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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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In the last edition of Parsha Re'eh, the Baal Shem
Tov began to reveal himself through a miracle
demonstrated before the Tzaddik, Reb David of
Mikolayov. We left off when Reb David saw a fire on
Shabbos night in the inn. He started to yell fire, fire!
And then Reb David saw the Baal Shem sitting there.
Why are you
shouting?" the latter asked. "What have you
seen?"
"There, on the stove - don't you see it? - a bright light,
some kind of blazing fire."
"Hush, You'll wake the children," said the Baal Shem
Tov. "Be still, and have no
fear. It is nothing. I am merely sitting here, saying the
Psalms from the Book of T'hillim. Perhaps you saw
the light of the T'hillim that surrounds me."
Now Reb David understood. If this man could make
such a flaming light appear by saying the words of the
Book of T'hillim, he must be a holy man who
kept his holiness hidden from everyone's eyes and,
unknown to the world, worshipped the Almighty on a
very high level. In short, the man was a hidden
tzaddik.
"Why have you concealed yourself from me?" asked
Reb David. "Why didn't you let me know what sort of
person you really are? I demand that you reveal the
truth to me."
The Baal Shem Tov made no further attempt to hide
anything from Reb David and he told him about his
life. When morning came, they
began
the morning prayers of shacharit together. The Baal
Shem Tov
chanted
everything in his usual way, with his great enthusiasm
and devotion.
At the Sabbath meal, after the prayers, he asked his
guest again to relate some interesting thought from
the Torah. This time Reb David made no attempt to be
simple, but spoke on the meanings of certain
sentences in the Torah: both the plain meaning and
the hidden, mystical meaning.
Then the Baal Shem began relating thoughts of his,
that he derived from the Torah. No human ear had
ever heard such wondrous thoughts before. They
were as sweet to hear as the words of the Torah
spoken at Mount Sinai.
When he was done, he begged his guest not to tell
anyone a thing of what he had learned about him.
Especially should he not say a word to the Baal
Shem Tov's brother-in-law, Reb Gershon of Kitov.
The same thing happened at the third Sabbath meal,
as dusk was falling, and the same thing again at
Malave Malka, the
festive meal on Saturday night to mark the departure
of the Sabbath.
Reb David decided, however, that this hidden tzaddik
must become known to his people. For then he could
do so much more good.
Sunday morning, losing no time, he rode to
the holy community of Kitov and
told the Jews of the town about the Baal Shem Tov. As
he
described him, the people became convinced that
they must bring this holy man to their town and have
him live among them. So they decided to
ride to the village where he lived in their wagons, in a
procession of
honor, to ask this hidden tzaddik to make his home in
their town.
Meanwhile, the two young sons of the Rabbi of Yos-
lovitz, Yitzchak Dov and Meir, were filled with longing
again to be with their beloved teacher, to hear his
sweet fervent prayer in the woods. They pleaded with
their father so strongly that he should let them travel
and visit the Baal Shem Tov for a few days, that at last
he
gave them permission.
By Tuesday they arrived at his home, and went at once
to find the place in the woods where he spent the days
of the week in solitude.
When they entered his cave, he imbraced them
affectionately, delighted to see them once more. Soon
it was time for
minchah, and he went with them to say the afternoon
prayers among the trees of the forest. As they were
about to begin, however, they heard a great tumult, for
Reb David had arrived at the inn, leading the
procession of wagons In which the people of Kitov
came riding.
Not finding the Baal Shem Tov at home, Reb David
went searching for him in the woods, and soon he
caught sight of him among the trees. "Here he is!" he
shouted. "I've found him!"
The Jews of Kitov
left their
wagons and came to join Reb David. When they saw
the Baal ShemTov, they gave him a friendly greeting,
and
he welcomed them all.
Reb David stepped forward and told him of the strong
wish of these good people that he should
come to live in their town and be their rabbi.
Saying not
a word, as he stood there the Baal Shem Tov closed
his
eyes and concentrated, as if trying to hear something.
Then he opened his eyes, as he heard a proclamation
from above, informing him that the verdict in heaven
was to consent to this. Whether the Almighty, his
Father in
heaven,
would be pleased if he became the rabbi in the town
of Kitov.
When the Baal Shem announced that he agreed, Reb
David was overjoyed. "Come," he shouted to the
people, "we must make a seat of honor for this man of
holiness."
The Jews of Kitov became busy
cutting
branches from the trees of the forest; and out of these
branches they skillfully made a kind of seat. On this
Reb David and the leaders of the Jewish community
made the Baal Shem Tov sit, and they asked him to
speak about the Torah. They grew silent to
listen, and he spoke.
"Such a talk," he said, "should begin by paying honor
to
those who give hospitality to the Torah. It is good to
learn Torah and study its ideas, for according to
a man's ideas and thoughts, especially if they holy
and pure, worlds of spirit are created..
"For this reason, if a person learns from his friend or
neighbor one chapter of Torah, one law, one
sentence, one phrase, or even one letter, he must
treat him with honor. For what he has learned adds
something to the holy ideas and thoughts in his mind.
