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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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A DRY SUKKAH
"During these seven days you must live in sukkahs
(thatched huts). . . . This is so that future generations
will know that I (G·d) had the Israelites live in
sukkahs when I brought them out of Egypt."
Leviticus 23:42,43
And then there was the time, in the holy community of
Kitov, that it poured with rain on the first night of
Sukkot.
Rabbi Chaim, a great Torah scholar
and
opponent to the fledgling Chassidic movement ("the
Sect"), was slightly aggravated that he would not be
unable to enjoy the first night in the sukkah (temporary
hut covered with schach [typically branches or
bamboo] so that the stars are visible).
While
waiting in his house for the rain to let up so he could
at least go into his succah, Reb Chaim saw one of
his acquaintances casually walking down the street
as if he had already finished his Yom Tov meal in the
sukkah.
When Rabbi Chaim inquired as to
where he was going, the man told him that he was
returning from having dinner in the sukkah of Rabbi
Gershon Kitover (the brother-in-law and close follower
of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov).
"And Rabbi
Chaim," he continued, "there was a miracle there
because not a single drop of rain was falling through
the schach.
Rabbi Chaim asked his son to go to Rabbi Gershon's
sukkah and see if it was true that it really wasn't
raining there.
When his son came to the Rabbi Gershon's
sukkah, he looked in and sure enough, everyone was
sitting, talking and eating. There was not a single
drop of rain coming through the schach into the
sukkah.
Rabbi Gershon invited Rabbi
Chaim's son to join them but he refused explaining
that he had to return to have Yom Tov dinner with his
father.
When the son returned, he told his father, Rabbi
Chaim, that it was true. "Father, Rabbi Gershon was
sitting in his sukkah, and I saw with my own eyes that
there was not even a single drop of rain coming into
the sukkah."
Rabbi Chaim rolled his eyes. Of course he believed
his son's report but he wasn't that impressed.
The
rain finally relented and Rabbi Chaim and his son
went into their own wet sukkah for Kiddush and the
Yom Tov meal. Naturally, they discussed the miracle
of Rabbi Gershon's dry sukkah and other miracles
that the so-called tzaddikim (Holy men) of The Sect
were able to do.
Rabbi Chaim said, "In my
opinion, creating such miracles, as obviously done by
our friend Rabbi Gershon, is against the spirit of the
Torah."
Early the next morning, Rabbi Chaim and Rabbi
Gershon met on their way to the mikveh (ritual bath),
in preparation for fulfilling the mitzvah of the lulav and
esrog.
"Rabbi," said Rabbi Gershon to Rabbi Chaim, "I
understand that you were sitting in your succah last
night and speaking loshon hara (gossip) about me."
Rabbi Chaim answered with
astonishment, "How did you find out about what I said
in my sukkah? I was sitting there completely alone
with my son. And I'm sure he didn't tell you what I
said. The only logical answer is that a Heavenly angel
told you. But that seems impossible because an
angel does not have the authority to speak loshon
hara."
Rabbi Gershon answered, "Our Sages teach us
that 'Whoever fulfills one mitzvah acquires one angel
to speak up in his defense, and whoever does one
transgression acquires one prosecuting angel to
speak against him.' So it was that prosecuting angel
who you created last night by your loshon hara about
me who came and told me what you said."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in
TREASURY OF CHASSIDIC TALES ON THE
FESTIVALS by Rabbi S.Y. Zevin
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THE PILLAR OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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Section 85
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
There is no speech without thought, for a person first
thinks what he is going to say. Now, when you think
before you speak, you will certainly feel fear and
shame. You will fear the words themselves, when
you realize that the World of Speech - the Shechinah -
is speaking through you and that incorporates all the
Attributes - fear, love, beauty - as is
known.1
How can a person
not be
scared and ashamed when he knows that he
arouses the Shechinah and all the Attributes? This is
the meaning of: "They do His word" (Psalms 103:20) -
they make speech into action.2
Kesser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 5b
1 The Shechinah - the Divine
Presence - corresponds to the world of Malchus,
which is the lowest Sefirah and incorporates in it all
the upper Sefiros - the Divine Attributes.
2In Hebrew, the words "to do" and "to
make" are the same - asseh.
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 23
When the Baal Shem Tov visited
the home of Rabbi Meir of Premishlan and his son
Rabbi Aharon Aryeh, there was an infant lying in a
crib.
