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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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A MOST HUMBLE
MAN
"And the man Moshe was very humble. . . . ." Numbers
12:3
In his youth, Reb Menachem Mendel of
Vitebsk studied under Reb Dov Ber, later known as
the Mezritcher Maggid and the successor to the Baal
Shem Tov. By the time Mendel was ten years old, he
was already well versed in all of the Talmud, and
because of his diligence, the Maggid was very fond of
him. One Shabbos morning, the Maggid saw young
Mendel strutting about in high spirits.
"Mendel," he called, "How many pages of
Talmud have you studied today?"
"Six," answered Mendel in a satisfied voice.
"I see," responded the Maggid, as if he were talking to
himself: "Now if after six pages of Talmud one is so
excited that his hat slips over his ears, how many
pages does it take for one's hat to fall off
completely?"
Mendel knew that the Maggid was speaking about him.
"Rebbe, it is true that I am proud of my abilities-and I
realize that such conceit is not appropriate, but I can't
help myself."
"Don't worry," the Maggid reassured him. "We will both
go to The Rebbe, the Baa! Shem Tov. He will guide
us to the proper path to follow."
The next day they departed for Mezibush. When they
arrived on Friday, the Maggid went directly to see The
Baal Shem Tov. Mendel decided to first bathe, and put
on his better suit-as he was always careful about his
appearance.
As was the Baal Shem Tov's tradition-he conducted a
Melave Malkah meal after the conclusion of the
Shabbos. Throughout the meal, he gazed at Mendel.
He then related a story that seemed to relate to
Mendel's' life-from the moment of his birth until the
time of his death many years later in Eretz Yisrael. At
the table also sat the Maggid and Reb Yaakov Yosef of
Polonnoye (two of The Baal Shem Tov's most well-
known disciples).
Later, Mendel mentioned
he understood that the Baal Shem Tov was referring
to various aspects of his life. One of the others, the
Maggid or Reb Yaakov Yosef, later said that he had
understood the whole story while the other confessed
that he had understood only half.
The Baal Shem Tov later commented to
the Maggid that his pupil, Reb Mendel, appeared to be
an "onov" - a truly humble person. And to the end of
his days, Reb Menachem Mendel signed his
letters, 'Mendel HaKoton' -'the small one'.
Many years later, Reb Menachem Mendel
understood the whole story told by the Baal Shem Tov
that night.
Once, while Reb Menachem Mendel still
lived in Vitebsk, he became so ill, that he lost his
ability to speak. Hearing the cries of his Chassidim,
who were afraid that they would lose their Rebbe, he
said: "Have no fear! - For the Baa! Shem Tov had said
that I would have the merit to live in Eretz Yisrael (the
land of Israel)."
Later, he did recover and set out for Eretz
Yisrael. On the way he stopped in the holy community
of Polonnoye. After settling in at an inn, he removed
his gartel (the belt worn by Chassidim for prayer and
as an expression of reverence on certain other
occasions), lit his pipe and strolled over to pay his
respects to Reb Yaakov Yosef.
When the local Chassidim saw what
appeared to be Reb Mendel's irreverent attitude, they
quietly told him, "Rebbe, we think you ought to know
that Reb Yaakov Yosef is likely to express his
displeasure when he sees such a lack of
deference!"
Reb Menachem Mendel ignored their
advice, and was received warmly by Reb Yaakov
Yosef. When the latter asked whether he understood
the story that they had both heard from the Baal Shem
Tov years before, the Reb Mendel answered that he
did. Then Reb Yaakov Yosef asked, "And which part of
the story are you up to now?"
Reb Menachem Mendel sighed: "I have
already used up more than half of the story."
"And do you know," asked Reb Yaakov
Yosef, "that there was a "remez" - a hint in the story
that you would be visit me?"
"I do," replied Reb Menachem
Mendel. "And that is why I passed through Polonnoye,
so that I should have the honor of calling on
you."
They discussed Torah late into the night,
and then Reb Yaakov Yosef escorted his young guest
to his lodgings.
The local Chassidim were curious about
the meeting between these two great chassidic
masters. Finally one of the braver elder Chassidim
asked Reb Yaakov Yosef, "What kind of a man is this
who dared to pay a visit to you, Rebbe, without his
gartel, with a lit pipe in his mouth, and silver-threaded
shoelaces in his shoes?"
Reb Yaakov Yosef answered with a
parable. "Once there lived a king who possessed a
priceless gem. He lived in constant fear that thieves
would steal it. So what did he do? He hid it in the
barn, under the manure pile -where no one would
expect to find such a treasure. And so it is with Reb
Menachem Mendel. He is an "onov, and holds
himself as the lowest of all people - and is afraid that
if he would exhibit any slight expression of
humility, others may think of it as false. And that is
why he has chosen to conceal his humility in a place
of "filth", namely - pride!"
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohane (Howard M. Cohn,
Patent Attorney) from a story in A Treasury of
Chassidic Tales by Y.Y. Zevin
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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And G·d spoke to Moses, saying . . . this is the
work of the Menorah, beaten work of gold; until its
base, and until its flowers, it was beaten work;
according to the pattern which G·d had shown
Moses, so he made the Menorah. (Numbers 8:1,4)
The Holy One showed him [the Menorah] with His
finger, because Moses had difficulty understanding
[its construction]. Thus, it is written "This is the work of
the Menorah. . . ."1
Why did Moses have a harder time understanding the
construction of the Menorah than of the other vessels
of the Tabernacle? Furthermore, G·d knows
what is in a person's heart. Since he knew that Moses
would not be able to understand through words, but
only by seeing, why did He tell him in the first place?
