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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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Continued from Shabbos Shlach
In the last installment, our still young Yisraelic worked
as the
shamash (custodian) in a little synagogue in the
holy
community of Okup. On the day of his Bar Mitzvah, on
the eighteenth of Elul, Eliyahu haNavi and Achiyah
HaShaloni (a Heavenly teacher) came to visit him and
introduced him to the
study of the Zohar.
A few days later, in the
little synagogue of
Okup, it was perfectly quiet, as the morning sun shone
through the windows. The last of the men who came
for the morning prayers were gone. Only Israel the
orphan boy, now the caretaker of the
synagogue was left.
From a corner of a shelf where he kept his
belongings, he took the volume of Zohar (the Book of
Splendor) that Eliyahu haNavi had given him. And as
he sat down to study its holy words, his teacher Rabbi
Achiyah HaShaloni, was
suddenly there, sitting beside him. The first few times
it happened, Israel was taken by surprise to see his
teacher, Rabbi Achiyah of Shilo, suddenly appear out
of
nowhere. But after a few mornings of the same
occurence, the
young orphan soon became accustomed to it.
And so, every morning the two sat studying the holy
words
of the Zohar. Rabbi Achya explained everything in
Hebrew (which Israel understood quite well by now).
And not another soul in Okup knew of this amazing
daily occurrence.
Hardly a month went by, however, when an old
man came from another town to live with his married
son in Okup. Well, what could an old man do all day?
He went home after the morning prayers, had his
breakfast and came right back to the little synagogue.
There he took a t'hillim, the Book of Psalms, and
began
saying its ancient words of prayer.
From that morning on, Rabbi Achya of Shilo did not
appear, for
none but Israel was ever to see him. But around
midnight when everyone in Okup slept, he
was suddenly there again. The only light burning in
that entire village was the small candle, by which the
teacher and his pupil sat learning the words of the
Zohar. Rabbi Achya would not let him kindle any more
candles. If the light was too bright, people might wake
up and take notice.
Israel did not know it, but that candle was a symbol
for himself. As the candle was small, so he was still a
young boy. Yet, just as the candle's flame shone bright
and
clear in the night's darkness, so he too would one day
be a shining light for his people, showing them the
way to a pure strong faith (emuna) in the Creator.
The night that Israel turned fourteen years old, he
learned the following with his teacher:
When Rabbi Hizkiah was staying with Rabbi Yitzhak,
the two rose at midnight to learn Torah. Rabbi Yitzhak
began; It is written, "Now bless the L-rd, all
you
servants of the L-rd who stand by night in the
house
of the L-rd" (Psalms 134:l). This verse was
explained by our saintly scholars - that it means
to praise of the people of faith who rise at midnight
to study Torah, and while united with the whole Jewish
community, they praise the L-rd with words of
Torah.
Come and see: when a man gets up at midnight to
learn Torah, a north wind arouses the deer of dawn (a
heavenly spirit) which then rises up and praises the
L-rd. As the deer of dawn, tens of thousands
arise with it, and all
sing the L-rd's praise. At that time, anyone
who is fortunate
enough to be up and studying Torah - our Holy
G-d
listens to his voice.... All those songs of praise in
heaven to G-d grow still before the voice of the
people
studying; and all the heavenly beings exclaim, "You
bless the L-rd, all
you servants of the L-rd who stand by night in
the
house of the L-rd."
Israel felt a great gladness in his heart, at the thought
that he too was studying Torah at night. Imagine, he
thought: "G-d
Himself was listening to their voices, here in the
synagogue." His teacher patted him affectionately
on the shoulder. "Soon," he told Israel, "you will have a
new teacher. All will be well."
A few days went by, and one morning, at the time for
the prayer-service, a horse-driven wagon stopped at
the little synagogue. Out stepped a young man
dressed in fine clothing and he went in to join the
people in their prayers. Everyone bid him welcome,
and asked him in curiosity who he might be. "I am the
son of Rabbi Adam Baal Shem" (master of the good
name) he replied.
There was a moment of silence, as the answer took
them by surprise. Everyone had heard of Rabbi Adam
Baal
Shem, one of the holiest and most religious men in
their land. They had never thought to see the day when
a son of his would come to their humble little village.
Then the rich people came forward, each to ask the
young man to be his guest and stay at his house. The
The young man accepted one of the invitations, and
after the morning prayers he moved into one of the
wealthy homes in Okup.
Every morning and again
toward evening the young man came to the
synagogue to join in the prayers. Soon Israel noticed
that this newcomer was always looking around and
seemed to be carefully examining everyone there. In
fact it seemed as if he was trying to see into everyone,
to probe the secrets of every man's heart....
Israel, of course, had a secret of his own: the study of
the holy Zohar that he did with
his teacher at midnight. It had to remain a secret, even
from this young man. So while this newcomer was in
the synagogue, Israel never as much as opened any
book of Torah learning. He wanted to let the young
man think he
was completely ignorant.
For a few days, Israel noticed the young man kept
looking and watching until he must have known
exactly what everyone was like. It was as though he
was searching for something or someone - and he
failed to find what he wanted. He stopped watching
everyone.
