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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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And the L-rd spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron's
two sons . . . Leviticus 16:1
A NIGHT VISIT
One Motza'ei
Shabbat,1 the Baal Shem Tov was
deeply engrossed in listening to Rabbi
Yosef Ashkenazi read from Sefer Ein
Yakov.2 When he reached a certain point
of Torah,
the Baal Shem Tov stopped him and expounded on
that particular teaching. Then, Reb Yosef continued
reciting from the sefer.
Suddenly, Reb Yosef
saw the
Maggid of Medzibush, whose
name was also Rabbi Yosef. The Maggid entered the
study dressed in his special Sabbath garments. He
wore his Strimel and carried the same walking
cane that he was accustomed to carrying. As soon as
he entered the study, the Maggid said in a loud
voice, "Gut vocht" (Have a good week!)2.
At that moment, Reb Yosef Ashkenazi was so
terrified that the Ein Yaakov fell from
his hands. He froze in fear
because the Maggid had passed onto the next world
about nine months earlier and he had personally
attended the funeral. The Baal Shem Tov immediately
passed
his hand over Reb Yosef's face and the latter no
longer saw the deceased Maggid.
Then the
Baal Shem Tov
said to Reb Yosef, "Take one of the candles from the
table
and stand over there on the other the side of the
room."
He did so, while the Baal Shem Tov
continued
to talk with the Maggid for another half an
hour. Although Reb Yosef saw the Baal Shem Tov
talking with the Maggid, he could not hear what the
Maggid was answering.
Afterwards, the Maggid disappeared and the Baal
Shem
Tov called to Reb Yosef, "Deutscb, come here!" (The
Baal Shem Tov
sometimes called Reb Yosef "Deutsch" (German for
Ashkanazi). Reb Yosef went over to the Baal Shem
Tov and read again from Ein Yaakov.
Then,
the Baal
Shem Tov asked Reb Yosef, "Why were you
afraid? Did Rabbi Yosef the Maggid do something to
you while he was alive, that you're so
afraid of him after he has already left this world?
3 You must realize that if he
was a great tzaddik while he was alive, how much
more so after he entered the next world!
Reb Yosef asked humbly, "Master,
why did I merit to see him?"
"Because you were reciting the Ein
Yaakov," said the Baal Shem Tov. "And when I
expounded on that point of Torah, I purified you with
my words so that we became united. And if your mind
had been stronger,
you would have heard what he said to me. Then you
would have been able to ask him whatever you
wanted to know and he would have answered you.
It is considered a great spiritual
achievement to see a deceased
tzaddik, who can help a person spiritually and teach
him mystical secrets.
More importantly, once
you became known to him, you would have been able
to see him regularly, and he could teach you many
secrets of the Torah."
Hearing this, Rabbi Yosef became depressed
because he knew that seeing the soul of a deceased
tzaddik is a form of prophecy. He asked the Baal
Shem Tov, "Rebbe, why did he come to you?"
"For a tikkun that he needed," said the Baal Shem Tov.
And so it was.
1A collection of all the ethical and
inspirational teachings of the Talmud.
2The traditional greeting after Shabbat
ends and the
new week begins.
3Tzaddikim are considered greater in
death than
when alive.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane from a story in
The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov by
Maggid
Yitzhak Buxbaum.
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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In righteousness you shall judge your people.
(Leviticus 19:15)
"[This means that] you should judge your friend
favorably."1
The Baal Shem Tov explained the verse: "Deliver me
from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach
of the despised" (Psalms 19:9). That is, when you see
a
wicked person commit some despicable act or
grievous sin, you should judge him favorably. He only
did it because his passions overcame him, and he
has a coarse physical nature, or he doesn't realize the
seriousness of the crime. [You should think] these
and similar thoughts. Then, you also save yourself
from judgment; for seeing this low thing in your friend
should make you realize that you share a similar trait,
and that there are judgments and accusations upon
you, as well. When your can judge your friend
favorably, you will likewise be judged. By not arousing
judgment upon a sinner, who is overcome by his
desires, you fulfill the verse: "You shall not incline the
judgment of your poor in his dispute" (Exodus 23:6).
