In the last edition of Parsha Shoftim, the Baal Shem Tov revealed his greatness to Reb David of Mikolayov. The latter told the townspeople of Kitov. And they, together with Reb David, went to the Baal Shem Tov and asked that he be their rabbi. After asking Heaven, he consented and began teaching.

He then expounded on the Torah and blessed all the people who were gathered there. To his blessings they answered with one voice, Amen, and then began dancing for joy.

With his holy vision, the Baal Shem Tov saw groups of angels gathering all around them to join in their happiness and celebration. For the angels knew he was not merely being chosen as Rabbi of the town of Kitov. He was to become known to the Jewish people as the tzaddik, the pious holy man, and leader of his generation.

Over the joyous singing of the dancing men, Reb David exclaimed, "Long live our rabbi - forever! And all the people responded, "Long live our rabbi - forever!"

When the Baal Shem Tov rose from the seat of branches and leaves that the people had made in his honor, his two young pupils, Yitzchak Dov and Meir, the sons of the Rabbi of Yoslovitz, ran over at once, and swiftly took two of the branches, to lift them and wave them high in the air. These they were going to keep, as remembrances of the day their beloved teacher began to become known as the tsaddik of his generation.

Just as a Torah scroll is carried happily in the synagogue on Simchat Torah, so was the Baal Shem Tov transported from the forest in gladness and rejoicing amid flaming torches and shouts of celebration. All the way to Kitov, the happy outcries could be heard: "Long live our rabbi!"

For a short time, the Baal Shem Tov and his wife Chana and children Tzvi Hirsch and Adel lived in Kitov, where his brother in law and now devoted follower, Rabbi Gershon of Kitov lived.

In time, he decided to move to Tlust where he had lived as a child.

As soon as he reached the town of Tlust, all the Jews of the town learned of his arrival, and they all gathered to pay him honor. They had learned that he was a pious, holy man; and now they came to bestow on him the title of Baal Shem Tov, "the master of the good name." It was the first time he was called by this title, by which he was to be known for the rest of his life, and for ever after. In his modesty however, he agreed to be called by this title only in the town of Tlust.

Happy to be with this man of holiness who had been born and raised among them, the people of Tlust begged him to speak now, to teach them some of his Torah thoughts. He began with a parable, a little illustrative story.

A king suddenly noticed that a large, rare diamond was missing from his ring. In his presence stood many high officers, noblemen and servants, and he could have ordered any one of them to search for the precious stone. He was certain it had fallen out and rolled off somewhere into a corner. It would be easy for anyone to search and find it. Yet he would not give the task to any of the people there, but asked his only son to make the search, find the diamond, and return it to him. And the son did so, to everyone's delight.

The king had no doubt at all that any one of his servants could have found the precious stone, and finding it, would return it to him at once, without any attempt to steal it. Yet he wanted his son to have the privilege. It was a source of satisfaction and pride to him to see his son find the gem and return it to him. And then he said boastfully, "Do you see? No one else could have succeeded like that in finding it!"

What is the point of the story? The whole purpose of the creation of the world is that man should find and return to Heaven the holy sparks that have become scattered and hidden in the world. And this task has been given only to the Israelites and the Jewish people - which we do, for example, by eating only permitted, kosher food. The Almighty has given us many hints and signals, indicating that this is our task; and He has never given such hints or orders even to His holy angels.

When did the holy sparks became scattered and lost on this earth? The Midrash tells us that before the Almighty created this world, He created other worlds and destroyed them - because they could not endure. It is from those destroyed worlds that the holy sparks fell.

The people of Tlust enjoyed the story, for it made clear to them how important and beloved the Jew is in the Almighty's world. After a few moments the Baal Shem Tov continued:

"At the very beginning of "sh'moneh esreh," when a person says, "0' L-rd, open my lips," the Shechinah (the Divine Presence) comes to abide about him and speaks all the words of the prayer through him. If he has an absolute faith that in his prayer the Shechinah is speaking through his throat, then he will have true reverent fear of the Almighty, and He will come to abide with him. Then he can reach a stage of not being aware of himself at all.

