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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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A TOWNFUL OF BORUCH
MOSHES
Give me children through your prayers.
Otherwise, I'm as good as dead. Genesis
30:1
And then there was the time that Reb Moshe Shlomo
was
speaking to his wife Rivka about their childless
marriage. "I really don't understand why the Baal
Shem Tov won't
bless us with children he lamented. Every time I ask,
the Rebbe responds with a blessing that the
business prospers and for us to be wealthy. And
indeed, when he blesses me with riches, it never fails
to come true for today I am truly a prosperous man.
But why won't he bless us to have children?"
Reb Moshe Shlomo was a simple, warm-
hearted, unlearned Jew who always tried to serve the
Creator with all his might. Disciples close to the
Rebbe were so impressed by Moshe Shlomo's good
heartedness and sincerity that his pain caused them
distress as well. They would often mention to the Baal
Shem Tov that he had been married over fifteen years
without children. But the Baal Shem Tov would simply
nod his head and change the subject.
One day, the Baal Shem Tov invited Moshe
Shlomo and his wife Rivkah to visit with him. During
their meeting, he asked, "Why are you both so
depressed? G·d has blessed you with many things:
health, wealth, and much more."
"But Rebbe" they cried, "We are getting older
and we don't have any children. Will we go to the next
world without anyone remembering that we ever
existed?" Tears filled their eyes.
The Baal Shem Tov did not answer their
question but invited them to accompany him on a long
trip to an undisclosed destination. Of course they
agreed. That very day, three carriages left Mezibush:
one carried the
Baal Shem Tov himself, the second held ten of his
closest chassidim while the third contained Reb
Moshe
Shlomo and Rivka.
For five, long arduous days they traveled,
resting at night
at Jewish wayside inns. They spent the Shabbos in a
small Jewish village. And wherever they went, Moshe
Shlomo gave money freely to the needy and
destitute.
It was Monday when they finally reached their
destination, a small town near Brody. The Baal Shem
Tov told his wagon driver Alexei to halt by the home of
one of
his chassidim. They were all invited into the chassid's
home to rest after the long trip.
Later, when everyone was refreshed, the
Baal Shem Tov suggested that they take a walk
around the village.
Just outside the gate of their host's home,
they saw a group of children playing. "What is your
name?" the Baal Shem Tov asked one of the little
boys.
"Boruch Moshe," came the reply.
"And yours?" he asked, turning to another
child. "Boruch Moshe," came the reply again.
"And yours?" he asked a third. This child was
also named Boruch Moshe. The fourth child held the
identical name as did the fifth and the sixth while the
seventh was called Boruch Dovid and the eighth
Moshe Mordechai.
A little girl and sister of one of the boys
offered
her name without being asked, "I am Brocha Leah,"
she said.
Moshe Shlomo and his wife Rivka and the
ten chassidim could not help showing their surprise
at all of the chidren having nearly the same name.
The Baa! Shem Tov, however, did not seem in the
least amazed at the coincidence. He just smiled and
continued walking.
The group continued walking through the
village, stopping each child they met to ask their
name. The answer was invariably Boruch Moshe or
some combination of one of those names for the boys
and Brocha Leah for the girls.
The couple and the Chassidim did not know
what to make of this strange village where nearly every
child had the same name.
After some time, they came upon an old man
sitting on a bench, evidently one of the old-timers of
the village.
The Baal Shem Tov went over and
asked him, "Maybe you can explain to us why almost
every child here is called Boruch Moshe or Brocha
Leah?"
"Ah, but that is a long story," he smiled at
them. "If you really want to hear . . ." Their eager faces
gave him his answer.
"About one hundred years ago," he began,
"there lived a learned Jew full of Torah and good
deeds
named Isaac Shlomo. He owned a butcher shop and
made a good living, giving generously to the poor
and supplying both the rabbi and the local yeshiva
with
meat every Friday.
Years passed and Isaac Shlomo and his wife
remained childless. Finally, after about fifteen years of
marriage, his wife gave birth to a son whom they
named Boruch Moshe. The child grew and was sent
to cheder (school) along with the other children his
age. But it was soon evident that he was no scholar.
The child tried hard to please his teachers and
parents but nothing they taught would stay in his head.
His father hired special teachers for him but
even the individual attention didn't help.
