Continued from Shabbos Pinchas

In the last installment, Reb Moshe, the son of Rabbi Adam Baal Shem, left the world, and Yisrael (later known as the Baal Shem Tov), was left alone to continue on his path through life.

In the summer of the year 1733, two brothers Yitzhak Dov and Meir, beloved sons of the Rabbi of Yozlovitz, came to study Torah for a few weeks with the Baal Shem Tov. At that time, the Baal Shem Tov, then known as Yisroeli, lived In a small village near the holy community of Kitov. Yisroeli had leased a distillery and tavern, which his wife Channah managed, while he went off to be alone among the mountains to study Torah and pray.

Their business, however, was not particularly successful and they could not earn enough to live on.

Yisroeli decided to devote a few hours a day to digging and cutting mounds of loam and clay. Then Channah would hire a horse and wagon and once or twice a week, they would both load the loam and clay on the wagon; and she could then take it into Kitov and sell it there.

For some time, all went well. But then the wagon collapsed going down a high hill and the horse was badly injured and died later that very day.

Yisroeli was now laden with debt and he had to pay for the horse and the collapsed wagon.

In a nearby village lived a wealthy Jewish distiller and tavern-keeper who also owned a large flock of sheep. This tavern-keeper came from the city of Brody, and he knew Rabbi Gershon Kitover, Yisrael's brother-in- law. Beset by the disaster with the horse, Yisroeli went to this tavern-keeper and asked to be given charge of the sheep and to be their shepherd. Working as a shepherd of the flock out on the hills, he could continue his worship of G-d all alone and without anyone knowing his way of worship. It was the Baal Shem Tov's custom to devote two whole hours to "shemoneh esreh," the main prayer, said silently, in each of the three daily prayer-services.

The tavern owner agreed and Isroeli was put in charge of the flock of sheep. He took them out to the hills to pasture. When the first afternoon came, the beginning of the time for "minchah," the afternoon prayer-service, Yisroeli wanted to worship and pray to the Creator. So he stood there thinking: whom could he leave to watch the sheep?

Just then he heard a beautiful melody. He looked about and saw a young shepherd who was playing the melody on his flute and standing not far away.

The Baal Shem Tov went over and asked him, "What is your name?"

"Alexei," he answered.

"Would you like to watch my sheep for a little while? I'll give you a piece of bread if you would."

"All right, Mr. Yisroeli."

So the Baal Shem Tov took out a piece of Sabbath "challah" that he had brought along in his knapsack, and gave it to Alexei; and then left him and went up high into the mountains to pray.

Among those mountains and unbeknownest to Yisroeli, a large group of bandits made camp. They had been watching Yisroeli at his new occupation; and now when he drew close, they began laughing about him among themselves: "Just look at Yisroeli the new shepherd."

They knew him well - the impoverished Yisroeli who went wandering over the hills, always lost in his deep thoughts. They had always left him alone, never tempted to harm him; for what would they want of a penniless young man who kept to himself? Today, however, he was of great interest to them. Yisroeli was now the shepherd of a fine flock; and there he was, going off to pray to the Creator, leaving hundreds of sheep grazing on the hillside.

Well, they decided, they needed a good plan how to steal the sheep from this new, unexpecting shepherd. The bandits watched the Baal Shem Tov's footsteps as he took large strides, lost as always deep in thought. And they saw the plan unfolding by itself. For "Yisroeli" was unaware that he was about to fall into a deep ravine formed in the mountain. If anyone had tried to go across, they would surely fall into the deep ravine.

So the bandits decided on a plan. Just wait for the new shepherd Yisroeli to fall into the ravine, and then take his sheep.

Watching them grazing, the lad Alexei looked up at the hills, and he saw the leaders of the bandits, Sergiu, Stephan and Jan standing close together and ready to to pounce. Alexei knew them well could not stop shaking in fear. What could he do if those bandits were to come down and take the sheep? But then he thought of his shepherd's flute. He would sound on it long shrill notes of alarm, till all the shepherds nearby would come running to help him. He would keep blowing his flute till even Yisroeli heard him.

So he stood there, flute in hand, ready to sound it until Yisroeli would hear and come running to save his sheep. Meanwhile, high on the hill the bandits stood, huddled close together, waiting for Yisroeli to fall down the ravine; and they could not stop looking at his steady footsteps.

Suddenly their eyes opened wide. They could not believe what they saw: As the Baal Shem Tov reached the edge of the ravine, the other side of the ravine moved close and joined the first side. And Yisroli kept walking without even realizing that there had been a deep ravine where he had just walked. As soon as he passed, the two sides of the ravine spread apart and the ravine appeared again.

The bandits could not understand it. They had never seen anything like this. "Well," said one to the others, "the best thing is to wait here and see how he comes back."

