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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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LEAVING HOME
And the L-rd said to Abram, "Go forth from your land
and from your birthplace and from your father's
house. . . . . Genesis (12:1)
And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov
told his followers about his early childhood and life as
a young man.
"I was five years old when my father passed on to the
next world. His last words to me were, 'Yisroelik, love
every Jew dearly and never fear anything except for
G-d, the G-d of heaven and earth.'
Soon thereafter, my mother followed my father and I
was an orphan, all alone in the world.
The local villagers of the community of Okup took care
of me. Each week, I would live with a different family.
They fed and clothed me and sent me to cheder with
the rest of the young boys of the village. But I was
often very restless and would go out to the open fields
and vast forests that surrounded our town.
Sometimes, I even slept overnight in the forest. I
wasn't the slightest afraid because I could always
hear my father's last words, '. . . never fear anything
except for G-d, the G-d of heaven and
earth.' This went on for about two years.
One day, after spending the night in the forest and just
completing my morning prayers, I heard a man's
voice deep in the forest. I followed the sound until I
came upon an amazing sight. There stood a man
wrapped in his tallis and tefillin, praying with a fervor
that I had not seen or heard before.
I hid behind the trees and watched and listened to his
inspiring prayers. I thought to myself. 'This must
surely be one of the thirty-six hidden Tzaddikim in
whose merit the world is sustained.'
When he finished his prayers, he removed his tallis
and tefilin and began reciting Tehillim (Psalms of
David) with deep feeling.
Afterwards, the man opened a worn volume of Torah
and began studying aloud with great enjoyment.
Many hours passed. Then he rose and packed away
his sacred books, tallis and Teffilin into his knapsack.
Just as he was walking away, his knapsack on his
shoulder and walking stick in hand, he saw me
emerge from my hiding place. I approached slowly.
Startled, he asked, 'What is a young boy doing alone
in this deep forest? Aren't you afraid to be here by
yourself?'
I told him that I was an orphan and was being cared
for by the local villagers. I explained how I loved the
fields and forests. Then, I repeated to him my father's
last words and explained that I wasn't the least bit
afraid to be alone in the forest.
When the old man heard that, he asked if I was the
son of the great Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer. When I told
him that I was, he took out the Talmud tractate of
Pesachim and we began studying together.
Afterwards, the stranger rose to leave and I joined
him. From that time on, I traveled with this man as we
wandered about from place to place. We passed
through cities and villages, towns and hamlets. I later
learned that his name was Reb Chaim the Nistor (the
hidden one).
Each day we prayed together and he would study with
me. During that time, he took care of all my needs. I
never saw him accept charity from anyone. We
traveled this way for about three years.
One day we came to the outskirts of a small village.
He brought me to a rundown wooden hut in a nearby
forest. Then he said to me, 'I will leave soon but you
will stay here with my friend, Reb Meir. The villagers
think he is a simple laborer but really he is a Tzaddik
and great Torah scholar. He will take care of all your
needs and continue to teach you Torah.' Then, he left.
I stayed in Reb Meir's hut for the next four years.
During that time, he studied Torah with me and taught
many layers of interpretation.
Every day we would go to the nearby village to pray
with the local townspeople. None of them realized that
he was a hidden holy man. They thought of him
simply as Reb Meir, the laborer.
While there, I learned that Rabbi Meir belonged to a
group of hidden Tzaddikim disguised as simple
laborers to keep their true identity secret. They spent
their lives visiting scattered Jewish communities and
lodged at the local synagogues and ate small
amounts food that they brought with them. In their own
way, they encouraged and uplifted the simple Jews
they met, infusing their spiritual service with renewed
energy.
The saintly Reb Adam Baal Shem of Ropshitz headed
this group. By the age of eleven, I joined them and we
wandered together through the countryside from town
to town and village to village. We did our best to help
the downtrodden and to inspire whoever we met.
By the age of sixteen, I had already acquired an
extensive knowledge of Kabbala. I began to pray
according to the Arizal's arrangement of prayers,
using certain holy names that my first teacher, Reb
Chaim the "Nistor" had taught me."
And so it was
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from Sifrei Chabad and found
in Stories of the Baal Shem Tov by Y.Y. Klapholtz
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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And Abram took Sarai his wife, his nephew Lot, and
all their belongings, as well as the souls that they
made in Haran; and they left to go into the land of
Canaan (Ibid. 12:5)
When a person is in a state of small-mindedness
(mohin d'katnus), he gives birth to the souls of
converts.1 This is the meaning of: "the
souls that they
made in Haran," which is the three aspects of Elokim
in Smallness,3 having the numerical
value of the word
Haran.1
Degel Machane Ephraim, Vayera, p. 5.