After his bar mitzvah, Isaac Shlomo became
convinced that sending his son to school was just
wasted time so Boruch Moshe left school
and began working in his father's butcher shop. There
he showed an aptitude he had never displayed in
school. His father taught him all a good Jewish
butcher should know - how to weigh honestly and
not cheat the customers and how to treat them with
respect since they could not always afford to pay for
their purchases. And lastly, he trained his son in the
practice of sending a portion of meat to the
rabbi and to the local yeshiva every Friday.
It was not long before the father was able to leave
Boruch Moshe in charge of the butcher shop while he
went to
the study hall to learn Torah. He soon stopped coming
to the store altogether, so efficient and honest did his
son prove to be.
During the next ten years, Boruch Moshe married a
good woman, Brocha Leah. They lived a content life
together and were highly respected in their
community. But they were childless.
Some time after, Isaac Shlomo passed away and
shortly after his wife joined him. Boruch Moshe
wanted to honor his father's memory by learning
mishnayos. But try as he might, he could not
understand the simplest mishna, much less commit it
to memory. He even hired a special tutor to teach him
but nothing remained in his head for even a minute. At
last he gave up in despair. Instead, he would sit in the
study hall while the rabbi gave a class in bible, without
even slightly understanding what was being said.
One day, Baruch Moshe heard the rabbi say
that
whoever teaches Torah to his friend's son can be
considered as if he were the child's father. These
words caused him a special pang. 'It is sad enough,'
he thought,'knowing that I can have no children of my
own. It is doubly sad to know that I will never be able to
teach other people's children whereby I could at least
have the privilege of calling them my own. I am entirely
cut off
from being remembered here on earth after I pass on
to the next world.' All of a sudden he made a deep
sigh. The rabbi turned to him and thought he
understood. 'Don't despair,' he said
encouragingly. You and your wife are still young. You
may yet be blessed with children.'
Boruch Moshe lowered his eyes but all of a
sudden,
his emotions overcame him. 'I don't know if I will ever
have children of my own. And when you said that by
teaching other people's children you can call them
your own I felt doubly bad. For what am I, a boor, an
ignoramus. All I can do is say a few prayers. How can I
ever teach others? What will become of me?' He
finished speaking and burst into tears.
'But Boruch Moshe,' the rabbi said, 'my
words were
not meant only literally. You can be instrumental in
teaching other people's children just as if you had
taught them yourself!'
Boruch Moshe's ears perked up. What did
the rabbi
mean? Was there hope for him after all?
'Yes, of
course the Rabbi continued. By hiring a teacher to
teach other's children, you can fulfill the very
same obligation and earn the merit for yourself. By
subsidizing the school and the yeshiva so that they
can expand and take in more children, you are virtually
fathering these children in the spiritual sense.'
Boruch Moshe's eyes lit up. This was
something he
could do. He felt a new spirit pouring into him. He
rushed home and told his wife, Brocha Leah
everything the teacher had said and how it would
affect them personally. 'You see, there is indeed hope
for us, after all.' He began to outline his plan. Brocha
Leah listened enthusiastically, encouraging her
husband in his fervor.
The next morning Boruch Moshe went out
and
gathered all the poor children of the village whose
parents could not afford to send them to school. He
hired a special teacher for them and visited with them
frequently to see how they were progressing at their
studies. He gave a large sum of money to the yeshiva
and continued to make generous donations. Before
long he was supporting the
education of tens of poor children.
As the years went by, Boruch Moshe increased his
support for Torah study. He did not have
any children of his own but that fact no longer
disturbed him. He and his wife were content in their
project and saw the fruits of their labor, little boys
growing up to enter the yeshiva and emerging as full
fledged Torah scholars. And they were content. The
butcher store did a flourishing business, enabling its
owner to continue with his unusual pastime."
The old man paused for a rest and then
continued. "I
myself, he said proudly, and the rabbi of this village,
were educated in the school founded by this
wonderful couple, as was the rest of my generation.
Boruch Moshe and his good wife, Brocha Leah have
returned to the heavenly world a number of years ago,
having lived to a ripe old age rich with fulfillment.
Before they left this world, they willed their fortune
equally to four purposes. One quarter went to their
relatives, another to the poor, a third to the continued
support of the cheder and the yeshiva. The last quarter
was set aside for other charitable purposes.
As I said," the old man summed up, "the good couple
did not leave behind any children of their own. But they
did leave behind literally hundreds of children whom
they helped educate and who bear their name. For you
see, we here felt it our pleasant duty to immortalize
their memory by calling our children after them, our
spiritual father and mother. And when their yahrzeit
comes each year, we all assemble in the shule and
the rabbi himself leads the prayers and kaddish for
their holy souls. We all visit their graves as if it was our
own parents that had died for they are even greater
than our natural parents, having given us eternal life
by enabling us to learn Torah." The old man finished
talking.