About two hours later, after he completed his afternoon prayers, he returned; and when he came to the edge of the ravine, the same thing happened: The two sides moved together and he walked on, again not realizing the danger he avoided.

As the Baal Shem Tov came walking down the mountain, young Alexei ran to greet him in great happiness, playing a joyful tune on his shepherd's pipe. Breathlessly he told Yisroeli of those bandits whom he had seen standing together and planning to steal the flock of sheep.

As they stood there talking, the bandits themselves appeared, shivering with fear, Alexei took hold of Yisroeli's hand. Yisroeli, however, merely embraced him. "Don't be afraid."

While they were still some distance away, the bandits knelt in reverent respect before the Baal Shem Tov. Then they came close and confessed how they had planned to rob him of his sheep. But then, they told him, they had seen with their own eyes the miracle that had happened for him: how the two sides of the ravine had twice joined together so that he could walk across in safety. Now they realized now that he was a holy man, and they begged him to make an oath of peace with them, that they should always be on good, friendly terms; and he should pray for them.

Gently the Baal Shem Tov replied, "I can pray for you only on one condition: you must swear to me by your lives that you will never touch any Jew to harm him, as long as you live."

Without a moment's hesitation, the bandits swore as he had asked, and he gave them his solemn promise that he would pray for them.

The young Alexei was still trembling as he listened to this conversationn. There and then he resolved that for the rest of his life he would be the servant of Yisroeli. This new shepherd had to be a holy man, a G-dly man: for just think of the miracle that the bandits had seen with their own eyes! Alexei knew these mountains and he had seen knew the deep, dangerous ravine that had closed before the Baal Shem Tov.

From then on, the bandits lived at peace with him, and would do him no harm. At times, a quarrel broke out among them, when they could not agree among themselves how to divide what they had stolen. Then they would bring their disagreement to the Baal Shem, and he would render a fair decision.

So passed a few peaceful weeks after Passover, as Alexei attended the Baal Shem Tov as his faithful servant. Meanwhile the two sons of the Rabbi of Yozlovitz were on their way, traveling to reach the Baal Shem Tov in time to spend Lag Ba'omer with him amidst the beautiful trees of the forest.

When they arrived at the Baal Shem Tov's home, they found only his little daughter Adelle there.

"Where is your father?" they asked.

"He is tending the sheep in the field."

It was in the morning, and the two brothers had not yet said their morning prayers. After praying with fervor, they took some cake and cookies from their knapsacks and began eating them for breakfast.

Adelle vas used to seeing visitors and guests in the house. She ran to her mother for a pot, filled it with milk and warmed it up. When it was ready, she brought it to the two brothers, to serve them each a cup of milk and some bread. As she went, her little brother Tzvi came scampering after her. In their gratitude, the two young brothers gave the children some of their cake and cookies,

Having eaten and said the Grace after meals, they asked the Baal Shem Tov's wife to let the children show them the way to the field, where they could find their great teacher. So the little children, Adelle and Tzvi, went skipping and running ahead. And at that moment Channah stood praying intently that she should merit to see Meir, the younger of these two brothers, take her daughter Adelle for his bride.

When they reached the mountainside, the two brothers saw a flock of sheep grazing, while Alexei, stood there playing a beautiful shepherd's tune on his flute. Suddenly they heard Adelle call out in Wallachian, "Alexei, come here!"

Alexei was delighted to see the young visitors who had come. Here, in the field and the forest, he usually saw no one except the bandits and a few other shepherds. . So now he came running with joy.

"Here," Adelle told him, "go and show these visitors where my father is."

"And who shall be left to look after the sheep?"

"Tzvi and I will stand guard over them until you come back."

As Alexei led the two guests, he tried speaking to them in Wallachian. When he saw they did not understand, he began talking in Polish. He couldn't help but to tell the two of the sight his own eyes had seen. How Yisroeli had walked to the very brink of a deep ravine and the other side of the ravine had moved towards the other side so that the ravine disappeared while their holy teacher hadwalked across.

Alexei went on to tell them about the bandits: how they had made a pact of peace and friendship with his master, and how he settled their quarrels. Then he told them a most astounding story:

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

"And Moses spoke to the tribal heads of the Israelites, saying: This is what G-d has commanded. (Concerning the principle that) when a person makes a vow to G-d, or makes an oath to prohibit himself (something the Torah permits), he must not break his word and must do all that he expressed verbally." (Numbers 30:2-3)

This is what is written: "Better not to make a vow, than to make a vow and not complete it." (Ecclesiastes 5:4). The Holy One says, be careful making vows, and do not break them, for all who breaks vows will eventually transgress oath.¹ And one who transgresses oaths is considered to have denied G-d. There is no forgiveness for him, as it says: "You shall not take the name of the L-rd your G-d in vain; for G-d will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain." (Exodus 20:6). And it is written: "If you will return to me, O Israel and will swear, 'As the L-rd lives'.." (Jeremiah 4:1-3) . The Holy One said to Israel, "Do not think that it is permissible for you to swear, even in truth. You are not permitted to swear by My Name.."²

Our Sages enjoined us to say before each mitzvah: "For the sake of the union of the Holy One and His Shechinah.." This is alluded to in the verse: "This is the thing that G-d has commanded." The matter is as follows.

