|
BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
|
|
FALSE TESTIMONY
Do not distort justice. . . (Deuteronomy 16:19)
Once, there were three men, Reb Ezriel, Reb Anshel,
and Reb Eliezer, that were partners in a business.
Reb Ezriel bought feathers and hides from Russia
and Reb Anshel bought similar merchandise from
Galicia. The third partner, Reb Eliezer, who was the
son of the Belzer Rebbe, Reb Sholom, arranged
financing for their ventures and kept the books,
auditing all the expenses and income of their various
transactions.
For some time, all was well. Then, for some unknown
reason, Reb Ezriel and Reb Anshel asked Reb Eliezer
if they could see the books.
"We would like to know where we stand," they said.
But Reb Eliezer refused to show them the ledgers, so
the two decided to go to his father, the Belzer Rebbe
with their complaint and to see if he could adjudicate
the matter.
"I cannot be a judge in this matter," the Rebbe told the
men. "I am the father of the accused and I am
therefore invalid to judge."
"Even so," the two partners assured him, "we trust
your decision even though you have an interest in the
matter."
"Very well," said the Rebbe. "But it is late, just before
Minchah and there is no time to hear all the details.
For now, let me quickly tell you a story that relates to
this situation.
The Rebbe began, "There were once two brothers,
one rich and one poor. The rich brother had a
daughter who was of marriageable age, and the poor
brother had a son who was a fine Talmud Chochom
of the same age. It seemed natural, therefore, that
when the rich brother had rejected the many offers of
marriage for his daughter, the shadchun (marriage
broker) urged him to take his nephew, (the poor
brother's son) as a son-in-law. The rich brother
agreed and the two were married.
The young man, Yisroel, soon found life
under his father-in-law's roof very uncomfortable.
Neither his wife nor father-in-law appreciated his
occupation with Torah study and would have preferred
that he involve himself in business. The situation
became tense, so Yisroel decided to leave and
become a melamed (teacher), for the sake of peace
for all involved.
Yisroel traveled far, to an isolated village and there
became the melamed for the children of a chassid of
the Baal Shem Tov. In time, the chassid took a trip to
visit his Rebbe.
Just as he was about to depart with a group of other
chassidim, Yisrael asked: "Can you kindly mention
me to your Rebbe. I have a difficult personal matter
that is a great burden. Perhaps the Baal Shem Tov
will have some advice for me."
Yisroel's employer did indeed mention his name to
the Baal Shem, and returned home with an urgent
message. "As soon as we mentioned your name to
the Rebbe, he became quite upset. He told us to
advise you to immediately return to your home. The
Rebbe's words were, 'Reb Yisroel's return involves a
serious matter regarding his wife.' We didn't even
know you were married?"
"It is a painful story so I did not share it with you," he
answered.
Yisroel was skeptical. He questioned the
Chassidim, "How would the Rebbe know of me? How
does he even know I'm married?"
"Never mind," they insisted. "If the Baal Shem Tov
was so adamant about your returning home, you must
do as he says. He told us that he looked at the root of
your soul and found a danger present. You must not
delay. You should leave immediately."
"How can I go home?" Reb Yisroel answered. "My
belongings are here and besides, I don't have any
money for the journey."
The chassidim wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. They
all quickly contributed funds to hire a wagon and driver
to take Yisroel home and helped Reb Yisroel gather
his few belongings and load the wagon.
"What am I doing?" he thought to himself as the
wagon bumped along the dirt road. "I wonder if the
Chassidim were just trying to get rid of me. I wonder if
they even mentioned my named to the Baal Shem
Tov. How could he know about me?" Such thoughts
filled his mind as he traveled. He had thoughts of
stopping the wagon and turning around, but the urgent
words of the Baal Shem Tov disturbed him greatly.
Finally he arrived at his hometown. As the wagon
came to a stop in front of his house, he hesitated. He
finally summoned the courage to knock on the door. A
strange man answered the door. "What did you
want?" the man asked.
