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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE RETURN
You shall not take a wife from the Cana'anite
women. Genesis 28:1
And then there was the time that the saintly Reb Leib
Sarah's was traveling along a desolate road on Erev
Yom Kippur. Suddenly a storm arose and the rains
poured down from the heavens. By late afternoon, he
had just reached a small village not too far from his
destination -- the city where he intended to stay for the
holiest day in the Jewish year. When he arrived, he
was told that the villagers had already arranged for a
minyan (a quorum of 10 Jewish men) to gather for the
Yom Kippur services in their tiny synagogue. The
minyan consisted of the eight Jewish men who lived
there and two more who came from their homes in a
nearby forest. Reb Leib Sarah's was greatly relieved
not to have to rush to the city and decided to stay and
pray there for Yom Kippur.
He ritually immersed himself in the river, ate the last
meal before the Yom Kippur fast, and hurried to be the
first in the
village synagogue. He began reciting the prayers
which he was accustomed to say before Kol Nidre
(the first prayer of the Yom Kippur service).
Meanwhile, the villagers arrived and prepared to begin
the prayer services. Suddenly, they realized that they
had no
minyan. The eight villagers together with Reb Leib
Sarah's constituted nine; one man still lacked for the
required
minyan. They inquired about the two men who lived in
the forest and were told that these men had been
imprisoned as a result of some slander and would
not be able to attend.
"Maybe you can still find some other Jew in the
vicinity?" asked Reb Leib Sarah's.
They all shook their heads. No, they didn't know of a
single other Jewish man who lived anywhere near
their village.
But Reb Leib Sarah's persisted, "Maybe there is a
meshumad (a converted Jew) in the village."
They gaped at him in disbelief. What? Can a
converted Jew can be part of a minyan?
He continued, "The gates of repentance are never
closed, even to a meshumad. I have heard my
teachers say that if one searches in the ashes, a
spark of fire can also be found ."
"The poritz (lord) of this village," related a
villager, "happens to be a Jew. But he left Judaism
over forty years ago. The daughter of the former poritz
had loved this man and wished to marry him. Her
father agreed to the marriage if he abandon Judaism
and become a Christian in exchange for his daughter
and all his wealth. This man could not withstand the
temptation."
"Did his gentile wife bear him any children?" asked
Reb Leib.
"No," they answered. "His wife passed away several
years ago and left him childless."
Reb Leib asked to be directed to the manor of the
poritz. He took
off his tallis (prayer shawl) and rushed off, dressed in
his white kittel (ritual robe) and gartel (pryer belt).
When he reached the
manor, he knocked on the door, and, without waiting
for an answer, strode right into the home, confronting
the poritz face to face. They stood looking at each
other for several moments, silent and motionless. At
first, the poritz thought of calling his servants to throw
this intruder out, or worse yet, into a dungeon. But the
Jew's penetrating eyes and shining face softened his
heart.
Reb Leib Sarah's spoke first, "My name is Leib
Sarah's. I had the great privilege to know Reb Yisroel
Baal Shem Tov who was respected by many and was
renowned both in heaven and on earth. I once heard
him say: "Every Jew must pray this one short prayer of
King David: 'Hatzileini Midomim Elokim' - 'Save me
that money may not be my god.' My mother, Soroh,
was a saintly and pure Jewess. One of the landlords
desired her for a wife, promising her wealth and
power. In order to escape him, she married an old
Jewish man who was a poor melamed (teacher). You,
however, were not able to withstand the temptation
and succumbed to the lure of money by converting.
You should know, nevertheless, that nothing stands in
the way of repentance. One can acquire a portion of
eternity in one hour. And now is the hour! It is the eve
of the Day of Atonement and soon the sun will set. The
Jews in this village need one more person to
complete their minyan. Come with me and join the
minyan, for it is written, 'And the tenth one will be holy
unto G·d'."
The poritz's face paled. His blood froze within him at
the sight of this Jew in white and at the sound of his
words. Meanwhile, the Jews in the synagogue waited,
also frozen with fear. Who knows - they thought - what
evil this strange Jew may bring upon us.