"Now, when a person learns Torah from a good,
suitable rabbi, that Torah increases and grows in his
mind. Thus Rav Saadya Gaon explained that the entire
Torah is contained in the words of the Ten
Commandments.
"The one absolutely
perfect rabbi
and teacher is of course the Almighty Himself; and
when the Hebrew people heard His Ten
Commandments at Mount Sinai, they were able to
understand the entire Torah.
"Yet now, since the whole of the Torah comes from the
Almighty, all of it is included in any single sentence or
phrase. So whatever a person learns of the Torah
from a proper, worthy rabbi whose spirit is rooted in
the unified world of heaven - that can lead him to
understand the entire Torah. And thus all the rabbi's
pupils can become tzaddikim, holy men. And so, in
time, the Jewish people can all be tzaddikim.
"So let us speak in honor of the hospitality given to
Torah. For the hospitality you are giving me, and the
Torah I hope to teach, may all of you merit to become
tzaddikim.
"Now, as I said, when one person learns from another
even one letter of the Torah, he must treat this teacher
with honor. For through the letters of the Torah
and of our prayers, we can cling to Him (blessed is
He).
"A person should fasten his inner mind, his inner
thought, to the inner holy light that lies within the
letters. When he spends a long time over one word, it
is a sign that his inner mind, clinging to the letters, is
reluctant to be separated from that word. And this
has a profound effect in Heaven
"If there are wicked persons in the city or the country
who act with falsehood, and there is a tzaddik among
them who acts with truth in his prayer and his study
of Torah, then all those who are responsible for
wrongdoing and deceit are scattered far and wide.
The presence of the Tzaddik causes the Almighty's
presence to comes into this region -
even into a place of bands of wild animals and
outlaws.
"In every person there are also sparks of holiness
from
the "Shechinah," from the Divine Presence. And these
sparks move him to seek holiness. But if he finds that
for him
the heavens are locked, let him go to the devout,
religious man of his generation, and he will pray for
him.
"The Talmud tells that the daughter of a great sage
and
scholar had no oil for her Sabbath lamps (in those
times they lit small oil lamps instead of Sabbath
candles). She had only vinegar; and her father told her
to put vinegar in the lamps, because 'the One who
told oil to burn can tell vinegar to burn,' and her lamps
gave a good light for the Sabbath.
"If all the people in the world lived with "chasidut," with
holiness and kindness, it would not be considered a
miracle for a
person to tell vinegar to burn, because it would burn
for
many people. It is only because the people of the
world do as they please, obeying their hearts blindly,
that they cannot do this. One man alone in his
generation has the ability, because his prayer is
answered; and it is a great wonder in people's eyes.
"Now, the main task in learning Torah is to cling to its
inner light and spiritual meaning. That is an infinite,
boundless light within the letters of the Torah. And this
is called "learning Torah for its own sake." Remember
what Rabbi Meir said: 'Whoever spends his time
learning Torah for its own sake merits to attain many
things, and mysteries of the Torah are revealed to
him.' This means that he will know the future and all
impending events, from the Torah.
"Let me end with a parable, a story to illustrate this
point. A
certain king proclaimed on a day of his great
happiness and celebration: 'Whoever wants
anything of the king, let him come and ask, and his
wish will be granted him.' Some came and asked for
power and authority. Some asked for wealth; and
some asked for honor. There was one wise man
there, however; and he came and said he wanted
nothing whatever, except for one small thing: that he
should be allowed to come and see the king on any
day, at any time that he wished; and then the king
should agree to what he asked. This wish was
granted him. So he became a frequent, regular visitor
to the palace, and he was able to get everything he
wished.
"When we pray to the Almighty, we are like the people
in the land of that king. We have the right and the
ability to come before the supreme King, the Divine
Ruler of the universe, to ask of Him any one thing that
we wish. If we are wise, we will ask Him to let us
always come to him with our needs. Then we will be
like privileged members of His household, and we
need not ever lack for anything.
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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"You must then appoint the King whom G-d
your L-d
shall choose; from among your brothers you shall set
King over yourself." (Devarim 17:15)
The King of Israel is the heart of Israel. This explains
the verse: "How can I go, for Saul will hear and kill
me?" (I Samuel 16:2).1 Why was he
scared to go? He could have gone in secret. What he
should have said was: "How can I return, after I have
anointed someone else as King? Saul will kill me."
The reason is because the King is the heart of Israel,
and the heart hears,2 that is, it
understands.3 This is what Samuel
meant: "How can I go, for Saul will hear?" Since he
was still the King of Israel before David's
anointment, "he will hear." That is, he will understand
the purpose of my going, "and he will kill me."
However, he was not afraid to return, because by then
David had been appointed King, and Saul would not
understand or hear,4 for certainly
Samuel acted in secret.
Degel Machane Ephraim, Va'eschanan
1When G-d told the Prophet
Samuel to
go to Bethlehem and anoint David as King instead of
Saul, Samuel expressed fear that Saul would hear of
his trip and try to kill him.
