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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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In the last edition of Parsha Ekev, the Baal Shem
Tov battled and defeated a lion.
A few years went by. The Baal Shem left the village of
Koshlevitz and made his home in town of Senitin.
Here he
formed a "minyan" of his own, a group of Jews who
met in his little house of study early every morning, to
say the morning prayers ("shacharit") with the rising
of the sun. For many, many years this little house of
study remained in Senitin, and generations of Jews
continued coming there early every morning, to say the
morning prayers as the sun rose. And they continued
telling wondrous deeds of the Baal Shem Tov, that he
performed in the years that he lived there.
In Senitin, the Baal Shem earned his living in a new
way. Before a shochet (a ritual slaughterer) or a
Jewish butcher bought a kosher animal to have it
ritually slaughtered, the Baal Shem would be asked if
the animal would turn out to be healthy, and its meat
would be kosher to eat, or if something would be
found to be wrong with it, and Jews would be
forbidden to eat its meat. They found that, amazingly,
his answers were always right. And for every animal
about which they asked him, they gave him twenty
pence.
Soon Yitzchak Dov and Meir, his two devoted pupils,
learned that their beloved teacher was now living in
Senitin. Longing to see him again, they begged their
father to let them travel there, promising to return in a
few weeks; and he permitted them to go.
The Baal Shem was overjoyed to see them, and he
welcomed them warmly. They saw, however, that he
was living in a very poor home, and there were many
signs that he was finding it hard to earn enough for
his needs. Putting these thoughts aside, however,
they asked him to teach them something interesting.
For to them, he seemed like an angel, and whatever
he taught them they remembered, and thought about it
a great deal afterward.
"Remember this well," he told them. "In the Torah we
read that 'the wisdom of the unfortunate man is
despised. Sometimes a poor man tries all sorts of
schemes and clever ideas, full of wisdom, to earn a
living, so that he should have enough to keep his
family living from day to day - and not all his wisdom
and cleverness is of any use. He simply needs the
Almighty's help."
From these words of his, the youngsters understood
that their teacher was unhappy with what he did in
Senitin, showing his 'wisdom and cleverness to the
butchers and ritual slaughterers.
In a few weeks, the youngsters took their leave from
him
and returned home, to keep their promise to their
father. As they left, they again exclaimed, "Long live our
Rabbi!"
The Baal Shem yearned again for life in a village,
where he could go off by himself and study Torah
and worship the Almighty in prayer, in complete
solitude, with no one to disturb him. He rode off to a
village near Kitov, and rented a tavern (an inn), which
his wife, Chanah, would be able to manage. "I cannot
find
completeness," he told her. "I cannot study Torah
and worship the Almighty with my whole heart,
unless I am all alone in the forest."
In the tall Carpathian mountains he found a cave,
which he fitted out as a simple home. He put in a
small table and chair, and a lamp; and there he
studied Torah for six days of the week, returning
home only for the Sabbath. Dressed in white linen
clothing, he would spend the Sabbath with his family.
One Friday morning Reb David of Mikolayov came
riding along, on his way to spend the Sabbath in Kitov.
At the inn he had to stop, however, for an axle of the
wagon in wich he was travelling had broken, and the
driver had to
fix it. Reb David went into the inn to say his morning
prayers. To his surprise, he found the woman of the
house (the Baal Shem Tov's wife, Channah) baking
twelve challot, twelve loaves of fine white bread. This
was something done only in the homes of very devout
men who knew the mystic teachings of "kabbalah."
"For what purpose are you making twelve loaves?"
Reb David asked her. "Is your husband a learned man
or a great rabbi?"
"No," she said. "He is a plain, simple man. But what of
it? I am the sister of Reb Gershon of Kitov, and he
always recites Kiddush on Friday night at a table set
with twelve loaves. So I follow the same custom in my
home."
"But where is your husband?"
"He has gone to tend the sheep in the field. He will be
home for the minchah prayer, in the
afternoon."
When Reb David returned to his horse-and-wagon, he
found that the broken axle would take a long while to
fix, and he was not likely to reach Kitov in time for the
Sabbath. He paced back and forth, anxious and
worried: What sort of Sabbath would he be able to
spend here, at this inn? Most likely he would not be
able to have anything to eat or drink, because the food
was probably not really kosher.