"Is Reb Yisroel's wife at home?"
"She is no longer Reb Yisroel's wife, and she doesn't
live here. In fact, she is planning to get married in two
days."
Reb Yisroel was shocked. He had never divorced his
wife. How could she get married again? He now
understood the urgency of the Baal Shem Tov's
words. The first thing he must do was to prevent his
wife from marrying another man. But how?
Reb Yisroel went to the Beis Medrash and sat down to
think. As he sat, he overheard several of the local
beggars talking about the impending wedding. "I can't
wait for the feast. It will no doubt be lavish because
the bride's father is certainly rich." Yisroel then knew
what he had to do. He went immediately to the town
Rabbi's home. He related his story, insisting that he
had never sent his wife a divorce.
The town Rabbi did indeed remember and believe
Yisroel. "Please stay here while I go to your father-in-
law and discuss this matter."
Reb Yisroel's father-in-law had been deceived by an
unscrupulous, traveling darshan (speaker). The
darshan had come to town and realized the rich
man's great despair because his daughter had been
deserted by her husband. So he approached the
girl's father and said, "In my travels, I've met your son-
in-law and we became friends. I'm quite sure that I
can get him to divorce your daughter. Just give me
power of attorney to act on your behalf and I will take
care of everything."
"That would be wonderful! And you can be sure that I
will pay you well for your kindness," the rich man told
the darshan.
The darshan quickly traveled to another small town
some distance away, where he was not known. There
he found three men of questionable character and
honesty who were willing go along with his ruse for a
profit. The darshan then went to a Bais Din (Jewish
court), claiming that he had recognized a man at the
local inn who was sought for abandoning his
wife. "His name is Yisroel and he refuses to give his
wife a divorce. Her father has asked me to force him
to give a divorce at any cost."
The Bais Din was convinced by the darshan's story.
They had the man in the inn (one of the three
conspirators) apprehended and brought before them.
After some "coaxing", the man admitted that he was
the husband that had deserted his wife. Then, the two
false witnesses (the other two conspirators) were
brought to testify that they also knew the man to be the
alleged Yisroel, the runaway husband of the rich
man's daughter. The Bais Din managed to extract a
divorce, which they gave to the darshan, having the
power of attorney of the rich man.
The darshan returned to the rich man with the prized
bill of divorce.
"How can I repay you for all your efforts?" the rich man
asked.
"I do not want any money," said the darshan. "I was
just doing a kindness. However, I would appreciate
the opportunity to introduce an eligible young man to
your daughter. That is all I ask."
The eligible young man just happened to be the
darshan's son, and he made a favorable impression
on the family. The wedding date was set and plans
were made.
Once the real Yisroel spoke to the town Rabbi, the
Rabbi accompanied by the local police, marched to
the rich man's home. The Rabbi explained Yisroel's
story and accused the darshan and his son of fraud.
The police promptly took the two scoundrels to jail.
The rich man realized that he had been deceived but
was very happy that the plot has been foiled in time.
Yisroel found that his wife had meanwhile deeply
regretted her unloving behavior towards her husband,
and she begged Yisroel remain as her husband.
"And," concluded the Belzer Rebbe, "they did live
happily thereafter. Do you know why I told you this
story?" he asked the two men before him. "You, Reb
Anshel, and you, Reb Ezriel, were the two brothers
and my son Eliezer was Reb Yisroel in a former life.
You two owe him a great deal
for the shame and discomfort he suffered. I suggest
that you increase his share of the earnings and I am
sure he will show you the books."
And so it was.
