|
TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
|
|
THE SUDDEN AWAKENING
"Let G-d's community not be like sheep that have no shepherd" (Numbers 27:16)
And then there was the time, on the afternoon of Shabbos Shuva (The Shabbos between Rosh Hashono and Yom Kippur), in the year 1755 that the Baal Shem Tov was enjoying his "Shabbos menucha" - his Sabbath rest, as he slept in his bed. Suddenly, he gave out a loud cry that shook Rebbetzyn Chana from her sleep.
"Yisrael, Yisrael! Wake up. What's wrong?"
The Baal Shem Tov sat up with a start, and then sighed with relief. "Thank G-d you woke me! Another moment, and I wouldn't have awoken at all!"
"What?" gasped the Rebbetzyn. "Why did you scream out in your sleep?"
The Baal Shem Tov composed himself and asked that the Rebbetzyn go to the homes of his close chassidim and ask them to come to the Beis Medrash. When they were all assembled, he related the following:
"Each Shabbos, when I recite the silent Mussaf prayer, my soul ascends to the heavenly worlds. There, I listen to the Torah being studied in the Yeshiva above, and I am later able to transmit part of what I have heard to you, my chassidim, during shalosh seudos (the third meal).
"I have always yearned to encounter my close friend, the great Tzaddik, Reb Nachman Kassover, who has passed on to the World of Truth, but I have been unable to find him."
"Today, as my soul ascended, I soared to heavenly realms that I had never visited before. I saw towers of gold and palaces of diamonds. The sounds of Torah burst forth from within. As I entered, the souls within shone with brilliance and beauty, each one occupied in the study of the holy Torah.
I asked one soul: "To whom belongs this glory? "Who is your Rosh HaYeshiva?"
"Our Torah study is in the honor of the chosen of G d, Reb Nachman of Kassover," the soul responded.
"And where is his resting place?" I asked.
One of the holy souls led me to Reb Nachman's Beis Medrash. There I saw Reb Nachman aglow with fire and glory. His countenance shone like the sun. He was dressed in white, his tallis covering his holy head and he was surrounded by numerous other souls. I humbly approached, and asked, "Reb Nachman, I have been searching for you for quite some time. Who are all the souls I see around you?"
"My dear Reb Yisrael," he answered, "these souls belong to those to whom I showed the path of truth and righteousness while on earth. Some were righteous men who had transgressed, and others were evildoers whom I was able to guide to the path of repentance. It is these souls who praise and extol the Creator of All Things."
"Dear Reb Yisrael," he continued, "Do you wish to remain here with me? You simply can relinquish your soul. You will not even have to experience the pangs of death. The tzaddikim will take you to your eternal resting place. The decision is yours."
"How I was tempted to remain in the heavenly realms! But I could not decide. I went back and forth in my mind. On one hand, I desired to be buried in Eretz Yisrael, for a soul buried in the Holy Land ascends higher than one buried outside its holy boundaries.
When I spoke this desire, Reb Nachman revealed to me, "Your fate is not to be buried in the Holy Land but in the land where you were born. I cannot disclose the reason, but if you decide to remain here with me, I will be then able to reveal to you this and many, many other secrets."
Then my thoughts turned to those whom I would leave behind. Could I leave loved ones, my holy Rebbetzyn and my dear children? My students? My Chassidim? Could I leave them without directions and without guidelines for the future?
I decided I could not. Each person has his purpose to fulfill on earth, and I felt that I had not yet completed my assigned avodah (service).
I told my beloved Reb Nachman that I was not yet the time for me to leave the physical world. He did not agree. He begged, cajoled, over and over until I could stand it no longer, and screamed with all my might.
