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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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A HEAVENLY PARTNER
This weeks Torah portion VAYIGASH (Genesis
44:18-47:27) begins with the climax of the story of
Joseph and his brothers. Joseph threatens to hold
Benjamin captive in Egypt as his slave as a result of
being caught with Joseph's cup. Judah explains that
his father would die from grief if they returned without
Benjamin because. . . .
Their souls are bound up with each other
(Genesis 44:30).
And then there was the time that the Holy Baal Shem
Tov asked his heavenly teacher, the prophet Achia
HaShiloni, "Please show me the dwelling place in the
Garden of Eden for those that are most careful with
their observance of the Sabbath." (It is said that the
Holy Baal Shem Tov was always seeking the best
way to perform G-d's commandments and in
particular, those for the Sabbath.) His teacher agreed
and led him to a sublime place in heaven where even
angels were not permitted. There, the Baal Shem Tov
saw two brilliantly shining, golden thrones.
The Baal Shem Tov asked his master, "Who will sit in
these two thrones?"
Achia HaShaloni answered, "One throne is for you
and the other throne is for your partner."
"What is so special about my partner?" asked the
Baal Shem Tov.
"You must find him and discover that for yourself,"
answered the master.
And so the Baal Shem Tov returned to his worldly
existence having decided that he would find his
heavenly partner as soon as possible.
The very next Saturday night, after Havdalah, the Baal
Shem Tov decided to set out and find this person that
will
be his partner in heaven. He ordered his
servant, "Alexei, prepare the horse and wagon at
once."
After they left Mezibush (the Baal Shem Tov's home
town), he told Alexei, " Let go of the reins for the horse.
He'll take us to where we need to go. "
They traveled on like this for several days. Finally, they
arrived in a large German city where no Jews lived.
The horse stopped in front of a small house in the
outskirts of the city. The Baal Shem Tov was greeted
by a
German man who did not appear in anyway to be
Jewish.
The Baal Shem Tov asked him, "Could I stay with you
for a
few days?"
"Why not,' the German man answered.
The Baal Shem Tov soon noticed that his host was a
plain townsman that lived without following Jewish
traditional practices. He did not appear to pray three
times a day or to eat Kosher food. "But," the Baal
Shem Tov reasoned to himself, "If my horse stopped
in
front of this house, there must be something special
about this man." So he decided to stay longer and
carefully observe the actions of the man. The Baal
Shem Tov even decided to remain there for Shabbos.
When Shabbos arrived, the German man did not do
anything special to celebrate the Sabbath. So the Baal
Shem Tov missed his customary Shabbos dinner of
fish and chicken soup with matzoh balls and made
due with a few loaves of dry bread that he brought
along for the trip.
During Shabbos, the German hosted a great feast for
all his friends. They ate, drank, smoked, danced and
really lived it up. The whole Shabbos experience was
beyond the comprehension of the Baal Shem Tov. He
kept thinking, "How is it that this man is going to be
my partner in Heaven?"
Saturday night, as the Baal Shem Tov was preparing
to
leave, he could not resist asking his mysterious
German host for an explanation of the purpose for the
great feast he hosted earlier in the day.
The host responded, "When I was a small child, I was
taken away from my Jewish home and brought here. I
know absolutely nothing about Judaism. I only
remember that my father used to always teach me
that we are commanded to rejoice on Shabbos. I still
remember the many people that came to our house
every Shabbos. So to follow in the tradition of my
family, I have the custom of making a great feast every
Shabbos and inviting my neighbors to rejoice with
me."
The Baal Shem Tov then realized, "My L-rd,
this man, my partner in Heaven, has a true Jewish
heart. What a high soul!" The Baal Shem Tov wanted
to return this great soul to its Jewish roots and teach
his heavenly partner how Jews traditionally keep
Shabbos. But, he simply could not express himself. It
was as if his power of speech was denied to him
from Heaven. The Baal Shem Tov understood that
G-d was more satisfied with the way his
heavenly partner kept Shabbos then if he were to
change and abide by the strict laws of Shabbos. "After
all," thought the Baal Shem Tov, "my partner keeps
Shabbos with a joyful attitude and a good heart. This
is the truly the highest form of service to G-d, as we
are taught, 'Serve the L-rd with a joyful attitude'
(Psalm
100:2)."
And so it was.
This story was told over one hundred years ago
during the third meal on Shabbos in the court of Reb
Abraham Yaakov of Sadyager by Reb Liebishel
Istricher, a leading Hasid.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story transcribed by
Rabbi Samuel Intrator
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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"And Judah drew near to him (his brother Joseph)
and said, 'Oh my L-rd.'" (Genesis
44:18)
The Talmud says, "A person should always praise
G-d first, and then pray [for his own
needs].1 Yet, in
another place, the Talmud states the opposite
view.2 The answer to this seeming
contradiction is that there
are two separate opinions. The
Ramban3 writes that
the essence of a craftsman can be found in the craft
that he creates.4 [Likewise], the
Creation is compared
to a snail, whose garment is part of
itself.5 In all
suffering, there exists a spark of holiness from
G-d,
although it is hidden within many garments. This is
the meaning of the verse: "The seven maids chosen
to be given to her, from the king's
house."6 (Esther
2:9) When a person realizes that G-d is
with him
even
there, the garments become transparent and
disappear, and the suffering is abated.
This is what it means to offer praise first.
