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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE COLD
MIKVAH
The Torah portion reads, "He (the metzora) shall then
immerse in a mikvah and thus complete (the first part)
of the purification process." Leviticus 14:7
Metzora is the Hebrew word for leper. A
person that slanders his neighbor is punished with
this leprous curse.
And then there was the time that Rabbi Nahman of
Horodenka (d. 1780) said, "When I was a great Hasid
(a "pious one", a member of an early mystical
movement that originated among the Jews of
Germany), I afflicted my soul and immersed in a
mikvah every day. In the winter, the mikvah was so
cold, that even after spending an hour in a room that
was heated so that the walls were as hot as fire, I still
felt cold. While I had the mental strength to daily go
into a freezing cold mikvah, I still could not stop my
wayward thoughts until I followed the teachings of our
holy Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaKohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in In Praise
of the Baal Shem Tov.
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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This is the law of the metzorah1on the
day of his
cleansing: he shall be brought to the priest . . . Then
the priest shall command to take for the one who is to
be cleansed two living clean birds, and cedar-wood,
and scarlet tola'as,2 and hyssop.
(Leviticus 14:2,4)
How can he be fixed and healed? He should lower
himself from his pride like a tola'as and a
hyssop.3
The one being purified is advised to take two birds,
cedar-wood, and hyssop - [things which are] tall and
lowly.4 He should lower himself from his
arrogance,
so that [the priest, who is the Tzaddik5]
can lift him up.
I heard the following parable in
the name of my
Master (the Baal Shem Tov).
A very tall man
was
standing in the sun, being scorched by its rays. A wise
man saw from afar that the tall man was very hot, and
did not know how to help himself - to cool himself
down with "cold water on a weary soul."6
What did he
do? He sat in front of him and sipped water from a
bottle, hoping that [the tall man] would see him and do
likewise. The man with the bottle was very short,
however, and that the tall man had to bend down his
head and body in order to take a little water for
himself. But because of his arrogance and his stature,
he refused to lower himself - as if to show that he
needed someone else!
The wise man understood this, and could find no way
to get him to take a little water. Finally, he had to throw
some water up into the [tall] man's face. Perhaps then
he would drink a little and quench his thirst.
However,
the tall man pressed his lips together, so that not even
a drop of water should go in, for that wasn't in keeping
with his prestige. The water fell back into the mouth of
the one who threw it, and as for the one who refused
to drink, he died of thirst.
The allusion is to a great city, full of
scholars and scribes, who refuse to hear wisdom and
accept guidance on how to follow the way of
G·d, until
they pass on from [the city] and the generation, and
leave the generation orphaned. Thus, it is
written: "Hear and your souls shall live" (Isaiah
55:3).7 For listening to the wise and
accepting their
admonishment heals the body and the soul, as
Maimonidies writes,8 that they (the
Sages) are the
healers of the soul. As for a person who refuses to
hear admonition, it is said: "The foolish despise
wisdom and reproof" (Proverbs 1:7).
Tzora'as strikes a person because he lifts
himself up like a cedar, and refuses to accept
criticism. Therefore, he should lower himself like a
hyssop and accept admonishment, for this will lead to
his healing and purification.
This explains the Mishnah: "Who is wise?
He who learns from all men"9 - even
from the
wicked. When he sees the latter sinning, he learns
from him, because from the perspective of oneness,
he also has a little bit of that [sin] in
him.10 He must
remove that little bit [of sin] from within himself, which
will purify the other man as well. Thus, "This is the
Law of 'one who removes evil' from his
friend,11 on
the day of his own cleansing."
It seems to me that I heard something
similar from my Master.
Tzafnah Paneach, p.26d
1Usually translated as leprosy, but in
actuality, a spiritual disease reflected in physical
symptoms.
2Tola'as - a type of insect from
which a scarlet
dye can be produced.
3Midrash Tanchuma 3, quoted in
Rashi on this
verse.
4I.e., the cedar is an exceptionally tall
tree, whereas
hyssop is a shrub.
