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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE GOOD
NAME
"Yaakov blessed Pharaoh (that the Nile should irrigate
the land)." (Bereishis 47:10)
When the Pharaoh was introduced to our Father and
Patriarch Yaakov, he asked for a blessing. Yaakov
blessed him
that the Nile would once again overflow its banks to
irrigate the land of Egypt as it did prior to the onset
of the famine. Yaakov's blessing was fulfilled and the
famine came to an end.
Midrash
"Why was the Baal Shem Tov known by The Good
Name?" the Tzadik Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin used to
ask. "The common misconception," he
explained, "was that the Rebbe used the holy Names
of G d to perform miracles." The Ruzhiner Rebbe
always explained that this was simply not true. "The
truth is that HaShem (G d) decrees but the tzadik
can
nullify an evil decree. The Baal Shem Tov was such
a
tzadik who had the power, so to speak, to nullify the
harsh decrees of G d which brought troubles to the
Jews."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Yeshous
Yisroel 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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"And Judah drew near to him (his brother Joseph) and
said, 'Oh my L rd.'"
(Genesis 44:18)
The Talmud says, "A person should always praise G d
first, and then pray [for his own
needs].1
Yet, in another place, the Talmud states the
opposite
view.2 The answer to this seeming
contradiction is that there are two separate
opinions. The Ramban3 writes that the
essence of a craftsman can be found in the craft
that he creates.4 [Likewise], the
Creation is compared to a snail, whose garment is
part of itself.5 In all suffering, there
exists a spark of holiness from G d, although it is
hidden within many garments. This is the meaning of
the verse: "The seven maids chosen to be given to
her, from the king's house."6 (Esther
2:9) When a person realizes that G d is with him
even there, the garments become transparent and
disappear, and the suffering is abated.
This is what it means to offer praise first. G d's
praise is that His Glory fills the entire universe. "In
all
their afflictions, He is afflicted,"7
(Isaiah 63:9) — then, there is no affliction — and
one can pray. When one knows how to praise G d in
this way, the suffering will disappear by
itself.8
The other opinion says to pray
first.9 In this case, a person's has faith
that G d is also there [in the affliction], so that he
can offer his praise
[afterward].10
With this, we can understand the verse: "And Judah
drew near to him."11 He praised the
Holy One.12 First, he said, "Oh my
L rd" — because all affliction derives from this
Name.13 Then when he drew near to
Him
and praised and exalted Him, the affliction was
annulled.14
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Vayechi
1Berachos 31a
2"Rabbi Eliezer said, a person should
first ask for his needs, and then pray." - Avoda
Zara 7b
3Nachmanidies (1194-1270)
4Meaning, whenever a person creates
something, something of his soul enters into and
remains in their handicraft. Great kabbalists, such as
the Arizal and the Baal Shem Tov could look at an
object, and immediately know everything about the
one who made it. Here, the Baal Shem Tov applies
the principle to creation itself. Since it is G d's
handiwork, there must be a remnant of the Creator
within it.
5Midrash Rabbosai, Bereishis
21:5. Just as the garments of a snail are part of
itself, so the creation is not something separate from
or outside of the Divine. It is part of Him, and His
Presence is continually present within it.
6The "seven maids" represent the
sparks of holiness that have fallen among the "shells"
of impurity. The word maid, na'arah, is related to the
word "to shake out," mino'ar, because the holiness
found in these sparks has been "shaken out" of
them,
until almost nothing remains. However, these sparks
yearn to return to their root. Thus, the verse from
the Book of Esther continues: "When it came the
turn for each
maid to come into the king." (Esther 2:12);
that is, each spark of holiness has a pre-determined
time that it will leave the shells of impurity, and come
before the King. (See Baal Shem Tov on the Torah,
Miketz, on Genesis 41:1).
7The Hebrew word lo in this
verse is
written different than it is read. It is written
lamed vav, which mean "him," in this case,
G d. However, tradition tells us to read the word lo
as though it were written with lamed aleph,
which means "no," in this case, "there is not." The
Baal Shem Tov combines both readings. When a
person realizes that G d is present in all of his
afflictions, then the afflictions themselves cease to
exist.
8R. Yaakov Yosef adds here: "I heard
from my Master (the Baal Shem Tov) that this is the
meaning of 'You will establish their heart, Your ears
will hear [their prayers]." (Psalms 10:17)
9I.e., a person who prays for his needs,
without first praising G d; that is, coming to the
realization that G d is present even in the
affliction.
10In other words, even though a person
does not perceive the spark of holiness in the
suffering, if he believes that G d is with him even
there, he will eventually come to this realization.
11The Baal Shem Tov reads Judah's
words as not being addressed to Joseph, but to G d
himself. See Pri Tzaddik, Vayigash 1, by Rabbi
Tzaddok HaKohen of Lublin, who explains that
tzaddikim often address their words to the Divine
Presence, even when they are speaking to other
human beings.
12The name Judah — Yehuda — is from
the Hebrew word "hodu" — to praise. As Leah said,
when he was born: "Now I will praise G d; therefore,
she called his name Judah" (Genesis 29:35).
And Jacob said: "Judah, your brothers will praise
you." (ibid. 49:8)
13The Hebrew reads: "Bi Adoni." The
Baal Shem
Tov sees this as alluding to G d's name Ado-nai,
which represents the forces of concealment and
strict judgment.
14I.e., Joseph revealed himself. Then,
the very source of the their problem — the evil
Viceroy of Egypt — turned out to be their beloved
brother, whose intentions were only for their
good.
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 47
You should proceed level by level in you prayers, and
not spend all your energy at the beginning. Rather,
start slowly, and by the middle, attach yourself with
great cleaving [to G d]. Then, you will even be able
to say the words of prayer
quickly.1
Even though he cannot pray with mystical
attachment at the beginning of the prayers, he
should still say the words with great concentration.
He should keep applying himself slowly, until G d
helps him to pray with great attachment.
Tzava'as HaRivash, p.4a
1The Baal Shem Tov
taught: "Sometimes it is possible to pray very
quickly, because one's heart burns fiercely with the
love of G d, and the words come out by themselves."
(Tzava'as HaRivash p.4b)
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 38
A great Tzaddik who knows how to perform
unifications and combinations of Divine Names can
rectify a person just by looking at him. Through
these unifications, he immediately causes the person
to have thoughts of repentance. The Baal Shem Tov
said that he could fix a person instantly by merely
looking at him. But if the person stubbornly refused
to
be fixed, the Baal Shem Tov would completely
remove
the holy spark from within him.
Toldos Aharon, Vayera
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 65
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Dissolving one's being into one part of Oneness is
tantamount to dissolving one's being into the entire
Oneness.1 The opposite is also
true.2
1Ben Porath Yoseph, 88a. The
metaphor given elsewhere for this is that of one
grasping a branch of a tree. We would surely say
that he is grasping the entire tree, for if he were to
shake the branch, the entire tree would shake.
Similarly, G d, in His Unfathomable Oneness, created
a world that reflects Himself. The universe is
inherently an interconnected one, and anything
affecting one part
of the universe inevitably affects the entire
universe. Hence, whenever one experiences a sense
of oneness with any part of the universe, including of
course with another human being, he is actually
experiencing a sense of Oneness with G d.
2That is, experiencing separation from
any part of the Oneness is experiencing separation
from the entire Oneness, for there is only one
Oneness, and either one experiences Oneness or one
does not.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua
Starrett
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