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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE ASCETIC FASTING
OF RABBI YAACOV YOSEPH
COHANE
And then there was the time that Rabbi Yoel, the
maggid of Nemirov, traveled with Rabbi Yaakov
Yoseph Kohen (one of the closest followers of the
Baal Shem Tov and then the Rav of Raskow), to the
holy community of Mezibush to meet with their Rebbe,
the Baal Shem Tov. During the trip, they came to the
town of Bar, where they stopped to pray at the local inn
with a minyan. At the end of the prayers, Reb Yaakov
slipped out of the inn unnoticed.
Later, Rabbi Yoel became worried when he couldn't
find Reb Yaakov and inquired of the community
leaders if they knew the whereabouts of his friend.
Soon, word got around that the Rav was missing and
the whole town was abuzz about the whereabouts of
the Rabbi. As time passed, everyone became more
and more concerned. A group of the city elders joined
rabbi Yoel to look for him. In time, they found Reb
Yaakov quietly leaving the house of a silversmith.
They asked the silversmith: "What did the rabbi want
in your home?"
But the silversmith refused to tell them because Reb
Yaakov had ordered him not to tell anyone what had
happened between them.
The town elders became angry and threatened the
silversmith until he was forced to tell them what
happened.
The silversmith explained, "We were settling a debt
owed to me by the Rav. When I lived in Raskow, he
mistakenly fined me two red coins. Today, he came to
make
amends and reimburse for for the two red coins.
Since he
didn't have the money, he left me his Shabbos tallis
as a pledge until he returns from his trip to Mezibush
and redeems
it."
The town elders, knowing that Reb Yaakov was the
illustrious Rav of Raskow, ordered the silversmith to
immediately forgive Reb Yaakov his debt and to return
the tallis. The silversmith agreed to excuse the debt
and went to Reb Yaakov and tried to return the tallis.
But the latter refused to accept it until the
silversmith promised with a handshake that he
wholeheartedly forgave him. Immediately, the
silversmith shook his hand and told him that he
forgave him of anything that the rav had ever done to
him. With that, Reb Yaakov accepted his
tallis.
Later, to atone for his behavior in mistakenly fining the
silversmith, Reb Yaakov fasted the Kanah
repentance which consists of daily fasting (from
morning until evening) for six
years, and avoiding anything that comes from living
animals for dinner.
From that time, Reb Yaakov fasted daily, and once
each month he
fasted from one Shabbos to the next. No one in his
household knew about his fast except for a young girl,
the daughter of his sister, who alone brought him
food. She had to deliver the food at a particular time
and place and then remove it so that it would not
become known to anyone else. In this way, he fasted
for five years.
Then, it happened during a Shabbos to
Shabbos fast during the sixth year, his Rebbe, the
Baal Shem Tov, received a spiritual message: "Go to
Reb Yaakov immediately since today he will lose his
mind."
The Baal Shem Tov hurried to him in such haste that
his horse, worth ten red coins, died just as they
arrived.
As soon as the Baal Shem Tov saw Reb Yaakov he
said: "Reb Yaakov, my horse worth ten red coins has
died because of you. Eating a meal with me right now
will be your atonement." The rabbi immediately ate,
and later he followed the instructions of the his
Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, not to take on any extra
fasts besides those required by the Torah, i.e.
Tisha bav, Yom Kippur.
A letter was found that the Baal Shem Tov sent to
Rabbi Yaakov Yoseph. The address written on the
outside of the envelope was as follows: "From the holy
community of Mezibush to the great community of
Nemirov. Send these words like lightening to the
Kohen, head of the court of the community. Fortress
and mighty tower, wonderful rabbi, performer of
miracles, brilliant sage, our teacher of the holy
community and head of the court, Yoseph the Kohen."
In the body of the letter it read:
"To my beloved," the rabbi, the great light, the crown of
this generation, famous in piety, perfect and wonderful
sage, performer of miracles who is attached to my
innermost heart and who is closer to me than a
brother, our teacher, Yoseph the Kohen. I received
your letter at the conclusion of Shabbos and read in
the first two lines that you must fast. I am deeply
upset at your words, and let me add that by the
decree
of the angels1 and G·d and
His Shechinah,
you should not place yourself in this danger. This is
the way of melancholy and sadness, and the
Shechinah does not inspire through sadness but only
through the happiness of doing the mitzvos. As it is
already known to you, these are things that I have
taught repeatedly, and they should be close to your
heart and in the thoughts that bring you to this
melancholy. Let me advise you, G·d is with
you, O mighty hero.2 Every single
morning while you
are studying, contemplate the letters with utmost
devotion in worship of your Creator and G·d
will be with you. With the help of G·d, blessed
be His name, they will sweeten the charges against
you in their source and the force of the charges here
will be reduced. Do not hide yourself from your
own
flesh.3 You should not, G·d
forbid, fast more
than is required and is necessary. If you listen to me,
G·d will be with you. With these words let me
shorten my letter and say goodbye. Always wishing
you well.
