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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE GANG OF ROBBERS
"He (G-d) drove away man, and stationed the
Cherubim at the east of Eden, along with the revolving
sword blade to guard the path of the Tree of
Life." Bereshis
3:24
Before Rabbi Yisrael Ben Eliezer (later known as the
Baal Shem Tov) revealed himself, he spent his time in
seclusion, meditating, learning Torah, and studying
with his spiritual Master (Achiyah HaShaloni). He lived
deep in the Carpathian Mountains with his wife
Chana. Rabbi Yisrael frequently took long walks in
the
mountains.
Once, Rabbi YIsrael was walking in mountains at a
place where two cliffs were separated by a deep
ravine formed with very steep walls. Being that he
was in a deep state of meditation, he didn't notice that
he was walking near the edge of one of the
cliffs.
At the same time, a gang of robbers happened to be
meeting on the opposite cliff across the ravine. They
suddenly noticed the Baal Shem walking towards
the edge of the cliff. At first, they thought they should
quickly hide. But then they realized he wasn't paying
the slightest attention to them. In fact, it looked as if
were in a trance. When it appeared that he was going
to walk off the edge of the cliff, they all gasped and
yelled, "Stop!!"
But just as the Baal Shem Tov stepped off the edge,
the two cliffs miraculously moved towards each other
and joined together. The Holy Baal Shem continued
walking as if nothing had happened. Then the cliffs
separated as they were before. The robbers were
dumbfounded. They didn't say a word to him as he
walked past. For the next few hours, the Baal Shem
Tov kept walking and crossing the cliffs again and
again. Each time, they moved towards each other as
he walked across and then returned to their original
location. The robbers realized without a doubt that the
Baal Shem Tov was a very holy man.
Sometime later, the band of robbers went to the Baal
Shem Tov and told him what they had seen. They
asked him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a holy man.
Would you please pray for us and ask (G-d) to
make us
successful in our chosen line of work?"
The Baal Shem Tov answered: "If you swear to me
that you will not hurt or rob one of my brethren, I will
pray as you ask." Each of the band of robbers swore
to him and the bargain was struck.
From that day on, the robbers would visit the Baal
Shem Tov. Sometimes to settle a dispute that has
arisen between them and sometimes just to talk with
their new friend.
Once during a friendly conversation, the Baal Shem
Tov confided to them that his dream in life was to visit
the Land of Israel. The robbers became very
excited. "Rabbi Yisrael, we know how to reach the
Land
of Israel through caves and underground passages.
We've never traveled the whole distance, but we are
told that it is definitely the way. Would you like to go?"
The Baal Shem Tov didn't hesitate for a
second. "Yes, my friends. Let's go!"
So the gang and the Baal Shem Tov gathered a few
belongings and some provisions for the way and off
they went. After a day of travel, they reached a cave
deep in the Carpathian Mountains. They lit a torch,
entered the cave and started to travel along an unused
path. For days they traveled deeper and deeper into
the earth. Finally, they reached a narrow, underground
river. The robbers said, "This is as far as we've ever
gone."
The Baal Shem Tov said in an excited tone, "Let's
cross."
Using a fallen tree, the robbers created a bridge to
ford the river. The Baal Shem Tov said, "I'll go first."
So they gave him a pole to balance with and he
crossed. Just before he stepped off the tree on the
other side of the river, he saw a flaming, revolving
sword blade. He stopped suddenly and appeared to
stare into empty space. Without explanation, he
turned back to the other side of the river and told the
gang of robbers, "My friends, the journey has ended
here."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in SHIVCHEI
HABESHT and translated IN PRAISE OF THE BAAL
SHEM TOV by Ben Amos and Mintz
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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In the beginning - Bereshis. . . . (Bereshis 1:1)
When the Moshiach comes, may it be speedily in our
days, he will expound upon the letter combinations of
each word in the Torah, from beginning to
end.1 Then
he will combine the entire Torah into one
word,2 so
that the letter permutations will be infinite. Then he will
expound upon all the combinations.
Teshuos Chen, Tazria
1The letters of the Torah, though
inscribed in a
pattern that tells the story of the creation of the world,
and the history and laws of the Jewish people, are not
fixed. It is possible to rearrange the letters to gain new
insights into the meaning of the text, and
G-d's will for man. Furthermore, the letters of
Torah represent the creative energies of G-d
that enter the world, and arranging them in different
patterns can affect the flow of energy from above. By
meditating on the letters, in their different
combinations, mystical states of consciousness can
be obtained. There are various techniques for letter
combination, such as tzerufi osiyos, letter
recombination; gematria, using the numerical value of
each Hebrew letter, roshei tevos and sofei tevos,
words derived from the first and last letters of words in
a verse; the division of letters into their component
parts. Thus, there is an infinite amount of meaning
that can be derived from the Torah.
2See Zohar 3:36a: "The Torah is all one
holy Name
of the Holy One." Also, ibid.
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 1.11
PRAYING WELL
If you can pray well even once, you can uplift all the
lost prayers that were left below for many years.
Together, they will all be perfect, and rise to the
Supernal Desire.
Tiferes Shlomo, Shabbos Teshuva
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 28.
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of
Polonnoye,1 author of Toldos Yaakov
Yosef,2 was
also opposed to the path of the Baal Shem Tov at
first. However, he eventually bound himself to the
Baal Shem Tov with great love and awe. Though there
are many versions of how this came about, the author
of Shivchei HaBesht3 relates an account
that he
heard directly from Rabbi Yaakov Yosef.
The first time that Rabbi Yaakov Yosef prayed in a
house where the Baal Shem Tov was staying, he
began to weep in the middle of his prayers - more
than he had done so ever before in his life. He
realized that his feelings did not originate within
himself, but came through the influence of the Baal
Shem Tov. And so, he attached himself to the Baal
Shem Tov in love.
Because of the source of this account, I did not copy
here the lengthy stories from the books Notzer Tenah
4 or Ma'asiyot u'Ma'amarim
Yikarim.5
Tzror
HaChayim, p.
10d
1D. ca.1782
2Published 1780 was the very first
Chassidic book
printed.
3Sivchei HaBesht was the first book of
stories about
the Baal Shem Tov. The volume was published in
1814, fifty-five years after the Baal Shem Tov's death.
4
Notzer Tenah was written by R. Shimon Rebi and
published in Krakow in 1899.
5Ma'asiyot u'Ma'amarim Yikarim was
written by R.
Yeshaya Wolf Tzikernik and published in Zhitomer
(Ukraine) in 1903.
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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Kst 185: FEIGNING PIETY
"Someone who duplicates it to enjoy its fragrance
shall be cut off from his
people."1
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
If someone tries to "duplicate" the ketoreth, which
symbolizes the saintly people, who are themselves
referred to as ketoreth, because they bind and unite
everything with G-d,2 and thus
hopes to enjoy his own fame spreading far and wide
like the fragrance of the ketoreth, he will be cut off from
his people.3
1Exodus 30:38.
2The Hebrew root of the word ketoreth
means to bind.
3Ultimately, feigned piety will become
known, and its owner will become a laughingstock to
his people. And on a deeper level, anyone who
imitates the conduct of the saintly for his personal
benefit is by definition - his own inner experience -
cut off from G-d, and automatically from
his/His people.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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