G-d's praise
is that His Glory fills the entire universe. "In all their
afflictions, He is afflicted,"7 (Isaiah
63:9) - then, there
is no affliction - and one can pray. When one knows
how to praise G-d in this way, the suffering
will
disappear by itself.8 The other opinion
says to pray
first.9 In this case, a person's has faith
that G-d is
also there [in the affliction], so that he can offer his
praise [afterward].10
With this, we can understand the verse: "And Judah
drew near to him."11 He praised the
Holy One.12
First, he said, "Oh my L-rd" - because all
affliction
derives from this Name.13 Then when
he drew near
to Him and praised and exalted Him, the affliction was
annulled.14
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Vayechi
1Berachos 31a
2"Rabbi Eliezer said, a person should
first ask for his
needs, and then pray." - Avoda Zara 7b
3Nachmanidies (1194-1270)
4Meaning, whenever a person creates
something,
something of his soul enters into and remains in their
handicraft. Great kabbalists, such as the Arizal and
the Baal Shem Tov could look at an object, and
immediately know everything about the one who
made it. Here, the Baal Shem Tov applies the
principle to creation itself. Since it is G-d's
handiwork,
there must be a remnant of the Creator within it.
5Midrash Rabbosai, Bereishis 21:5.
Just as the
garments of a snail are part of itself, so the creation is
not something separate from or outside of the Divine.
It is part of Him, and His Presence is continually
present within it.
6The "seven maids" represent the
sparks of holiness
that have fallen among the "shells" of impurity. The
word maid, na'arah, is related to the word "to shake
out," mino'ar, because the holiness found in these
sparks has been "shaken out" of them, until almost
nothing remains. However, these sparks yearn to
return to their root. Thus, the verse from the Book of
Esther continues: "When it came the turn for each
maid to come into the king." (Esther 2:12); that is,
each spark of holiness has a pre-determined time
that it will leave the shells of impurity, and come
before the King.
7The Hebrew word lo in this verse is
written different
than it is read. It is written lamed vav, which
mean "him," in this case, G-d. However,
tradition tells
us to read the word lo as though it were written with
lamed aleph, which means "no," in this case, "there is
not." The Baal Shem Tov combines both readings.
When a person realizes that G-d is present in
all of
his afflictions, then the afflictions themselves cease to
exist.
8R. Yaakov Yosef adds here: "I heard
from my Master
(the Baal Shem Tov) that this is the meaning of 'You
will establish their heart, Your ears will hear [their
prayers]." (Psalms 10:17)
9I.e., a person who prays for his needs,
without first
praising G-d; that is, coming to the realization
that G-d
is present even in the affliction.
10In other words, even though a person
does not
perceive the spark of holiness in the suffering, if he
believes that G-d is with him even there, he
will
eventually come to this realization.
11The Baal Shem Tov reads Judah's
words as not
being addressed to Joseph, but to G-d
himself. See
Pri Tzaddik, Vayigash 1, by Rabbi Tzaddok HaKohen
of Lublin, who explains that tzaddikim often address
their words to the Divine Presence, even when they
are speaking to other human beings.
12The name Judah - Yehuda - is from
the Hebrew
word "hodu" - to praise. As Leah said, when he was
born: "Now I will praise G-d; therefore, she
called his
name Judah" (Genesis 29:35). And Jacob
said: "Judah, your brothers will praise you." (ibid. 49:8)
13The Hebrew reads: "Bi Adoni." The
Baal Shem Tov
sees this as alluding to G-d's name Ado-
nai, which
represents the forces of concealment and strict
judgment.
14I.e., Joseph revealed himself. Then,
the very source
of the their problem - the evil Viceroy of Egypt -
turned out to be their beloved brother, whose
intentions were only for their good.
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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6a3. There are times when you should serve
G-d solely with your thoughts.
There are times when you should serve G-d
with your soul alone - with your thoughts. Your body
should remain still so as not to weaken your thoughts
with extraneous movements.
Tzava'as HaRivash 104
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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33. From the year 1575,1 until
G-d sent
us
the holy soul of the Baal Shem Tov, many Jewish
scholars were, for the most part, divided between
those that considered the study of Kabbalah a
necessity and those that challenged its study as
being spiritually dangerous. Even those who did study
this esoteric wisdom were often unable to
comprehend its abstract concepts and fell into
anthropomorphism,2 G-d forbid.
The
Baal Shem Tov
taught us how to understand these concepts and how
to develop a pure and whole-hearted service of
G-d
based upon the wisdom of the Kabbalah. He was
able to clothe the details of this wisdom in the
intellectual faculties of the Divine soul.
The Baal Shem Tov's teachings of Kabbalah were
recorded and spread by his closest disciples within
the inner circle, called the Chevreyah Kadisha. These
disciples directed their words specifically to those
who toil in the holy wisdom of Kabbalah in order to
deepen their understanding of their service of
G-d.3
11575 was three years after the Arizal,
left this world
and the beginning of the spreading of his
teachings.
2That is, they began to imagine that the
spiritual
concepts found in Kabbalah, many of which are
explained in images drawn from human physiology,
were actually describing the physical proportions of
G-d, who is beyond form.
3Notes on the sefer Sur M'Ra
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 65
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Dissolving one's being into one part of Oneness is
tantamount to dissolving one's being into the entire
Oneness.1 The opposite is also
true.2
1Ben Porath Yoseph, 88a. The
metaphor given
elsewhere for this is that of one grasping a branch of
a tree. We would surely say that he is grasping the
entire tree, for if he were to shake the branch, the
entire tree would shake. And similarly, G-d, in
His
Unfathomable Oneness, created a world that reflects
Himself, and is inherently an interconnected one, and
anything affecting one part of the universe inevitably
affects the entire universe. Hence, whenever one
experiences a sense of oneness with any part of the
universe, including of course with another human
being, he is actually experiencing a sense of
Oneness with G-d.
2That is, experiencing separation from
any part of
the Oneness is experiencing separation from the
entire Oneness, for there is only one Oneness, and
either one experiences Oneness or one does not.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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