Signed Yisrael Baal Shem Tov
P.S. Best wishes to your only son, the famous rabbi,
my
friend, his honor, our teacher, Shimshon, and his heir,
who is a friend of our teacher, Herts, may his light
endure. Best wishes to all of them together and to
each respectively."
And so it was.
1Daniel 4:14
2Judges 6:12
3saiah 58.7
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in IN PRAISE OF
THE BAAL SHEM TOV by Ben Amos and Mintz .
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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Behold, you are this day as the stars of heaven, many.
(Deuteronomy 1:10)
Were they like the stars on that day, why were they only
numbered six-hundred thousand? Rather, what is the
meaning of "Behold, you are this day"? Behold, you
are likened to the day, that is, you will always exist, like
the sun and the moon and the stars.
(Rashi)
It is written: "The path of the righteous is as the gleam
of sunlight that shines ever brighter until the height of
the day" (Proverbs 4:18). That is, the sun in itself
shines in its place equally, both at the onset of the day
and in the middle. The only thing that obstructs it is
the earth, which stands between us and the sun.
Therefore, its light does not shine so brightly at dawn
until it spreads across the earth.
The same holds true of the
Tzaddik. In himself, he is always shining: the
blockage is only on the part of the receivers. This too
is due to the obstruction of the earth - that is, this
world. For people are sunk in this world, and are
unable to receive the light of the Tzaddik. This is as
the Talmud said on the verse: "I lifted my eyes, and
beheld a folded scroll" (Zechariah 5:1): "When you
unfold it. . . . .When you peel it. . . . ."1 It
comes out that the entire world is 1/3,200 the size of
the Torah, which is exceedingly great and "broader
than the ocean."2 It is difficult to
understand how such a small thing as the world can
block such a great thing as the Torah, which is
thousands of times its size, for the entire world is
minute in comparison.
However, this is like the oft-quoted
analogy, that a small coin held up to your eyes will
block out a great mountain, even though the latter is
thousands of times larger. Since the coin is in front of
your eyes, it obstructs your vision, until you cannot see
something much larger. Likewise, when a person
comes into this world, and becomes lost in its
frivolities, so that it seems to him that there is nothing
better, then this tiny little world keeps him from seeing
the great and exalted light of the Torah, which is
thousands of times the size. This is the example of
the sun, that the earth prevents us from seeing its
great light, though the sun is many times
larger.
And this is the meaning of: "The path of
the righteous is as the gleam of sunlight." It is exactly
like the gleam of sunlight! For just as the sun shines
constantly, with only the earth (though it is much
smaller) creating a barrier; so too, Tzaddikim
constantly shine. It is only the earth - that is, [the
attractions of] this world - that prevents us from
seeing their great light. Even though this world is so
very small and insignificant in comparison, it still
obstructs and prevents us from seeing the gleam of
sunlight, like the example of the coin.
All this is because the world stands before
a person's eyes and obstructs them, until he cannot
see the light of the Torah and the Tzaddikim, which is
thousands of times greater. However, if he removes
that small obstruction from his eyes: that is, he turns
his eyes away from this world and does not look at it,
but only lifts his head and raises his eyes to gaze
above this occluding world, then he will merit to see
the great and exalted light of the Torah and the
Tzaddikim. Because really, their light is infinitely
greater than this entire world and its attractions. It is
only that this world blocks his eyes and does not let
him turn them away at all, to gaze above on the light of
the Torah and the Tzaddikim.
This is exactly like the example of the small coin that
stands before the eyes and obstructs them from
seeing the great mountain. However, it is very easy to
remove the coin from before one's eyes. Then, one
will immediately see the great mountain. So it is with
the world and the Torah. For with a small swipe, one
can remove the world from before one's eyes. Then,
one merits seeing the great light of the Torah and the
Tzaddikim, which shines in all the worlds with a very
great light.
Likewise, I heard in the name of the Baal
Shem Tov, who said, "Woe, woe! The whole world is
filled with awesome and wondrous lights and secrets,
yet a small hand stands before the eyes and prevents
us from seeing the great light."