As if reading his mind, the Baal Shem's wife spoke
up: "Have no worry, dear sir. You can eat here, with us,
on the Sabbath. My husband is a shochet (a ritual
slaughterer) and our food is perfectly kosher. Here,
have a look at the knife he uses."
Reb David
examined
the blade, and found that it was perfectly smooth and
sharp, as the law requires. He was greatly relieved
and happy to know that if he had to stay in this village
for the Sabbath, he would be able to have his meals
here at the inn.
"We also have a fine mikveh nearby," added the Baal
Shem's wife, "a body of clear water where you can
immerse yourself to prepare in holiness for the
Sabbath."
The wagon indeed could not be repaired before the
approach of the Sabbath. Before the time for minchah,
Reb David went to the mikveh to immerse himself,
then dried his body, put on his Sabbath clothes, and
returned to say the afternoon prayers. At the table he
saw the woman of the house lighting the Sabbath
candles. But where, he wondered, was the master of
the house? Why had her husband not come home as
yet? Surely it was high time?
It was, however, the custom of the Baal Shem Tov to
pray
minchah among the trees of the forest, -where he
would chant "hodu" - Psalm 107 of the Book of
T'hillim - to a melody that he had himself composed.
Immediately after minchah he -would begin the
prayers to welcome in the Sabbath, although the day
was far from ended; and he would spend a long while
in these prayers, especially in the prayer of "L'chah
Dodi," singing each stanza to a different melody. Only
after he had finished his prayers, at great length,
would he return home. For generally there was a
guest for the Sabbath in his home, and there he felt
unable to pray with his own melodies and at his own
rate.
As dusk was falling, a breeze flowed between the
branches of the trees; and had anyone heard it, it
would have seemed a voice singing from the Garden
of Eden, in which all the trees joined with this holy
man, in ecstasy . . . . "Royal holy Temple . . . . . come
forth from
amid the ruins. Long enough have you stayed in the
vale of tears." The birds of the sky as well, nesting in
the thick branches of the trees, seemed to join in this
chant to the Almighty, as the sun's last rays darkened
and the stars began to appear.
Now a sigh burst forth from his heart, as the Baal
Shem Tov continued: "Within you (Zion) the afflicted of
my
people will shelter . . . . " Long ago, says the Talmud,
there lived a sage named Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa. So
holy and good was he that the whole world received
its food for his sake, by his merit. let he himself lived
for a whole week on a measure of carob fruit. Here
now stood the Baal Shem Tov, one of the holiest,
most devout men in the world, living a life of privation
and suffering. The whole week he made do with a
single loaf of bread, almost starving from one
Sabbath to the next. Yet here he stood praying for "the
afflicted of my people." Few others felt as he did all the
pain and suffering of the poor and afflicted Jews in the
world.
As he prayed on, he asked the Sabbath itself, which
had only just now arrived, to pray with him for the
Jewish people; for the Sabbath is the source of all
blessings. waken, waken, for your light has come;
arise, my light, 0' rouse, rouse yourself, utter song; the
L-rd's glory upon you is revealed!"
Now, as the forest's shadows wrapped his head in
darkness, the holy man prayed, "0' spread over us
Your shelter of compassion, life and peace...." And
when his prayers were over at last, he returned home,
to find the Sabbath candles burning and spreading
cheer in the room.
"Good Sabbath," he said as he entered; and when he
saw that there was a guest, he was filled with
happiness. He went over to the guest and gave him
a warm welcome with a cheerful face.
"I was waiting for you," said the guest, "so that we
could say together the prayers to welcome the
Sabbath."
"Good," said the Baal Shem Tov. "Let us pray
together." He
went to stand at the wall, and pretended to chant the
words of the evening prayer, so that his guest should
not realize that he had already chanted them.
When there was no guest, it was the Baal Shem Tov's
way to sing at great length, with a heartwarming
melody of
fervor and holy devotion, the words of "shalom
alechem," to welcome the angels who accompany a
Jew
home on Friday evening after his prayers. Tfhen he
had a guest, however, he would ask the man to recite
it aloud, and he would whisper along, so that the man
should notice nothing extraordinary about him.
When the time came for "kiddush," the Baal Shem Tov
asked Reb David to chant it, and he would fulfill his
own duty by answering Amen. During the meal,
between courses, Reb David sang "z'mirot,"
traditional table hymns, while the Baal Shem kept
silent and listened, to give again the impression that
he was a simple, ignorant man.