Suddenly, the door of the shule opened. In hurried
Reb
Leib and following him - the poritz! The landlord's face
was downcast and his eyes were wet with tears.
Reb Leib motioned to one of the Jews and someone
quickly handed the poritz a tallis. He enveloped
himself in it, covering his head and face. Reb Leib
went over to the ark, took out two Torah scrolls, giving
one to an elderly Jew while he handed the other to the
poritz. Reb Leib stood between the two men and
began the traditional service.
"Al da'as Hamokom - - With the consent of Heaven
and the consent of the congregation -- we grant
permission to pray together with the sinners."
A deep sigh escaped from the depths of the poritz's
heart, which moved the whole congregation. They all
burst into tears. During the length of the evening
prayers as well as into the following day, from early
morning prayer service until the final Neila service, the
poritz stood on his feet, bent and broken. From time to
time he would emit heart-rending sighs; at the sound
of his sobbing, all the worshippers trembled. Even
more heart-wrenching was his weeping when he
recited the vidui confession of "Al Chait."
At the conclusion of the Neila service, when the
congregants had reached the Shema, the poritz put
his head into the holy ark, embraced the Torah scrolls,
and in a moving voice announced:
"Hear 0 Israel, the L·rd is our G·d, the L·rd is one!"
Removing his head from the ark, he stood up to his
full height and said, seven times, with all his
might, "G·d is the L·rd." Each time his voice grew
stronger and more forceful. And when he finished, his
soul departed with the word 'L·rd.'
Reb Leib said of him, "Blessed is he whose soul
departed with the word 'L·rd'."
That very night, the poritiz was buried among his
people, in the Jewish cemetery of the nearby city. Reb
Leib
himself purified and buried the body. From that time
on, Reb Leib would recite the morner's Kaddish every
Yom Kippur in memory of this baal teshuvah.
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in Yalkut
Shmuel as translated in Stories of the Baal Shem Tov
by Y.Y. Klapholtz
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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Now all the wells that his father's servants had dug
while Abraham was still alive, the Philistines had
sealed them up, and filled them with earth. (Genesis
26:15)
This is the mystery of all the wells that the Forefathers
dug in order to find water - meaning, Torah - in
the "earth" - i.e. on the lowest level.1
For each of them, by perfecting his
character traits,
brought forth a revelation of Torah - "a well of living
water" (ibid. 26:19) - from the earth and the lowest
levels, so that it not be covered over again.
However, after Abraham died, these
revelations were sealed up by the "earth" that covered
the "water." This was due to the Philistines - the
impure shells that reasserted themselves. But Isaac
came and redug the wells, as it is written: He redug
the wells that had been dug in the days of his father
Abraham" (ibid. 26:18). This too refers to the
revelation of Torah by Abraham and Isaac. And even
today, Torah lies hidden in those very deeds of
Abraham and Isaac.
And all of this was to repair the future generations, for
were it not for the Forefathers, it would be impossible
to have any understanding of Torah, and to draw close
to G·d at all.
Me'or Einayim, Vayetze
1Water is a common metaphor for
Torah, as in the verse: "Ho, every one that thirsts,
come you for water. . . " (Isaiah 55:1). Earth is
considered the lowest of the four elements of fire, air,
water and earth.
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 92
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The speech of Israel from is the World of Speech that
enlivens the world. The thought of Israel is from the
World
of Thought. And this world 1 receives
the letters of speech by way of the character traits -
Hesed, Din and Rachamim2. Because
this world has limited dimensions, and must receive
through the traits.
This can be understood by way of example.
It is
impossible to look at the sun because of its great
brilliance. But one can look at the light it emits, to
grasp and derive benefit from it because the sun's
strength has been diminished. Whereas, were the
light of the sun to have the same brilliance as the sun
itself, it would also be impossible to look at it. This is
what is written: "a sun and shield is Hashem Elokim"
(Psalms 84:12). Kesser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 19d
1I.e. the physical world.
