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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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"Thus shall you do for them so they shall live and not
die." (Bamidbar 4:19)
And then there was the time that the father of Reb
Yossele Chatiner, a Chassid of the Baal Shem Tov.
begged his
Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov, "Please, Rebbe, give me
a blessing to have a son."
The Baal Shem Tov answered, "I will give you a
blessing to have a son. But, you must know that your
son will become rebellious (ben sorer u'moreh)."
The father asked, "But Rebbe, will my son return to
the path of Judaism?"
The Baal Shem Tov thought for a minute and then
answered slowly, "Yes, eventually."
Without another thought, the father answered, "Yes,
Rebbe, please give me a blessing for a son."
And so, within the year, Yossele was born to
overjoyed parents. For awhile, everything with Yossele
seemed normal. But after his Bar Mitzvah, Yossele
started to become rebellious, and eventually declared
himself an apostate (renounced his Jewish faith).
With time, Yossele fell so low that he completely lost
all semblance of his Jewishness.
After many fights with his parents, Yossele left his
father's house and went to live and work with a
cobbler, who was also a Jewish apostate. Yossele's
father was extremely distressed over this situation
with his son. He went to the Baal Shem Tov and
said, "Rebbe, if I had known that my son would turn
out this way, I would not have begged you for a
blessing to have a son. It would have been better had
my son never been born!"
The Baal Shem Tov reminded him, "After all, I did tell
you that the boy would turn rebellious."
"That's true but I didn't know then how I would feel
about it. Everyday I feel sick when I think about how
my son is acting," said the father.
The Baal Shem Tov felt compassion for the
anguished father and said, "I will give you an amulet
(hand written charm to bring good fortune)." So the
Baal Shem Tov wrote out an amulet on a piece of
parchment and gave it to the father. "Now, if you can
arrange for your son to touch this amulet, he will do
Teshuva (return to the Jewish path of serving G-d)."
The father took the amulet home and patiently waited
until his son was away. Then, he snuck into the
cobbler's house and hid the amulet among a pile of
his son's things, where he would certainly touch it.
Later, Yossele returned and eventually reached into
the pile of his things where the amulet was hidden.
When Yossele touched the amulet, he was suddenly
overcome with tremendous shock and fear. "What
have I done!?" he cried. He immediately regretted all
of his many sins. Reb Yossele decided to travel to the
Baal Shem Tov and beg for help in returning to the
Jewish path followed by his father and forefathers.
The Baal Shem Tov greeted him warmly and
asked, "What can I do for you, Reb Yossele?"
"Please Rebbe, I've fallen from the path. Help me
return."
And so the Baal Shem Tov taught Reb Yossele the
path of Teshuva.
In time, Reb Yossele became a great Tzaddik (Holy
man). He traveled around the Ukrainian countryside,
urging Jews to return to a Jewish life.
Wherever R. Yossele went, he would tell him his own
story. He would always end the story with, "Look, my
dear brothers and sisters, just how far Teshuva
reaches. I was already at the forty-ninth gate of
impurity as the Jews were in Egypt when G-d
personally came and took them out. Now, through
doing Teshuva and following the path of the Baal
Shem Tov, I've reached such a high level that I can
read people's thoughts. But you, my brothers and
sisters, who have not sinned very much, if you do a
heartfelt Teshuva, can you imagine what spiritual
levels you can reach?"
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Kovetz Eliyahu,
by R. Chaim Eliyahu Sternberg, entry Baal Shem Tov
3.
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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"And G-d spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert,
in the Tabernacle of Meeting." (Bamidbar 1:1
Until the Tabernacle was erected, He spoke with him
at the [burning] bush, and afterward, "G-d
spoke to Moses and Aharon in the land of Egypt"
(Exodus 12:1); And He spoke with him in Midian; And
He spoke to him at Sinai; But once the Tabernacle
was erected, He said, "Modesty is the best," as it
says, "Walk modestly with your
G-d."1
Rabbi Moshe Isserles writes: "A person should not be
ashamed if other people mock him in his service of
G-d. He should also act
modestly."2 That is, when should he not
be ashamed of others? When he acts modestly. For
the main thing is that one's Torah study and service of
G-d be done in truth and faith. One's words
and heart should be together, be he among others or
alone.3
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Ki Setze, p. 198a
There are two types of laughter: When a person is on
the level that the entire world laughs at him, for "He
who departs from evil makes himself ridiculous."
(Isaiah 59:15) And when he laughs at the entire world,
and serves G-d with complete confidence, for
G-d is with him on his path.4 Rishpei Esh
HaShalom 211
1Midrash Rabbah, Bamidbar 1:3
2Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:1,
based upon Micah 6:8: "What does the L-rd require of
you, but to do justly and to love true loyalty, and to walk
modestly with your G-d?" Rabbi Isserles
seems to present these as two separate traits: not to
be embarrassed of others, and to be modest in one's
behavior, even when alone in one's house (See
Mishnah Berurah, note 7). The Baal Shem Tov
explains the connection between the two.
3Meaning, when a person is completely
sincere in his service of G-d, and behaves the
same whether he is at home alone or with others,
then he will not be ashamed when others mock him.
However, if his piety is only external and done to
impress others, he should certainly be ashamed
when others mock him. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of
Polnoye also writes in the name of the Baal Shem Tov
that when a person is attached to G-d, he will
pay absolutely no to those who mock him. Only when
he falls from his spiritual attachment will the attitude
of others affect him.
4Admonitions like these were especially
important for the early Chasidim, who broke
conventions with the ecstatic prayers and
performance of mitzvos. However, they apply to us as
well. A person may feel that people are laughing at
him for choosing to fulfill G-d's will. However,
he or she can laugh at the world, knowing that
G-d is with him, and that he follows a path of
meaning and spiritual growth.
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HEART OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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7-c1 At least pray with a little bit of concentration.
Be content if G-d helps you concentrate fully
for half of the prayers or even most of them. If your
attachment to G-d falters or disappears, pray
as best as you can even though it is done with less
concentration.
Tzava'as HaRivash p.7a
From
HEART OF PRAYER by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light of the Baal Shem Tov
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52. I heard in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that the
prayers from a person's intellect, do not physically
ascend like smoke leaving the mouth. Rather, it is
when a person's desires and intentions are with
feeling and enthusiasm that the prayers will ascend.
Ohr HaMeir, Shir ha-Shirim
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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Kst 89
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
If a person happens to witness or hear about
someone having sinned, one should realize that there
is some element of that sin within oneself, and
should see to correct it.
The verse provides us with guidance for this: "Guard
your tongue from evil, veer evil and do good." By so
doing, even the sinner will repent, after one has
included him within oneself by way of Oneness, since
all mankind is one being. One thus "does good," and
transforms the evil into good.
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