When trials and conflicts overwhelm
him,2 from the "waters of
dispute"3 - evil, malicious waters -
you should arouse favorable judgments upon him.
Really, this is all a great test. For a person is never
sentenced for his crimes until he first passes
judgment upon himself. And since he will certainly not
judge himself, they show him a person who did
something similar. When he passes judgment upon
the latter, he seals the judgment on himself, as well.
Otzar HaYirah, Mishpotim, p. 193b
1Shavuos 30a.
2I.e., when he struggles against his own
evil inclination.
3From Numbers 20:13.
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HEART OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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7-b7 Say prayers with all of your strength.
Similarly, there is "a flaming sword that revolves to
guard the path of the Tree of Life."1
When you wish to
attach your thoughts to the Creator during prayer, the
kelipot will not let you. Nevertheless, in spite of this
obstacle, you must force yourself with all your strength
during prayer, to attach yourself to Him. Then you will
enter the Supernal worlds.
Strengthen yourself in believing with perfect
faith
that "the whole world is full of His glory"2
and this will
lead you to the Supernal worlds. Thus it is
written, "The righteous live by their
faith."3
Likewise, if your attachment wanes in the
middle of
prayer, say the words of prayer with as much
concentration as you can gather. Make a full, all-
embracing effort to regain your previous level, even if it
takes many attempts.
At first, you should cling to the form of the
word, and then, give the word its soul.4
Start by
infusing all of your physical strength as you say the
words until the power of your soul will shine within
you. As the Zohar states, "If wood does not burn,
splinter it." In time, you will be able to serve G-d in
your thoughts alone, without any movements of your
body.
Tzava'as HaRivash 58
1Genesis 3:24
2 Isaiah 6:3
3 Habakkuk 2:4
4 Literally translated from the original as
the "body" of the word, this refers to its basic meaning.
This refers to the deeper meaning found in the liturgy
that is available once one's soul is invested in the
words and divested from physicality.
From
HEART OF PRAYER by Tzvi Meir
HaCohane
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light of the Baal Shem Tov
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49. Regarding praying for G-d's sake, the
Baal Shem Tov taught:
Prayers for physical needs, such as: "Heal
us and we shall be healed," "Bless us with a good
year," etc.,1 are like turning to a father
who longs to fulfill his son's desires, and to make
sure that he lacks nothing, even foolish things. For it
is the nature of one who is good to do good.
G-d's only thought is how to bestow
material goodness on the Congregation of Israel,
who are called His children. Prayer draws down
sustenance and shefa2 into all the
worlds, even into the material worlds, to satisfy
G-d's longing. Thus, prayers on behalf of
G-d are accepted immediately. For heaven
scrutinizes the prayers you pray for yourself, to see if
they are worthy of being received. But when you pray
for G-d's sake, there is nothing to stop
them.3
1From the Shemonah Esrei
2The flow of Divine life force into
creation
3Kedushas Levi, Likutim Shonim,
p. 509
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir
HaCohane
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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KST 86
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
It is known that the Hebrew letter Aleph represents
wisdom and thought, as the verse
alludes.1 With this we can understand
the first verse in the Torah, "Breishit bara Elokim,"
which the Targum renders, "G-d created with 'reishit,'
with wisdom," which is the letter Aleph. Hence, G-d
created the world with the letter aleph.
For all of the twenty-two letters of the aleph-beit
are "garments" for one another. For example, the
Aleph is hidden within the Beit, because Beit is
numerically two - two Alephs, each of which is
numerically one. Similarly, the Gimel is three Alephs.
Thus, the initial stage of creation was with the letter
Aleph, which represents wisdom. This means that
everything was created with wisdom, as the verse
indeed says, "You created everything with wisdom." 2
Hence, the spirit of G-d was enclothed within the
Aleph, with which G-d created the light - the ohr
[which begins with the letter Aleph], which is the Light
of the World of Atzilut [which begins with an Aleph].
After that, the spirit of G-d in the letter Aleph became
enclothed within the letter Beit, with which G-d
created the World of Beriah.
1Job 33:33.
2Psalms 104:24
3Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Breishit #1
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