What does this mean - not to be aware of oneself at all? It means feeling no sensations and having no awareness of your own physical self, as if your body did not exist at all; and having no conception or picture in your mind of this world, but seeing only an image of the upper worlds, in heaven. When you reach the world of "atzilut" (emanation-transmission), you can know future events. At times, in the lower worlds you can also know things in the future, because there the verdicts are proclaimed, of what is to happen.

Now, when we say our prayers in great happiness, they have a greater effect than prayers said in sorrow and tears. To give an illustration: If a poor man begs and pleads before the king, weeping and shedding tears, he will only give him some, small gift. But when we ask in happiness for our needs, the Almighty will grant us even a large request for help.

In time, he began to sign his name as "the Baal Shem Tov of Tlust."

Within a short time, it occurred to the people of Tlust that a person as holy as he must surely be able to cure sickness - without medicines. As they spoke about it among themselves, rumors began to spread that he indeed had a gift of healing.

Before the Baal Shem Tov knew what was happening, people were coming from near and far to the his house, bringing with them sick members of their families to be cured by him. And cure them he did, although no one knew exactly how. As a result, the name of the "Baal Shem Tov of Tlust" spread far and wide, and his reputation grew from day to day.

Soon afterward, In the town of Pelitz, the daughter of a wealthy man became seriously ill. The learned doctors and physicians were unable to find anything wrong with her. In body, she was perfectly healthy. But she was unable to think, speak or act clearly. She had become wild, and no one knew what she would say or do next. So she had to be kept in her room.

Unable to bring his daughter to the Baal Shem Tov, the rich man set out to Tlust in a handsome coach drawn by four horses, to bring the Baal Shem to his daughter. When he arrived and told the holy man his tale of trouble, the Baal Shem Tov agreed at once to go with him.

Word spread swiftly through the town that he was planning to leave Tlust. The good Jews of the town came at once to plead with him that he should not go off and leave them."Every day," they pleaded, "people come from all the surrounding villages, bringing the sick for you to heal. Why should you leave them helpless and ride away to heal one single person?"

The Baal Shem Tov answered simply, "I am not making this trip merely to cure one person. It is for the sake of a great many people, to bring them help and. rescue them."

To be continued next week. . . . .

Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard Cohn Patent Attrorney) from Legends and Stories of the Baal Shem Tov by Rabbi Menachem Gutman

When you go out to war against your enemies, and the L-rd your G-d gives them into your hand, so that you will take captives. (Deuteronomy 21:10)

Through the very devices of the evil inclination, the evil inclination itself can be defeated. If it is quick in its work to entice a person to sin, in order to fulfill G-d's commandment (as the Zohar relates with the parable of the prostitute¹), then a person should also learn to be quick in his efforts not to listen to the evil inclination, which is the will of G-d [for him].
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Bechukosai

¹The Zohar (2:163a) defines the nature of the evil inclination with a parable: "This is like a king who had an only son, whom he loved very much. He ordered him not to not to associate with any evil woman, for whoever drew near to an evil woman is not fit to enter the king's chamber. The son promised that he would fulfill his father's will in love. Outside the king's palace was a prostitute, of beautiful appearance and form. Days past, and the king said, 'I want to see my son's commitment to me.' He called that prostitute and told her to seduce his son. She followed the king's son and began to hug him and kiss him, and to seduce him in many different ways. If that son is upright, and upholds his father's orders, he will berate her and not listen to her, and push her away. Then the father will be happy with his son, and bring him into his chamber, and give him gifts and great honor. Who caused the son to receive such honor? That prostitute."

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

5.a3 Beseech G-d for righteousness's sake, to unite the Shechinah with the Holy One.