Why didn't He just show him the completed Menorah
at the outset? Rather, the matter is as
follows.
The construction of the Tabernacle paralleled the
creation of the world, as the Sages said: "Betzalel
knew how to combine the letters through which
heaven and earth were made."2 This
implies by this
is that they needed to know the letter combinations of
the creation in order to construct the Tabernacle.
Now, there are Ten Utterances in the work
of creation,3 for the word Bereishis - "In
the
beginning" - is also an Utterance, as our Sages have
said.4 But why does it not say: "And He
said. . . ." as in
the other instances?5 The answer is
that it was a
Supernal Utterance that was not revealed. For to
G·d, each Utterance is an outflow from Him
that is revealed to the creation - similar to a person
whose words reveal his innermost thoughts to others.
However, the work of the Menorah corresponded to
the first Utterance of creation, in which [the
words] "And He said" were unstated, for it is not
revealed to creation. Therefore, Moses had difficulty
understanding a verbal description of the Menorah's
construction. Because, the Creator wanted Moses to
realize the correspondence between the Menorah and
the first Utterance, in which the words "And He said"
were not explicitly stated, being unrevealed to creation.
Therefore, G·d explained it to him in words,
which he did not understand. Then Moses realized
that it corresponded to the first the Utterance of
creation.
Bnei Yissaschar, in the name of the disciples of the
Baal Shem Tov, Chodesh Kislev-Teves 4:49
1Throughout his commentary on the
Torah, Rashi
consistently explains the word "this" - zeh - as
referring to something visible, that one could point to.
See Rashi on Exodus 12:2, ibid. 15:2, I Samuel 14:1.
2Berachos 55a. Betzalel was the
architect and
executor of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31).
According to classic mystical texts, such as the Sefer
Yetzirah, the Hebrew are letters the underlying
components of creation. Through the infinite
combination of these letters the universe came into
existence. See Sha'ar HaYichud ve'haEmunah, chap.
1, by R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi (printed in Sefer
HaTanya).
3According to tradition, G d said, "Let
there be..." ten
times in the story of creation. However, only nine such
statements can be found in the verses.
4Megilah 21b.
5I.e. "And G d said, Let there be a
beginning!"
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 123.
One must elevate one's thoughts from
below to above, in the mystery of the 248
sparks.1
For all extraneous thoughts are in Malkhut of
Malkhut,2 and when a foreign thought
enters your
mind, you must be scared of it.3 For by
means of this
fear, you unite "fear" and "awesome" and remove the
holy spark from the impure shell, which is the foreign
thought itself.
Now, the thoughts of Rabbi Bun were pure and clear,
and he had no way to uplift them, not until it occurred
to him to count the bricks of his house, or the chicks
[in the case of Shmuel].
Furthermore, each of these cases also needs to be
understood.4
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 209a
1According to the Arizal, at the time of the
Breakage of
the Vessels, the lights of the vessels ascended to
their source, and only the vessels themselves broke.
However, 248 sparks of light remained in the vessels
to enliven them. It is the main task of human beings
throughout history to redeem these sparks from the
kelipah nogah into which they fell, thus bringing the
world to perfection.
2Each of the Sefiros contains aspects of
all the
others. The lowest Sefirah is Malchus, and the lowest
aspect of Malchus is "Malchus of Malchus." It is from
this lowest level that all disruptive and extraneous
come.
3For they are pushing you away from the
King, as the
Baal Shem Tov explained elsewhere.
4See R. Tzaddok HaKohen of Lublin,
Tzidkas
HaTzaddik 233. It is worth noting that the word "chicks"
(as in Shmuel's prayers) is ephroach, which
has the letters RPCh in its root, that may allude to the
248 sparks that fell.
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 7.
The great Reb Leib
Sarah's1once sat with a saintly friend of
his and they told each
other stories about different tzadikim. But as soon as
they began talking about the Baal Shem Tov, his body
started trembling.
"You speak of this great Tanah! I will tell you what he
was. Had he lived in the times of the
Gaonim,2 he
would have been a Gaon. In the generation of the
Amoraim,3 he would have been an
Amora, and in the
era of the prophets he would have been a prophet.
Had he lived in time of our forefathers4
he would have
been a significant figure. What do I mean by this? Just
as we say "The G·d of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob", so
would we have said "The G·d of Israel'."
Siach Sarfei Kodesh
11730-
1796
2Title given to the heads of the Jewish
academies at
Sura and Pumbedita in Babylonia seventh century
until the middle of the 11th cent.
3220CE to 500 CE
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
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 156
THE BAAL SHEM TOV'S
JOURNEY/OVERCOMING DEPRESSION
When the Baal Shem Tov was on his famous trip [to
the Land of Israel], his mentor told him at each place
how his trip alluded to the journey of the Israelites
through the Wilderness, and in fact, every person's
journey is alluded to in the
Torah.1
And when the Baal Shem Tov's ship was broken and
he became very despondent, his mentor appeared to
him, shocked [that he was despairing], and showed
him what spiritual worlds he was in now-the worlds
represented by the Name of EHYEH.2
This encouraged the Baal Shem Tov to mitigate their
harshness at their source, as he knew3.
1If one studies Torah with an
open heart, one can find guidance to one's immediate
circumstances from whatever one happens to be
learning.
2This Name, in the future tense, implies
potential-the darkest times of our lives bear the
greatest potential for light.
3Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, teachings after
Zot HaBrakhah.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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