One day, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem's son dropped a
hint
that his father had sent him
to this village to find a suitable wife, since he was still
unmarried. That set off a great big hubbub among the
rich people of Okup. Every man of wealth with a
daughter to marry off was eager to have the young
man for a son-in-law. And they were all ready to give
the young
man everything he needed, so that he could devote all
his time after the marriage to studying Torah.
The young man, nmaed Moshe, listened to all the
offers, and
finally accepted one of them. The wedding took place
soon
after, and then the young man told his father-in-law
what he planned. He wanted to be able to study Torah
freely he
would stay in the synagogue all week, and often even
sleep
there. He would,of course come home for the
Sabbath, to
be with his wife and her parents. As for food, he said,
they should send his meals to the little synagogue.
They should give everything to Israel the orphan, who
always cleaned the synagogue, and they were to pay
him for his services.
When his wife and his father-in-law saw how strong
his desire was to study Torah, they had no choice but
to agree. Reb Moshe, however, had another
reason also for this plan. And of this they knew
nothing. When his father, Rabbi Adam Baal Shem,
had sent him to the village of Okup, the main reason
was that he should find a young person there who
was devoutly religious, but in a hidden "way, so that
no knew it. By his holy powers Rabbi Adam knew
there was such a person in Okup. He himself had
secret, mystic writings which had to be given now to
this young person. So his son's main reason
for coming, marrying and settling down there was to
find the one to whom he had to give those writings that
now lay well hidden among his belongings.
In his first few days, the young man had watched
everyone he saw, as closely as possible. But no one
among all the Jews of Okup seemed to be the one he
was looking for. So he had one plan left. If someone in
the village was secretly very religious, he must surely
study Torah in the little synagogue at some time
during the day. If he himself stayed there constantly,
he would have a chance to find him.
Days went by, though, and who this young person
might be was still as much a mystery to him as ever.
What should he do?
At last an idea came to him: There was still one period
of time during the twenty-four hours of a day when he
was not watching the little synagogue. Every midnight
he put out the candles at his table and lay down on a
bench to sleep till morning. Could it be that the young
person he had to find came then to study Torah?
There was only one way to find out. That night, he put
out his candles as always, stretched out on his bench,
and began to breathe like a man fast asleep. But he
kept his ears and eyes open.... About half an hour
passed, and he saw a small light go on: A candle had
been lit in the anteroom or entrance chamber of the
little synagogue. Then he heard someone sitting and
learning Torah there ever so softly, so that try as he
might, he could not make out the words.
At that moment, the son of Rabbi Adam Baal Shem
knew that his search was probably over. Yet he had to
be absolutely sure. Perhaps it was a stranger passing
through the village who had come just this once to
study Torah after midnight. It would take yet a while to
make sure. But he was tired and fell back to
sleep.
The next night, he lay on his bench again only
pretending to sleep. And again the small candle was
lit in the anteroom, and soon he heard once more
someone absorbed in studying Torah, in the very
softest voice. This time, he rose softly from his bench
and
went on tiptoe to the window that looked out into the
anteroom - and he could hardly believe his eyes. It
was Israel the orphan, the boy who spent his days
cleaning the synagogue, putting the prayer-books in
order, and so forth - the same boy who now brought
him all his meals from his new home.
Could he be the secretly religious person whom
Moshe the son of Rabbi Adam Baal Shem had come
here to find? As the young man watched in silence
through the window, he knew there was one last way
to find out. If that boy knew how to learn the Zohar well
enough to understand other writings of the same kind,
there could be no further doubt. Well, what better test
could there be than some of the very writings that his
father Rabbi Adam had given him to hand over when
he found the right person? The very next night he
would see if this ypung boy could understand some of
those writings.
So the next night, before he put out his candles,
Moshe the son of Rabbi Adam went softly into the
anteroom, where the young boy slept soundly on a
bench, and he put a few pages of his father's secret
writings on the table. Without a sound he went back to
his own place, blew out his candles, and lay down on
his bench as if asleep.
A half hour later the light of a small candle burned
again in the anteroom. Israel had trained himself to
get up at this time every night, so that he could study
for a few hours, in complete secrecy, the holy words of
his beloved Zohar. For quite a few nights his teacher
had not appeared, so he continued learning by
himself.
He took his beloved book of Zohar from its hiding-
place and went to the table. But now, what were those
sheets of paper on the table? Oh well, he thought, one
of the people who came for the prayers must have
written some letters and forgotten them here.
In Idle curiosity, he picked up a sheet and held it to the
light. And he caught his breath in surprise: This was
no ordinary letter.
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
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face.