"Hear me, pursuers of righteousness, you who seek G-d. Look at the rock from where you were hewn and the pit from where you were dug. Look at Abraham, your father, and Sarah, who bore you. He was one alone when I called him, and I blessed him and made him many."¹

The "pursuers of righteousness" are those who pursue faith. They are the seekers of G-d. If you want to know faith and to be attached to this righteousness, do not look at it directly, as do others who cause themselves to die. Rather, "look at the rock from where you were hewn."²

It has been explained that all requests should be on behalf of the Shechinah. This is called prayer, for the Divine Presence beseeches and prays to G-d for its needs. Now, whatever a person lacks is caused by a lack in the Shechinah, and in praying for that lack to be rectified Above, a healing is automatically drawn below.

However, "the heart knows its own bitterness"³ and that not all times are equal. If a person experiences some great pain, G-d forbid, and prays for themselves without realizing that the Shechinah is also suffering, it would have been much better to pray for it instead. In the middle of prayer, a person might try to forget themselves and pray for the Shechinah alone, but without truly being able to overcome their own pain. By claiming to be praying for the Shechinah without truly negating their own needs, they may actually be pushed away entirely for G- d knows what is true. Therefore, the advice is to pray simply on whichever level possible. Simply keep your mouth and heart together, for "a speaker of lies will not be established before My eyes."⁴

The lowest level of creation is called Malchus by itself. This, however, is not the case when the Shechinah is truly united with the Holy One through prayer. Then, they are attached to Zeir Anpin. This is not the case with Malchus alone. Only when Malchus is united with the Holy One does a person also become attached to the true source. Therefore, "Pursuers of justice, who search for G-d" are the righteous messengers of the Shechinah. It is as though they beseech G-d for righteousness itself to unite the Shechinah with the Holy One.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef p. 100d

¹Isaiah 51:1
²Zohar 3:222b
³Proverbs 14:10
⁴Psalms 101:7

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

Section 22.

After Shabbos, Reb Elimelech asked the cantor to tell him about the holiness of the Baal Shem Tov. The cantor told him about awesome things that no one had heard before. Primarily, he spoke of the Baal Shem Tov's love and awe of G-d, and how he would perform soul ascensions to the spiritual worlds while fully conscious in this world. He would gaze into all the chambers of Torah and see the Divine Chariot. When the Baal Shem Tov would recite Hallel, he would not say a verse until he saw the angels who recited that particular verse and heard the exquisiteness of their song, and could recite the verse with them.

He related the awe-inspiring holiness of the Baal Shem Tov from the day of his birth. He described how he would speak to the souls of Tzaddikim, with Elijah the Prophet, and most often with the Arizal, who was constantly with him.

Once, the cantor related, the Baal Shem Tov asked the Arizal why he had openly taught mystical secrets of the Torah outside of the context of worship. The Arizal answered that if he had lived another two years, he would have taught the mystical secrets of the Torah in the context of prayer so that the G-dly sparks, still lost in the world would have been rectified.

The cantor spoke about how the Baal Shem Tov's soul ascensions occurred while his body lay still, and how the Baal Shem Tov would speak to Moshiach¹ and with our teacher Moses.

He talked about how the Baal Shem Tov was an expert in the "Work of Creation,"² the "Work of the Chariot,"³ and in the entire Torah. He described how the Baal Shem Tov spoke the language of every creature and the language of the angels, and how he was filled with love and awe of G-d and all possible virtues of character, including piety, humility, and love of Israel.

Reb Elimelech commented that all the spiritual attainments attributed to the Arizal also applied to the Baal Shem Tov - perhaps even more so. He further said that that which is written about the Arizal is a drop in the ocean compared with the totality of who the Arizal really was.