"That scream woke my Rebbetzyn from her sleep, and thank G-d she woke me just in time. I could not have withstood Reb Nachman's pleadings any longer. She succeeded in returning my soul to its rightful place in my physical body."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Sifrei Besht as translated in Stories of the BAAL SHEM TOV by Y.Y. Klapholtz
|
|
SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
|
|
"Therefore say: Behold, I give him My covenant of peace." (Numbers 25:12)
According to the Zohar and Likutey Torah, Nadav and Avihu were "two halves of a body."1 Therefore, Pinchas took both their souls, so that they are considered as one. Thus, it is written: "Behold, I give him My covenant of peace," for when two things are united, it is called peace. Thus, Yesod is called Peace, etc.,2 and "From my flesh, I will behold G-d."3
Likewise, when there is division among people, the one who can unite them is called "a pursuer of peace." The reason Nadav and Avihu sinned was because they did not ask each other's advice [before entering the Holy of Holies]. As it says: "And Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer. . ." (Leviticus 10:1). 4 There was no peace between them. But Pinchas rectified this when he was given the covenant of peace, in order to unite the souls of Nadav and Avihu in one body.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Acharei, p. 96d
1See Zohar 3:57b; Likutey Torah, parashas Vayikra, by the Arizal. Nadav and Avihu never married, thus the Zohar considers them as only half a person. When Pinchas smote Zimri and Kosbi during their illicit act, the souls of Nadav and Avihu united with his own.
2Yesod is the ninth Sefirah, from Keter down, and serves to unite the upper Sefiros with the tenth Sefirah of Malchus. Thus, it is called "Peace."
3Job 19:26. Chasidic writings cite this verse often, to support the idea that the physical, emotional and mental constituents of a human being parallel and reflect the workings of the supernal Sefiros, through which G-d directs the world. The Sefirah of Yesod corresponds to the male member, which is the organ of union. Yesod also corresponds to the Tzaddik, whose consciousness unites heaven and earth.
4I.e. each one took it alone, without consulting the other.
|
|
HEART OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
|
|
7-c8 Without fear and love, prayers and studies do not ascend.
It is written, "All the days of the poor are evil."1 Our Rabbis have stated, "The only poverty is the lack of knowledge." 2 Thus, "All the days of the poor - for those who lack knowledge - are evil." Their prayers and studies are worthless to G-d for they lack fear and love and do not ascend. "But the Talmud asks, "what about Shabbat and Festivals?" 3 Certainly, then, everyone receives inspiration from above and prays with greater concentration. The Talmud answers, "A change in routine is the beginning of illness." Even though they pray with greater intensity, this only makes them proud, and they imagine that they have attained a high level. Therefore, their evil inclination is aroused because "a change in routine is the beginning of illness."
Tzava'as HaRivash 131
1Proverbs 15:15
2Talmud Nedarim 41a
3Bava Basra 146a
From
HEART OF PRAYER by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
|
|
DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light of the Baal Shem Tov
|
|
59. I heard from my teacher and father-in-law, who was the chief disciple of Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov,( 1721-1786) that once when the Baal Shem Tov was traveling on the road, he stepped into a wooded area to pray. His disciples were dumbfounded to see him hitting his head against a tree, crying and screaming. Afterward, they asked him what had happened. He explained that he had seen, with divine inspiration, that in the generations just before the coming of the Moshiach there would be a multitude of rabbis, and that they would be the very ones who would impede the redemption.
Otzar Chayim, p. 134c
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
|
|
KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
|
|
KST Vol 1 No. 105
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
There are two types of wicked Jews: one acts only in privacy, while the other acts in public.1
The difference between them can be seen from the verse, "I saw an evil tyrant . . . . then he vanished, and behold - he was no more! So I searched for him, but he was not to be found" (Psalms 37:35,36). But why should one search for a wicked person who has vanished? The answer is because someone even more evil than he will take his place, which is why the previous one will be sought.2
1From the context in which this piece appears in the source (Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, Bo #2), "wicked" in this instance does not mean sinning, but Jews who betray their people and try to harm them. The one who acts in public is not ashamed of his behavior, and is thus likely to be more dangerous than the one who is still uncomfortable about acting in public.
2The lesson of this teaching may be that one should never complain about one's situation, because it could always be worse. Indeed, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov said that if one complains, then G-d says that He will show that person what bad really is. On the other hand, if one praises G-d for one's situation, whatever it might be, G-d says that He will show him what good really is (Siach Sarfei Kodesh II [Breslov] p. 11, #32).
|
|