Likutey Moharan I:133
1Eiruvin 21a. The Talmud juxtaposes
two verses from the Books of the Prophets. In
Zechariah 5, the prophet sees a rolled up scroll of
phenomenal size: "Then again I lifted up my eyes, and
saw, and behold: a rolled up scroll. And he (an angel)
said to me: 'What do you see?' And I answered: 'I see
a rolled up scroll; the length of it is twenty cubits, and
its breadth ten cubits." According to the Talmud, these
measurements are not based upon human
dimensions, but Divine ones: Ten of G·d's
cubits (as it were). The second verse is from Ezekiel
(2:9-10): "And when I looked, behold, a hand was
stretched out to me; and lo, a scroll of a book was in
it. And He spread it before me, and it was written on
the back and the front." The Talmud considers these
two scrolls as one, and tries to determine its full size.
First, the scroll must be unrolled and then peeled, so
that both sides face front and can be measured
together. The conclusion is that the scroll is 20 x 40 of
G·d's cubits. The Talmud then cites Isaiah
40:12 to
determine the size of the universe: "Who has
measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and
meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended
the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?"
According to Biblical measurements, a "span" (zeres)
is half the length of a cubit (amah), and one square
span is a quarter of a square cubit. It comes out that
800 square cubits contain 3,200 square spans. Thus,
the scroll of the Torah is 3,200 times the size of the
universe.
2Based upon Job 11:9.
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 130.
When a person puts himself into his
words, they testify on his behalf, but only so long as
his whole intention is to join the World of Speech to
the World of Thought. This is the meaning of the three
books that are opened on Rosh Hashana. "Books"
has the implication of "speech." The words of
Tzaddikim, whose whole intention is to unite the World
of Speech with the World of Thought, are immediately
inscribed for life. Meaning, they immediately become
attached to G·d to be alive.1 The
Intermediaries, who intend both to create this union
and also that G·d fulfill their requests, are left
hanging
until Yom HaKippur, when the World of Thought
becomes revealed. Then every thought ascends, and
their thoughts are also fulfilled.2
1The Tzaddik's words are united with
G·d, and are filled with life and vitality.
2Apparently, this means that the
essence of their thoughts, which is to unite with
G·d
alone, is fulfilled.
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 14.
The Maggid of Mezritch1 was once
asked for a favor
by his disciple Reb Shneur Zalman,2
later known as
the Alter Rebbe.
"Ask what you will," the Maggid said.
"I wish to know the essence of the Baal Shem Tov,
replied Reb Schneur Zalman."
"You have asked a difficult question," the Maggid
answered. "Had he lived during the era of the
Tanoim he would have been remarkable; had he
lived in the period of the prophets he would have
been an innovation, while in the times of our
forefathers he would also have been
significant."
This anecdote is what the Tzemach
Tzedek3 related,
adding that his grandfather Rabbi Schneur Zalman,
had continued, "If I had not heard this directly from my
Rebbe (the Mezritcher Maggid), who knew from
personal observation and experience what the Baal
Shem Tov had been, I would not have believed that the
Baal Shem Tov had been born of a woman."
Sipurei Baal Shem Tov
1Rebbe Reb Dov Ber (1710-1772) the
successor to the Baal Shem Tov.
2(1745-1812) Founder of the Chabad
Chassidic dynasty.
3Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
(1789- 1866) was the grandson of the Alter Rebbe
and the third Rebbe of the Chabad Chassidim.
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 172.
"Break out in song to G·d, all the
earth."1 The acronym of these Hebrew
words reads, halakhah, a
path.2
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Following this path requires breaking out of and
through all earthliness and
materialism.3
In order to test us, as one tests a child in his studies,
we were given the yetzer ha'ra, the evil inclination, just
as a child is asked questions intentionally to confuse
him and misdirect him. But if we are clever, we will not
allow ourselves to be overcome, which gives
G·d great pleasure, as with a child, whose
father has great pleasure when the child is asked
questions and the boy does not allow himself to be
outdone.
1Psalms 98:4, 100:1.
2Likkutei Torah Ari, Psalms 100.
3Perhaps the Baal Shem Tov is using
here a play on words. The root of the Hebrew word for
break out in song is used elsewhere to mean simply
break (Psalms 2:9), and the implication of song is
giving pleasure to G·d. Hence, following the
path of giving pleasure to G·d requires
breaking-breaking of the earth, to indulge in which
the yetzer ha'ra tries to entice us. There is also a play
on the acronym of halakhah, in reference to the boy's
studies in halakhah, Jewish law.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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