, the apparent cause-and-effect, and in this
case, the statistical but "chance probabilities" that
seem to govern whether one picks the gold coin or
the copper one from one's pocket.
5Until here is quoted from the
Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, VaYishlach #8. The
conclusion is that of the compiler of the Keser Shem
Tov, and its relevance to the rest of the piece is not
clear.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua
Starrett
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IF ONLY
Thoughts for Today Inspired by Yesterday
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What if you were enjoying a beautiful day and three
homeless people approached you and begged for
money . . . and instead of repulsion, you believed for
a moment, that you were one of them . . . that as
the sun beamed down on all of you, your identities
were
switched. Feeling that sensation, what do you
experience? When Sarah laughed she saw reality in
one way, when she denied her laughter, fear
created another warp in reality and her laughter was
something she did not own. The mystery that life is
challenges us constantly and we are blessed with the
question, what if . . .
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