The Baal Shem Tov asked the
infant, "Who am I?" and he answered, "Master is the
G·dly Rabbi Isaac Luria."1
The
Baal Shem Tov replied, "So you shall live, and the
verse shall be fulfilled in you: '. . . spirit that is upon
you, and My words which I have put in your mouth,
shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth
of your seed, nor from of the mouth of your seed's
seed, says the L·rd, from now and forever."
(Isaiah 59:21)
Ma'aseh Yechiel, Bereishis 4
1 Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Arizal, lived in
sixteenth century Tzefas in northern Israel, and was
one of the greatest Kabbalists in history.
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 113
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
In order to punish someone who needs to be
punished, that person's trust in G·d is taken
from him. Therefore, one should pray to G·d
to remain firm in trusting Him.1
Section 113a
"Meritorious is the one who holds hands with
sinners."2
This does not mean chastising them with words of
rebuke to bring them to repentance, for perhaps they
will ignore the words and the effort will
fail.3 Furthermore, a major rule in acting
for G·d's sake is to see that some service of
G·d is done with the very action. For example,
when eating, one should not only eat with the intention
of drawing strength from the food to then serve
G·d, for although this is a good intention, it is
not the ideal. The ideal is to serve G·d with
the very eating, which is to elevate the holy but fallen
sparks that are in the food. The same applies to all
human action, which should be with such
intention.4
Thus, when chastising and rebuking one's audience,
one should first surrender oneself to G·
d's
Oneness, and then identify oneself with one's
audience by virtue of the All-Inclusive Oneness, for the
leaders of a generation and its masses are all part of
the same single Source. When one acts in this way,
G·d is with him, and one is then able to rise
up together with them and to bring them also into
union with G·d. 6
This, then, is the meaning of holding their hands - to
elevate them. And through this, one is serving
G·d
with one's very words of rebuke. Similarly, with one's
prayers, said the Baal Shem Tov, one can elevate
others.
This is also the meaning of, "I saw people of
elevation, and they are few."6
1 Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Mishpatim
1. The Toldot quotes this teaching in the context of
another teaching. There are two types of trust in
G·d, he says. In one, a person trusts in
G·d only within the limits of their nature. In the
other, a person trusts in G·d even beyond
what seems naturally possible. For example, in the
first, a
person will spend a lot of money to honor the Sabbath
with
good food only if he has enough money, and will
make a simple Sabbath meal if he doesn't. With the
second kind of trust, a person will borrow money to
honor the Sabbath, even though he has no idea how
he will pay back the loan. This is because he fully
trusts that G·d
will provide him with the money. Thus, someone who
truly lives on the second level is not disturbed in the
least by
whatever befalls him, since he fully trusts that
G·d will help him. (This is a level, though, that
cannot be feigned - either one lives at that level or
one doesn't.) Hence, in order to "punish" this person,
this level of trust must be taken from him, or else
there is no way to make him suffer. For the average
person, though, who lives on the level of nature, this is
unnecessary, since he can be deprived even without
removing his trust.
2 Zohar II 128b. The following
teaching is from Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Mishpatim
#6.
3
That is, if the above quote refers to bringing the
sinners back "by the hand," then this can only be said
if the effort was successful.
4 Every human act is thus transformed
from a means to do one thing into a goal in its own
right.
5
Ultimately, all individual human souls are part of
the single, Universal Soul that was Adam HaRishon
(the first man). On a very
deep level, despite human free will, no human act can
ever take place without G·d's knowledge and
will, and thus, even sinners are carrying out
G·d's will. This, of course, does not absolve
one from restraining oneself from what is
considered "sin." But it does obligate others -
specifically the righteous spiritual leaders - to look
upon sinners as no different than themselves. This
common reality and underlying sameness of all
mankind is what allows for the reuniting of souls in
the One G·d. By virtue of the
righteous identifying and "coming down" to the level of
the sinners, the sinners are also able to identify
and "rise up" to the level of the righteous. Indeed,
different "parts" of each of us can be found at all of the
different levels. The most holy and righteous person
possesses an innate potential for evil, just as the
greatest sinner possesses a potential for
righteousness. This is the righteous "holding hands"
with the wicked, the literal meaning of the original
Aramaic text actually being, uniting with their hands.
6 That is, people who are able to
elevate others in this way.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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