2Based upon I Kings 3:9, where King
Solomon prays: "And now, O' L-rd my
G-d, You have
made Your servant King instead of David my father;
and I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out
or come in..Give, then, Your servant a listening heart,
to judge your people.."
3In a related teaching, the Teshuos
Chen writes in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: "The
king is the aspect of the head of the world, and is able
to know the thoughts of people."
4The Teshuos Chen writes: "Since he
anointed David, so that he would be the head, Saul
immediately lost the power to know people's
thoughts."
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.a2 Praying for the Shechinah's suffering to
subside.
A wise person knows that all of their own suffering
also causes pain to the Divine Presence, as it says in
the Talmud, "When a person is in pain, what does the
Shechinah say? 'My head
hurts me! My arm hurts me!'"1 Thus, if
the wise person prays for the Shechinah's suffering to
subside, their own suffering will abate as well.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Beshalach
1Talmud Sanhedrin 46a
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 21.
Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of
Komarno (1766-1834) said that my teacher and
father-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai of Finshtov,
had told him that one of the disciples of the Baal
Shem Tov asked the Rebbe, "What will be my
livelihood?"
The Baal Shem Tov responded, "You will be a cantor."
The surprised disciple exclaimed, "But Rebbe, I can't
sing!"
The Baal Shem Tov replied, "I will bind you to the
World of Melody."
The man became the greatest cantor in the world.
Once, this cantor came to Rebbe Reb Elimelech of
Lizensk (A disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch, 1717-
1787). An intense discussion ensued between the
Rebbe and his son, the Tzaddik Reb Elazar, over
whether or not to honor the cantor with leading the
Kabbalas Shabbos service. Reb Elimelech was
afraid that the cantor would disrupt him from the state
of holiness he normally experienced during the
Shabbos prayers.
Finally, they decided to honor the cantor and his two
accompanists with leading the Kabbalas Shabbos
service. Their decision was a result of their great awe
of the Baal Shem Tov, for the cantor was known
as "the Cantor of the Baal Shem Tov." Out of respect
for the Baal Shem Tov, they decided to honor him, and
whatever would be, would be.
When the cantor and his two accompanists began to
sing the prayers to welcome Shabbos, Reb Elimelech
sent word that the second accompanist should stop
singing, and only the cantor and the remaining
accompanist should continue. Afterward, he ordered
even the cantor and accompanist to stop, for he was
afraid that he would be annihilated in the Divine light
emanating from their singing.
"On subsequent Shabbosim, Reb Elimelech
showed honor to the cantor, but because of his fear,
he would not allow him to pray before the
congregation."
From the Manuscripts of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of
Komarno
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 37.
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The purpose of light-hearted conversation before
Torah study is because human consciousness
vacillates between a constricted state of mind,
called "katnut [immature] ha'mochin," and an
expanded state of mind, called "gadlut [mature]
ha'mochin." These different states of mind are
alluded to in the verse, "The chayot/angels run to and
fro."1 In order to rise from a constricted
state
of "immaturity" to an expanded state of "maturity," one
can make use of light-hearted jesting, thus opening
his mind to learning and coming closer to
G-d.2
Hence, the Talmud3 tells of two saintly
men who would
jest with people in order to alleviate their suffering,
after which there was coming together of hearts, and
they were able to elevate them.4
This is also alluded to in the verse, "[Abraham] took
his two youths with him, and his son, Isaac," for by
using jest5with holy intentions, one is
able to elevate
the years6 of one's youth7
with him as
well.
1Ezekiel 1:14. This means that the
angels are in constant fluctuation between proximity
to, and distance from G-d, and this is mirrored
in the
fluctuation of human consciousness, as said here.
The need for this fluctuation is so that the created
being be able to maintain its sense of existence as
seemingly separate from G-d, for if it were to
come to
the absolute realization and experience that it in
reality, it is non-existent outside of G-d, it
would
indeed
lose this seemingly "independent" existence and be
swallowed by the Divine Existence.
This spiritual phenomenon is mirrored in the waning
and waxing in the physical world, as is evident from
the moon's cycles, the waves of the ocean, and all the
inherent cycles that we find at all levels in the natural
world.
2Rebbe Nachman speaks
profusely about how joy opens the mind and frees it of
the bonds and constrictions of the normal states of
consciousness, proclaiming, "It is a great mitzvah to
always be happy!" (LM I 89; 222; 282; II 10; 24).
Indeed, modern research has verified that a happy
state of mind has very positive effects on the brain and
hence on the entire body. But the point made here is
to use this positive and expansive state of body/mind
to come closer to G-d. On a deeper level, this
very
state of being is itself a proximity to G-d, as is
for that
matter any type of pleasure, since it is G-d's
intention
to provide us with pleasure, and all pleasures are in
fact a constriction of Himself, so to speak, the Source
of all pleasures.
3Tractate Ta'anit
22a.
4Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph,
5 As known, Isaac's name comes from
the root of laughing, and indeed, his mother Sarah
gave him this name with that intention - "Whoever
hears [that I gave birth at such an advanced age] will
laugh" (Genesis 12:6).
6 The Hebrew word for two can also
mean years.
7"Youth" here refers to one's immature
consciousness.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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