King Solomon said: "Better not to make a vow." But what type of individual is he addressing? If it is a person who does not plan on fulfilling his vow, it is obvious that he is forbidden to make it, for he transgresses a negative commandment and a positive one, as the Talmud says.³ And if it is a person who wants to fulfill his vow, why is it better for him not to make it? The Sages said: "How do we know that a person can vow to fulfill a mitzvah? From the verse: "I have sworn and I have fulfilled it, to observe Your righteous ordinances." (Psalms 119:106). King David also said: "My vows to G-d I will fulfill." (Psalms 116:14). And would David transgress this, G-d forbid?

Rather, with every mitzvah that a person performs, he fixes all the aspects of nefesh, ruach, and neshama, up until the highest point - the tip of the yud,⁴ which is hidden and concealed. If the commandment requires action, making that the lowest level of the commandment, a person must still fix speech and thought. If it involves speech, then that is the lowest aspect of the mitzvah, and he still must fix voice and thought.⁵

Now, when a person thinks about performing a mitzvah, he still has no fear of the accusation of the "shells,"⁶ for they have no attachment to thought. However, when he verbalizes [his intention] to do a mitzvah, then there are Accusing Forces to hinder the mitzvah, for the "shells" draw sustenance from the place of speech.⁷

Therefore, when a person wants to perform a mitzvah and must speak about doing it, making him concerned about the Accusers, our Sages enjoined him to say: "For the sake of the union of the Holy One and His Shechinah, in fear and in love, in love and in fear, to unite the Name Y-H and V-H by means of He who is hidden and concealed in the name of all Israel." Then, he has created the Unification of the mitzvah on [the level of] speech, voice and thought, up above, to He who is hidden and concealed.⁸ Then he will not be afraid of the Accusers or obstacles to the mitzvah, nor from any selfish motivations [on his part], since he has uplifted all the vitality of the mitzvah, and lacks only the mitzvah's performance, which is the last level. Consequently, the Accusers will lack all ability to stop him.

This is what the verse says: "When shall make a vow to the L-rd your G-d, you shall not be late in fulfilling it.." (Deuteronomy 23:22). This verse guarantees that when a person makes a Unification before performing a mitzvah (that is, "to the L-rd your G-d"⁹) he can be absolutely sure that he will not delay in fulfilling it since he did the Unification completely. This is why the verse says: "This is the thing.." alluding to the Unification. For "this" is Yesod and "the thing" (hadavar) is Malchus. "That G-d has commanded" means that G-d commands each person to say the Unification completely before performing a mitzvah. Therefore, "If a man makes a vow to G-d," to do a mitzvah, he shouldn't just say that he will do it, he should make the complete unification.

This explains what the Midrash said: "Better not to make a vow than to make a vow and not complete it." That is, not to complete the Unification, but merely to state that one will do the mitzvah. Because then concern exists about the Accuser, and it would be better not to have vowed, not to say anything, only to think about doing the mitzvah, so that there is no worry about the Accusers. However, if a person can complete the Unification perfectly, it is certainly better. He will not have any fear of Accusers, and in fact, will receive help and support to complete the mitzvah.

This is what David said: "My vows to G-d I will fulfill." This means that the vow will be with a complete Unification. For when the Unification is incomplete, it is called "breaking the vow," which will lead him to transgress an oath. This in turn is an impediment to the mitzvah, which is a rectification of the seven attributes called "oaths." Therefore, one must be careful to complete the Unification.
Devorim Nechmadim, Ginzei Yosef

¹Taking an oath involves swearing on G-d's Name. Thus, transgressing it is a more serious offense than breaking a vow.
²Yalkut Shimoni, Matos #284.
³ Nedarim 3b.
⁴ Although the Baal Shem Tov explicitly names the three lowest levels of the soul - nefesh, ruach, and neshama - he alludes here to still higher levels - the chaya and yechida. These five levels are alluded to in the four letters of the Tetragrammaton. The nefesh corresponds to the final hey, the ruach to the vav, the neshama to the first hey, the chaya to the yud, and the yechida to the small point at the top left of the yud.
⁵The Baal Shem Tov divides each mitzvah into three components. When the mitzvah is performed with speech, such as prayer or Torah study, then that is the lowest level. The two higher levels would then be voice (kol - undifferentiated sound) and thought.
⁶Kelipot - forces of impurity and evil that oppose the performance of a mitzvah, by claiming that a person is not worthy to do it.
⁷See Likutey Moharan I:38,2, on the verse: "Sin couches at the door" (Genesis 4:7), alluding to the "door" of the mouth.
⁸Apparently, by reciting this prayer, one unifies even a physical mitzvah on three upper levels. The actual performance of the mitzvah that follows is almost secondary, and can proceed with obstruction.
⁹The conjunction of the Divine Names "L- rd your G-d" - Y-H-V-H Elo-hecha - corresponds to the union of G-d and the Shechinah, described above.