(Numbers 16:4)
All the [evil traits] that Balaam
had, Moses was
suspected of having as well. For as long as the
ascension of the Shechinah is not complete, as it will
be in the Messianic Era, when the impure shells will
be annulled and G-d will swallow up death
forever (Isaiah 25:8), all the elevations can only occur
in the mind of an upright individual. And an upright
individual can only reach and ascend to his root by
means of his opposite. That is, when [evil] comes to
his mind, and he becomes motivated to [serve]
G-d .1
Pri Ha'Aretz, Matos
1Every human being contains the entire
world, whose myriad creatures are reflected in the
endless thoughts that pass through his mind each
day. Good thoughts parallel good creatures and evil
thoughts are related to harmful ones. By subduing the
evil in one's own thoughts, the evil in the world is also
overcome. The non-Jewish prophet and sorcerer
Balaam was the very opposite of Moses, and
embodied every possible evil trait; yet he too existed
within Moses' thoughts, and through his presence
there, Moses was inspired to overcome his own evil
and attain the level of a Tzaddik. This is the process of
uplifting the sparks of holiness from among the
impure shells that will continue until the coming of the
Messiah.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer
Shore.
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HEART OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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Section 4a2
There are many aspects of prayer, one higher than the
other. On the lowest level, you pray for your own
needs. This is the level of the world, as it is written, "All
flesh is grass, and all their goodness is like the
flowers of the field,"1 and "Their acts of
kindness are only for
themselves."2
The next level is to pray to fill a
lack in the Shechinah. Indeed, by rectifying the
Supernal Source, the deficiency below is also filled for
Above and below are one. However, you should not
intend to repair both Above and below, for this is
like "uprooting the shoots"3 and creates
a division.
I also heard an explanation of the
Talmud's statement, "There are things that stand at
the height of the world, yet people belittle
them."4 Meaning, the effects of prayer
are Above, in the heights of the world, and not always
below. Therefore, people belittle prayer and imagine
that their supplications are worthless. But this is not
so.
There is yet a higher level, when you do
not demand that even the Supernal rectifications be
accomplished, for there is a danger in that as well.
The story of Rabbi Yosef d'LeReina5 is
proof. Therefore, the best thing for a wise person is to
do what is required of them, to pray over whatever
happens, and let the Master of Desire do as He
knows best. This is the most exalted level - a service
that is not for the sake of receiving repayment.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef p. 144b
1Isaiah 40:6
2Tikunei Zohar, Tikun 30, p.73b
3A reference to heresy
4A reference to prayer
5A fifteenth century kabbalist who tried to
force the coming of Moshiach but failed and caused
the Spanish exile instead.
Translation
and
Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 13.
15. When the Baal Shem Tov would study Torah with
his students, they would be surrounded by fire and the
ministering angels would gather around them. They
would hear the voices and thunder heard by the
Children of Israel during the giving of the Torah at
Mount Sinai, and the words "I am the L-rd your
G-d,"
from the mouth of G-d.
Heichal HaBracha
Va'eschanan
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. 26
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Since the Shechinah (the Divine Presence)
encompasses all worlds - the inanimate, the plant,
the animal, and the human worlds - including all
types of creatures, good and evil alike. And since the
Shechinah is the Absolute Unity, how can two utterly
opposite entities exist in one thing? This is
particularly a conondrum because good and evil are
complete antitheses, while the Shechinah is an
Undifferentiated One.
However, evil is actually a vehicle of good. An example
is when Pharaoh pursued the to the Red Sea,
regarding which the verse says that, "Pharaoh came
close"1 - literally, brought them
close.2 Another example is when one
sees how the wicked behave, and then one is grateful
that one is not that way, in which case, the evil brings
him the pleasure and satisfaction of being righteous.
In fact, evil is virtually elevated in this way, only that as
soon as the evil is thus elevated, its evilness is
dissipated.3 An evil thought is also a
vehicle in this fashion.4
Also, sometimes a soul descends from the world of
Atzilut [the one closest to G-d] into the world of
Asiyah [representing the physical world] and sees
how people are not respecting the honor of the King of
world. This soul is greatly distressed by this lack of
respect for the King's honor, but then he has pleasure
that he is not among those people.
This explains the verse, "G-d said to
Abram"5
(Abram symbolizes the soul, as stated in the
Zohar6 ), "Go away from your homeland,"
that is, from
the world of Atzilut to the world of Beriah [the world
immediately below Atzilut], "and from your birthplace,"
that is, from the world of Beriah to the world of Yetzirah
[the world below Beriah, "and from your father's
house," that is, from Yetzirah to Asiyah, which is, "the
land that I will show you." That is, there you will see
how the people of the world of Asiyah disrespect
G-d's
honor, and you should rebuke them.
1Exodus 14:10
2By causing the Israelites to fear for their
lives and to cry to G-d, Pharaoh was thus
responsible
for bringing them closer to G-d.
3Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Lekh Lekha 1.
This teaching can be understood within the context of
the teaching that everything that G-d created is
good -
including the evil inclination (Midrash), and the
existence of evil in this world is actually only from our
perspective. Hence, when one reaches this
realization, and uses "evil" for its true purpose of being
a vehicle in various ways for reaching G-d, its
evilness
dissipates.
4That is, if one realizes
that the thought was only sent to him for the purpose
of his realizing that it was sent from G-d, this
very
realization brings him closer to
G-d.
5Genesis
12:1
6Zohar I 80b
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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