5Insert from the original text of Sefer
Baal Shem Tov.
6Proverbs 25:25.
7This chapter from Isaiah begins: "Ho,
every one that
thirsts, come for water; and he that has no money,
come, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Why do you spend
money for that which is not bread, and your gain for
that which satisfies not? Hearken diligently to Me and
eat that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Hear and your souls shall live . . ."
8Mishnah Torah, De'ot, chapter 2:1.
9Pirkei Avos 4:1.
10That is, because all Jewish
souls are united in their root, when a person sees
another individual sinning, he must examine himself
for the same crime. If he did not have it in him, he
would never see it in another.
11The author is making a play on words,
by dividing the word metzorah into two words - motzoi
ra, removing evil.
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 114.
When a person knows and believes that
G·d's glory fills the whole world, and that
everything - each and every movement and thought -
is from Him, then "all the workers of iniquity will
disband" (Psalms 92:10). This is the aspect of "Know
the G·d of your fathers" (I Chronicles
28:9).
Tzafnah Paneach, p. 86b
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 51.
The great rabbi, Reb Yerachmiel Moshe of Koznitz
related the following story:
Once the saintly Reb Boruch of Mezibush was
traveling together with a certain Reb Leibush. Reb
Boruch was telling incidents of the greatness of his
grandfather, the Baal Shem Tov, but he sensed his
listener's disbelief. When they reached a village, Reb
Boruch gave Reb Leibish his pipe to smoke and
refresh himself in an inn. When Reb Leibish got off
the wagon, Reb Boruch told the wagon driver to drive
on. Reb Leibish, finding himself without means of
transportation, was forced to continue on his journey
by foot.
A heavy rain fell down on him and he reached
Mezibush completely drenched to the bone in the
middle of night. He knocked at the first house and
begged to be admitted so that he might warm up and
dry his clothing. The old man who lived there asked
his guest where he was headed.
"I am going to the rabbi of this place."
"And
who is the rabbi here?" asked the host.
"Why don't you know? It's Reb Boruch, grandson of the
Baal Shem Tov," answered Reb Leibish.
"I have been to the Baal Shem Tov and he was indeed
a rebbe, but I am not familiar with Reb Boruch," said
the old man.
The old man then went on to tell of his experience with
the Baal Shem Tov. He once had a request to make of
the Baal Shem Tov and had gone to see him. He
came and saw a multitude of people with scraps of
paper held in their hands, all waiting to speak to the
Rebbe. Midnight came and he saw that he would yet
have to wait, so he decided to go to the synagogue to
recite the tikun chatzos. When he arrived at shule, he
saw the Baal Shem Tov there with his close followers
saying tikun chatzos. He was confused for he had just
seen the Baal Shem Tov at his home. He rushed back
to the house and saw the Baal Shem Tov sitting there
as before. Then he understood that here was truly a
wondrous man.
In the morning Reb Leibish arose and went to Reb
Boruch's house.
"You should Know that
Eliyohu Hanovi himself teaches that old man. Now you
will believe in the Baal Shem Tov's greatness," said
Reb Boruch.
Oh yes Rebbe, answered Reb Leibush.
From Sipurei Baal Shem Tov as translated in Tales of
the Baal Shem Tov by Y.Y.Klapholtz
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 148
"Why did You create in vain all human
beings?"1
The Baal Shem Tov taught:2
This verse is a dialogue between the evil inclination
and G·d. "Why did You create in vain?" - referring to
the evil inclination itself. Because of "all human
beings."
For when a holy soul descends from Above into an
earthly body, a great argument is raised by the evil
inclination, saying that it will no longer be able to
accomplish its task of enticing and misleading
people, since this holy soul will bring mankind back to
G·d. Thus, creation of the evil inclination is rendered in
vain. In response, G·d sends a troublemaker into the
world who will mock the holy soul, and people can
thus choose between one or the other, and human
free choice will be maintained.3
1Psalms 99:48.
2Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Shoftim #9.
3This explains why many if not all of the
greatest tzaddikim faced intense opposition during
their lifetimes.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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