2Love, Judgment, and
Compassion.
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 29
The holy Rabbi of Kaidnov said
that the whole path of the Baal Shem Tov is to learn
how to draw upon oneself the type of worship that will
be practiced in the Messianic Era. For from the time
of the Baal Shem Tov onward, sparks of the
Messiah's soul are manifest in the leaders of each
generation. This is as the Talmud says: "Two
thousand years of the days of the
Messiah."1 "Alaphim" (Thousands) has
the meaning of "Teaching," as in "And I will teach you
wisdom - ve'a'alephcha chochmah" (Job 33:33). He
should teach himself the path of devotion that will be
practiced in the days of the Messiah. In general, the
entire path of Hasidism revolves upon these two
wheels: humility and joy.
Zecher Tzaddik, p.10a
1
Sanhedrin 97a: "The world will exist for six thousand
years: Two thousand desolate (i.e., without Torah),
two thousand of Torah, and two thousand of the days
of the Messiah (i.e., in readiness for the Messiah)."
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 120
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Some people need to prepare themselves before
prayer so that their minds will at the least be clear of
foreign
thoughts. Then, perhaps they may even
be able to reach a state of dveikut (spiritual
attachment). This preparation is
accomplished by first
reciting Psalms or studying Torah, and then
beginning the prayers after one's mind has thus been
opened.
There are other people, though, who would not be
able to focus their minds on prayer if they first recited
Psalms or studied Torah.
This is alluded to in the Mishnah, "One may do much
or one may do little - the main thing is to focus one's
mind heavenward,"1 that is, that one be
able to focus
one's mind during prayers. Therefore, both paths are
equal.
Then, when one makes a special effort during prayers
to arouse oneself, one is praying in the masculine
mode - the mochin dikhrin, the masculine mind. On
the other hand, sometimes one is aroused from
Above and moved to spontaneous tears, in which
case, one's prayers are in the feminine mode - the
mochin nukvin, the feminine
mind.23 When the latter
happens, one's prayers will miss the
mark4
(because there are accusations against this person,
and his soul senses them, although he is not
conscious of this). The rectification for this is to then
have remorse that one did not arouse oneself, but that
one had to be aroused from Above. One should then
weep for the earlier spontaneous weeping, thus
transforming the original feminine mind into the
masculine mind, and one's prayer into a masculine
mode.
What may further be said about this cannot be
committed to writing, and may G·d forgive us
for what
we have already said.5
1Tractate Berakhot 5b.
2Elsewhere (Toldot Yaakov
Yoseph,
Bo #11), these
are referred to as the active and potent mochin d'Aba
and the receptive and restrained mochin d'Ima.
3Elsewhere (Ben Porath Yoseph
107a,
155c), the
Baal Shem Tov refers to self-arousal as the mayin
nukvin, the "feminine waters," and the arousal from
Above as the mayin dikhrin, the "masculine waters."
These are actually two ways of expressing the same
idea. When one arouses oneself, one is taking the
active, "masculine" role, but at the same time, one is
creating the "feminine waters" of yearning for
G·d that
arouse Him to reciprocate with "masculine waters,"
and provide further arousal. In fact, the Maggid of
Mezritch, the Baal Shem Tov's disciple and
successor, says that only when one is overcome with
spontaneous tears due to one's contemplating
G·d's
greatness and the awe one should have of Him, has
one truly served G·d (quoted in Sefer Baal
Shem Tov,
Noah, Amud HaTefilah #59).
4Since one was not able to
compose oneself sufficiently and focus one's mind on
the prayers to
arouse oneself, one's prayers will be further disturbed
by distracting thoughts. The comment in the
parentheses is not in the original, but is the curator's
addition.
5Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Tazria #1.
The
Toldot
frequently makes such an apology after presenting an
anthropomorphic idea as the one he does here. The
basic concept touches on the very subtle borderline
between human initiative and G·d's arousal.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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