The cantor also told Reb Elimelech that every Friday afternoon, during the Mincha prayer, tens of thousands of souls would gather around the Baal Shem Tov, and he would spiritually heal their soul and help them return to their source.
From the Manuscripts of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of Komarno

¹Messiah;Direct descendant of King David;King and Ruler of the Jewish people during the Messianic Age
²Kabbalistic doctrine
³Kabbalistic doctrine

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

Kst 38

The Baal Shem Tov taught:

Any fear of something in the external world that rises in a person's heart is actually G-d's right arm outstretched to rouse him to an existential fear of G-d.¹ Thus, when a person becomes aware that this fearful experience is really G- d's kindness meant to rouse him, as said, this fear is transformed into love, because one then accepts it with love, and one is thus released from that fear

. For the fear [of G-d] permeates all creatures and all worlds,² and the underlying source of all fears is the deep, inner, existential fear of G-d. Thus, even the fear of something external in the material world that rises in a person's heart is meant to rouse him to the fear of G-d. This is G-d's kindness, His right arm outstretched and begging man to become aroused to fear Him, as referred to in the verse, "What does G-d ask of you besides fearing G-d."³

And if a person would be aware of G-d's kindness and love towards him, in His sending him this fear of something external so that he become roused to an inner fear of G-d, then his fear is transformed into love, since he accepts the fear with complete love, and he is released from the fear. However, if one's sole intention is to become released from the fear, then this will not happen. ⁴

And this is the meaning of the teaching, "Vis-à-vis Moses, fear is a minor thing,"⁵ that is, from fear of a sage it is easy to reach fear of G-d.<sup>6

1</sup>In the text, and Chassidic texts in general, these fears are respectively called, Yir'ah Chitzonith, and Yir'ah Pnimith, literally, an external or superficial fear and an internal fear, alluding to the teaching relayed here that the two are indeed just two levels of the same thing. In fact, the experience of fear itself is one and the same, and the difference is only how we perceive it. Do we become afraid of the superficial appearance that merely enclothes the Divine presence, or do we behold the Divine presence Itself, and stand in awe in front of It? (see Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph #5; Degel Machaneh Ephraim, VaYishlach, Ki Yareh).
²Fear for one's life - and all fear is a response to a situation perceived as a danger to one's life in some way - is actually something very existential to all living creatures, as is readily evidenced in the lower forms of life, and this fear is related to the survival instinct. However, on a deeper level, this existential fear can be traced back to the fact that ultimately, all creatures draw their lives from G-d at every single moment. Hence, since G-d can withdraw this life force at any given moment, it is only natural that at a very deep and unconscious level, all creatures have an existential fear of survival, knowing that G-d can indeed withdraw the spirit of life within them, and hence, this fear is actually a fear of G-d (see Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Korach, q.v. Va'ani, Balak, q.v. V'yesh).
³ Deuteronomy 10:12
⁴As with everything, an ulterior motive does not achieve its goal. Here too, one must completely surrender to the fear and accept it as G-d's love, and only then is it transformed, but if one is trying to be released from the fear, one has not surrendered to it.
⁵Tractate Berakhoth 32b.
⁶That is, while surrendering to the fear of a fearful situation in real life is not always easy, surrendering to the fear and awe that one has of a great sage and holy man is much easier, and it is that much easier to see G-d through him.

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett.

The Baal Shem Tov Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, uses emails, teleclasses and other material to spread and publicize the Torah of the Baal Shem Tov throughout the world. Please visit us at www.baalshemtov.com to learn more about the Baal Shem Tov and the work of the Foundation.

The goal of the Foundation is to hasten the imminent coming of the Moshiach (Messiah) by acting on the answer of the Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov's question: 'When are you coming Master?' (The Moshiach answered) "When your teachings have become well-known and revealed throughout the world, and when your well springs have spread outwards, imparting to others what I have taught you, so that they too will be able to perform contemplative unifications and ascents of the soul…" [quoted from a letter from the Baal Shem Tov to his brother-in-law Rabbi Gershon Kitover.]

One of the major projects of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation is the World Wide Mezuzah Campaign whose goal is to insure that every Jewish person in the world has a kosher Mezuzah attached to the doorpost of their home. Please visit www.mezuzah.net for more information.

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