Freely adapted from a story in SIPUREI YAAKOV as
translated in STORIES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV by
Y.Y. Klapholtz.
|
|
Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
|
|
You shall set a king upon yourself, whom the
L·rd your
G·d shall choose; from among your brothers
you shall
set king over yourself... . . (Deuteronomy 17:15)
The king of Israel is the heart of Israel. This explains
the verse: "How can I go, for Saul will hear and kill
me?" (I Samuel 16:2).1Why was he
scared to go? He could have gone in secret. What he
should have said was: "How can I return, after I have
anointed someone else as king? Saul will kill me."
The reason is because the king is the
heart of Israel, and the heart hears2 -
that is, it understands. This is what Samuel
meant: "How can I go, for Saul will hear?" Since he
was still the king of Israel before David's
anointment, "he will hear" - that is, he will understand
the purpose of my going, "and he will kill me."
However, he was not afraid to return, because by then
David had been appointed king, and Saul would not
understand or hear, for certainly Samuel acted in
secret.
Degel Machane Ephraim, Va'eschanan
1When G·d told the
Prophet
Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint David as king
instead of Saul, Samuel expressed fear that Saul
would hear of his trip and try to kill him.
2Based upon I Kings 3:9, where King
Solomon prays: ""And now, O L·rd my
G·d, You have
made Your servant king instead of David my father;
and I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out
or come in . . . Give, then, Your servant a listening
heart, to judge your people. . . "
Translation
and Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
|
|
THE PILLAR OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
|
|
Section 1.3
To cling to G·d the Source of all desire
A prayer of a poor man, when he is enwrapped [with
affliction], and pours out his words before G·d.
(Psalms 102:1)
A king, on his festival day, announced that he would
bestow from his treasure-house to whoever needed.
Many people came with their requests, some asking
for livelihood, others for precious jewels. And to each
one, the king ordered his servants to give them their
requests. Now, there was one poor but wise man who
asked for nothing but the permission to speak with the
king himself every day. For there is nothing the king's
chambers lack, and thus he would have everything.
While other men receive via the servants, who are
limited and unable to give beyond their status, the
king's wealth is unlimited, for everything is
his.
So too, a person who serves G·d
this way, whose whole desire and only request is to
speak to the King. Then, all of the king's good is given
to him. This is the meaning of "A prayer of a poor
man." That is, the prayer which is itself poor, i.e., asks
for nothing, "enwraps" all the prayers. And this is when
he pours out his words before G·d - when his
only request is to speak to the King Himself. Then he
clings to the Source of all desire.
Me'or Einayim, Ki Setze
Translation and
Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
|
|
THE LIGHT OF THE EYES
On the Greatness of the Baal Shem Tov
|
|
Section 19.
One time several of his
talmidim1entered his study at the same
time. He spoke to each one, advising him on his
particular problem. When they came out they
discussed what the Baal Shem Tov had told them
each separately but were stupefied to discover that at
the time that they had all stood together in the room,
each had been positive that the Baal Shem Tov had
addressed him alone. They were also amazed to
discover that he had spoken to each one about his
individual problem without the next person being
aware or hearing what was said to his neighbor.
Emunas Tzadikim
1students
Translation
and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore
|
|
KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
|
|
Section 176.
PRAYER
The Divine presence is referred to as prayer, as it
says, "I am prayer."1
Furthermore, when one prays, one should have in
mind to unite the Divine presence with the Infinite, and
not have in mind one's own needs, about which the
verse says, "G·d has put me in a place from
which I cannot ascend."2
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
When a person has his own material benefit in mind,
that his prayer should bring him material benefit, then
that materiality becomes a veil of separation, for
having tainted the spiritual with the material. Hence,
this person's prayer will not be answered at
all.3
1Psalms 109:4; Shaar HaKavanoth,
Birkhoth HaShakhar.
2Lamentations 1:14.
3Since the very purpose of the prayer is
Unification, any expression of or intention for personal
interests is the antithesis of this purpose, for instead
of surrendering one's being, and then benefiting by
virtue of being part of the Whole, one separates
oneself from the Whole by focusing on one's own
needs. How can such a prayer be answered?
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
|
|