1This idea, found throughout the
teachings of the Baal
Shem Tov, is based upon the principle of root and
branch souls. When a root soul falls to a lower level, it
is in order to raise up the "branch" souls that are
connected to him, who themselves are on a low level.
Although converts may have very high souls -
according to the Talmud, they observe the mitzvos
with more exactitude than born Jews - before their
conversion, their souls are locked in a Gentile body. A
similar teaching can be found in the writings of the
Baal Shem Tov concerning ba'alei teshuva -
returnees to Judaism. Their ability to repent comes
from the influence of a Tzaddik who has fallen to a
lower level and raised himself again.
See Kedushas Levi, by R. Levi Yitzchok of Berditchov,
on the verse: "Your ointments have a goodly
fragrance" (Song of Songs 1:3): "It is necessary to
understand why G-d created a situation in
which a
Tzaddik falls from his level. It would certainly be better
for him to remain constantly on his level and serve G-
d with an expanded consciousness and to love Him
perfectly. The Baal Shem Tov and my Master, Rabbi
Dov Baer (the Maggid of Mezritch) explained it as
follows. When the Tzaddik falls from his level and
endeavors to regain his strength, he creates the
souls of converts. This is like someone who wants to
take his friend out of the mud. He also has to go down
into the muck to raise him up."
2See R. Yitzchok Luria, Etz Chayim,
Sha'ar HaKelalim,
chapter 13.
3 G-d's Name "Elokim" has the
numerical value of 86.
When multiplied by three, gives the number 258,
which is the numerical value of the word "Haran." The
implication is that when Abraham and Sarah were in
the land of Haran - in a state of small-mindedness -
they gave birth to the souls of converts: "the souls that
they had made in Haran."
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.c2 When we pray for G-d's sake, there are
no obstructions at all.
[G-d relates to] our prayers for material
needs, such as: "Heal us and we shall be
healed," "Bless us with a good year," etc., like a father
who loves his child and wants to fulfill even his most
frivolous desires. For it is the nature of one who is
good is to do good.
G-d's only thinks how to bestow material
blessings on Israel, who are called His children.
Prayer, then, draws down sustenance and effluence
to all the worlds ― even material bounty
― to satisfy
G-d's longing. Thus, prayers [for the sake of
G-d] are accepted immediately. Whereas
Heaven scrutinizes our prayers for ourselves to see if
we are worthy. When we pray for G-d's sake,
there are no obstructions whatsoever.
Kedushas Levi, Likutim Shonim, p. 509
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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25. The Baal Shem Tov taught us how to bind
ourselves in devekus1 to G-d
with every action -even in mundane conversation. As
it says: "'And their leaves shall not wither' - this refers
to the common talk of Torah scholars."2
Thus, he brought the king before our eyes - the King
of kings, the Holy One, may He be
blessed.3
1Spiritual attachment.
2Sukkot 21b.
3Divrei 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 45
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
All letters of the aleph-beth are included in each
individual letter. This is because the source of all
letters is the Aleph, which is close to the Oneness of
the Infinite One.1 Afterwards, the rest of
the letters expanded from the Aleph. For instance, the
Beth is really two Alephs, and so on, until one
reaches the Tav, which is equivalent to four hundred
Alephs. Thus, the letter Tav, the last letter, is the
furthest from the Creator2
However, the tzaddik is able to gather all the letters
and return them to the Aleph, and then harsh
judgment is sweetened at its source.3
1The gematria (numerical value) of the
Aleph is one. Although the Oneness of G-d is
beyond "counting," that is, G-d is not
the "First" of a
set, but the Absolute, Indivisible and All-
Encompassing One beyond any relationship to any
other entity, the letter Aleph represents the "closest"
one can get to G-d's Oneness. The metaphor
provided here for this is that just like the Aleph - the
numerical value of one - is included and "hidden"
within all other numbers, since all other numbers are
really only composites of the number one, so in
everything that exists is "hidden" the Divine Oneness,
for everything that exists is made up of
different "composites" of that Oneness. Thus, by the
same token, says the Baal Shem Tov here, all letters
are included in all others, since essentially,
underlying all letters is the One. In modern terms, this
phenomenon is called holography.
2The more complex and "multiple" one
is, the further one is from the Undifferentiated One.
The way out of duality is to experience the underlying
Oneness, which is what the tzaddik teaches us to do,
as the Baal Shem Tov concludes.
3All harsh judgment is seen as only a
result of duality and division. When one is able to see
through the apparent duality of this world, as
expressed by the duality of the numbers, which
themselves represent the duality of the world, and to
perceive everything as unique expressions of
G-d's
Oneness and Design, all judgment automatically
disappears.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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