The Baal Shem Tov nodded in thanks and left with his
party, returning to their temporary lodgings. Inside he
turned to the couple and said, "Now you can
understand the words of the prophet Isaiah: 'And I will
give you within My house and My walls, a monument
and memorial of sons and daughters, an eternal
name which will never be destroyed.'"
And the Baal Shem Tov continued, "My 'house'
signifies a place where Torah is studied and where
My spirit rests. 'Within my walls' signifies the concept
of the Jewish nation which believes in Me and which
is My fortress - an edifice which cannot be
conquered."
"Jews like you," he said to Moshe, "who live by
G·d's holy Torah and help others to study it, deserve
an eternal share of Torah and an eternal place among
G·d's people."
Moshe Shlomo and his wife Rivka had now
found a
purpose in life and balm for their unhappy souls. They
ceased to bemoan their lack of children. Instead they
gladly turned to their new task, of educating a
generation of Jewish boys and girls, knowing that with
the support they extended, they were adopting
hundreds of children to be called their own. They
labored selflessly and ceaselessly, never forgetting
the golden example they had been shown of a couple
that had left behind an entire village bearing their
name as an everlasting memorial.
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in Sefer
Hamaamorim 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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Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said "Surely,
G·d is in this place, but I did not know it. And
he was afraid, and said. "How awesome is this place!
This alone is G·d's house, and this is the
gate to heaven." (Genesis 28:16-17)
There is a problem [with this verse]. Had another
person been standing there claiming that it was not
G·d's house, but another house, such as an
inn or something similar, it would have been correct to
tell him: "It's not as you say. This alone is
G·d's house!" But since there was no one
there to contradict him, why did he say it that way? He
should have said: "This is surely G·d's
house!"
This can be explained with the
Gemara: "Rabbi Yinai proclaimed, 'Woe to one who
lacks a courtyard, but makes a gate to the courtyard!"
1 According to Rashi, the Torah is the
gate that leads to the fear of G·d.
2 Now,
it is known that before going to Haran, Jacob learned
Torah for fourteen years in the study hall of Shem [and
Ever]. 3 Yet, during that entire time, he
never felt the awe of G·d that he felt on Mount
Moriah, the place of the Holy Temple. 4
Therefore, he said, "Since I see how awesome this
place is, I decree and declare that this alone is
G·d's house. This is His main dwelling place.
As it says: 'My house shall be a house of prayer. . . .
(Isaiah 56:7).5 And all that I learned in
the study hall of Shem is only the gate to heaven; it is
only the gate to fear.
Kesser Shem
Tov, part 2, p. 5c
1Shabbat 31b. Meaning, woe to
one who studies Torah (the "gate"), but has no fear of
G·d (the "courtyard").
2Yoma 72b.
3Megilah 17a.
4The Midrash states that Jacob slept at
the place of the future Holy Temple. See Rashi on the
verses above.
5The Baal Shem Tov puts this verse in
the mouth of Jacob, as if he said it.
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 93
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
When a person speaks with love and fear,
the Shechinah desires his words, like a mother who
longs to hear her son speak wisely, so that her
husband should admire her. So too, when through a
person's efforts the words are bedecked and rise
Above, a great splendor is born, and the angels
declare: "Who is like Your people Israel, a unique
nation in the earth" (I Chronicles 17:21).
Therefore, try and say [at least] one word
of prayer with love and fear, for that arouses all the
angels to sing to G·d. And when you serve
G·d, you
arouse all of the worlds to serve G·d as well.
Kesser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 5a
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 30
The great sages from the time of
The Baal Shem Tov until the complete revelation of
the Messiah are an illumination of the Messiah, as is
known.
She'eris Yisroel, Sha'ar Hiskashrus 4:43
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 122
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
"He bears iniquity, overlooking rebellious
sin."1
The Baal Shem Tov explained this with a parable:
Two people once had a dispute. When they wanted to
reconcile with each other, each one raised issue over
all the wrongs the other had done to him. Had they not
been interested in reconciling, they would not have
raised issue about those past wrongs.
This is then the meaning of the verse: When does
G·d "bear" a person's sins and confront him
with them? When He wants to overlook rebellious
sin.2
1Mikhah 7:18.
2Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Tazria #3.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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