When the meal ended and it was time to say the grace
after meals, the host asked his guest to relate some
interesting thought from the Torah. "Whatever can I
say to such a simple man," mused Reb David in his
mind, "that he will understand? I had better tell him
about the portion of the Torah that will be read
tomorrow morning in the synagogue."
He related how the Hebrew people became enslaved
in ancient Egypt, and under conditions of great cruelty
they had to do the most difficult, backbreaking work..
The Baal Shem listened with cries of great interest, as
if he were hearing of this for the first time.
The bed for the guest was prepared near the stove in
the main room, and the Baal Shem Tov and his wife
retired to the bedroom. Reb David went to sleep
happily. True, he thought, his host was a plain man
without any learning; but the man kept the Tarah's
laws, and it was pleasant to spend the Sabbath here.
In the early hours of the morning he awoke, and saw a
great light, like a blazing fire, atop the stove. Leaping
out of bed, he seized a pitcher of water, and began
running to put out the fire, when he suddenly
remembered that it was the holy Sabbath, and what
he wanted to do was forbidden. He put the pitcher
down and began shouting, "Fire! Fire!"
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 you will say, I will eat flesh." (Re'eh 12:20)
The Talmud says: "Love compresses the
flesh."1 Meaning to say, love of
G-d compresses and purifies the flesh, which
is the body. It can also be said that love compresses
and sweetens the flesh, which is Harsh Judgment; for
the flesh comes from the side of Judgment, as is
known.
Likutey Yikarim, p. 5c
1Bava Metziah 84a. The context of this
statement is a discussion in the Talmud between a
Roman matron and Rabbi Yishmael bar Rabbi Yossi
and Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon, both of whom
the Talmud describes as being extremely fat. The
matron said to them, "Your children are not your own."
They answered, "Our wive's stomachs are bigger than
ours!" "All the more so!" she replied. "Love
compresses the flesh," they answered her.
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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5.a1 Praying for the needs of the Shechinah.
Tzaddikim are the messengers of the
Matron.1 Through their own suffering
and deprivation, they know the privations of the
Shechinah and pray for its needs to be fulfilled, uniting
it with the Holy One. This is the greatness of
prayer.2
This answers the age-old question as to
why we need to pray, since G?d surely knows
our
needs. It is written, "He tests the loins and the
heart."3 Prayer is for a higher purpose.
When we realize that our own lacking derives from the
privations Above and pray for the Shechinah's needs
to be fulfilled, our own needs will also be assuaged.
However, you should never think about your own
needs, only the needs of the Shechinah.
Tzafnah Paneach p. 50c
1A reference to the Shechinah
22ee also Degel Machane Ephraim,
B'Chukosai: What is it in a person that feels pleasure
or pain? It is his soul and life-force, for when these
depart, he feels nothing. Now, this life-force is united
with the source of all life and creation, which is
G?d.
When you remember this and think about your source,
which is the Shechinah, and pray for it, you create a
complete unification. This is the meaning
of, "Tzaddikim are the messengers of the Matron."
Through their own deprivation and suffering, they
know and pray for any lacking in the Shechinah.
3Jeremiah 11:20
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 20.
And then there was the time that
several of the Baal Shem Tov's students entered his
study at the same time. He spoke to them, advising
each about his particular problem. When the group left
the study, they discussed what the Baal Shem Tov
had told each one separately. They were stunned to
discover that at the time they had all stood together in
the study, each had been positive that the Baal Shem
Tov had addressed him alone. To their amazement,
they found that he had spoken to each one about his
individual problem without the others being aware of
what was said to his neighbor.
Emunas Tzaddikim
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 35.
"Once, the king of beasts, the lion, became enraged
with his subjects. They gathered together to decide
how to appease him, and the fox said that he would
lead them to the lion, since he knew three hundred
parables with which to persuade him. They all
followed, and little by little, the fox said that he had
forgotten a portion of his parables, and by the time
they reached the lion, he said that he had forgotten
everything. Therefore, he said, each one should
approach the king and appease him to the best of his
abilities."
The fox's intention from the beginning, though, was
only that they all follow him and surrender to the king,
which is why he initially claimed what he did.
Similarly, the Baal Shem Tov urged people not to rely
on the prayers of the prayer leaders on the Days of
Awe, but that each individual should pray for
himself.1
1Ezekiel 1:14.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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