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore.

4.a(5) Every word, gesture, step and action of a person makes its mark Above.

The Baal Shem Tov taught:

A person's many sins keep them from serving G-d. In their low state, they cannot believe that their prayers and Torah study draw Divine blessings into all the worlds, and that even the angels are nourished by their Torah and prayer. Were they to believe that, they would serve G-d with joy and fear, and would recite each letter and word of prayer properly. They would remember what it says: "When you lie between the sefasoyim (sheepfolds)" (Psalms 68:14); that is, G-d watches a person's lips (sefasayim), and kisses them when they say words of Torah and prayer in reverence and love. Who would not be filled with fear and dread upon realizing that the great and awesome King watches the lips of even a person who is "despised and forsaken of men" (Isaiah 53:3)?

Our Sages have said: "The humility of Rabbi Zechariah caused the destruction of the Temple." A person should realize that they are a "ladder standing upon the earth, with his head reaching Heaven" (Genesis 28:12), and that their every word, gesture, step and action makes its mark Above. Then, they will make sure that their deeds are all for the sake of G-d. But when they think, "Am I really significant enough to damage or repair that which is Above and below? Are all my deeds really recorded in heaven?" they will feel unaccountable for their actions, thoughts and speech saying, "I will have peace" (Deuteronomy 29:18). But this is not true; for through our good deeds, we actually cling to G-d. As it is written: "You shall go in His ways" (Deuteronomy 29:9). That is, our compassionate actions below arouse the attribute of compassion in all the worlds above.

Thus, I interpreted the phrase: "Know what is above from you," as meaning "know that what is Above is from you yourself, from the various emotions that you feel."
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 181c-d



Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

Section 18.

The following story was told many times by the Alter Rebbe, who heard it from his Rebbe, the Mezritcher Maggid.

Once, the Baal Shem Tov was teaching the Chevraya Kadisha (his inner circle of followers) intimate secrets of the Torah that had never before been heard in this world before. These secrets could not even be found in any of the writings of the early mekubolim (Masters of Kabbalah) or even the Arizal.

And all the Baal Shem Tov's disciples were Torah giants in their own right, especially the eminent Reb Dov Ber. Even before coming to the Baal Shem Tov, Reb Dov Ber was famous for having studied and reviewed every available book of Torah, both of revealed knowledge and mystical thought, one hundred and one times.

Upon this occasion, Reb Dov Ber heard previously unknown teachings about such deep concepts of Torah that they utterly confused him. As he thought about the Baal Shem Tov's ability to transmit such teachings, he found it difficult to believe that a soul enclothed in flesh and blood could know such hidden thoughts, probably beyond even the grasp of the angels themselves. He was seized with the thought that the voice that spoke from the mouth of the Baal Shem Tov came directly from his disembodied soul. At the same time, several of the other disciples were so mesmerized by these teachings that they finally were compelled to touch the Baal Shem's hand to see if it was tangible.
Niflaos Sipurim

Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore

KST 31.

The Baal Shem Tov taught:

"And now, Israel, what does G-d ask of you - only to have awe of G-d your L-rd."¹

That is, G-d asks "what" of you - "what" implies humility and selflessness. When a person reaches this level, awe of G-d will be easily attainable for him, just as it was for Moses, as the verse concludes, "only to have awe."²

With this we can understand the verse, "His concubine,"³ which refers to false humility, "whose name was Re'umah" - that is, re'u mah, which means, see that I am "what," that I possess humility. "[Re'umah] gave birth to Tevach" [tevach literally means slaughter], since this will eventually kill the person's soul.⁴

Similarly, the names of the Tribes, Reuben, Shimon, Levi, Judah, which have holy connotations, can also have unholy ones. For instance, Re'u ben - which means, see that I am a son (of G-d); Shim'on - which means, his fame, that is, one who acts properly so that fame becomes universally known; Levi Judah - which means accompaniment and praise, that is, one who accompanies the righteous so that he receive praise.

¹Deuteronomy 10:12
²As we saw in KST 29, the level of a person's awareness and experience of G-d is intimately connected with the level of his selflessness. ³The verse quoted in this paragraph is from Genesis 22:24.
⁴G-d, is the Source of all life and of truth, and thus, any type of falseness inevitably dissociates one from G-d and leads to spiritual death.

Translation and commentary by Rabbi Yehoshua Starrett.

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