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ORIGINS OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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OBST 5
About one hundred sixty years ago, the Baal Shem Tov began, there lived one of the great men of Prague, Reb Shmuel Tzodok. He had two sons, Moshe and Yehuda Arye, for whom he hired the best teachers. Although Reb Shmuel Tzodok was a talmid of the Maharal, the renowned Baal Kabbala and author of mussar works, he himself refused to study mussar. He preferred the study of sciences and the pursuit of secular knowledge, and was a close friend of the famous astronomer, Reb Dovid Ganz.
His master, the Maharal, was extremely displeased with his leanings towards secularism and his leniency in ruling on matters of religious law.
At that time, there existed in Prague a group of mekubolim who followed the teachings of the holy Reb Eliyohu Baal Shem of Worms. They practiced self-deprivation, fasting and solitude. They were deliberate in their prayers and performed all mitzvahs thoroughly and intensively.
Reb Shmuel tzodok despised this "cult" and mocked its followers at every opportunity. He soon acquired the title, "Reb Shmuel, Objector to Kabbala and Mussar." He trained his sons to follow his way of thinking. His success in business and his wealth gave him the arrogance to castigate all the great rabbis who did not conform to his views.
It once happened that a neighbor came and asked Reb Shmuel Tzodok a question in halachah. He examined the problem and as usual, he gave a lenient ruling. When the Maharal learned of the incident, his patience finally burst. Reb Shmuel Tzodok had judged incorrectly and had permitted a thing which Jewish Law forbid. He summoned Reb Shmuel Tzodok to him and demanded an explanation. Thanks to his cleverness, Reb Shmuel was able to show how one might rule on the question as he had although he realized that he had been wrong.
The Maharal angrily exclaimed, "You are like the
scholar who was able to change the status of something from being "Tomai (Unclean)" to "Tohar (Clean)" with 150 different reasons."
At these words, Reb Shmuel Tzodok took offense and decided to move to Lvov.
Reb Shmuel Tzodok was by now already old and his two sons were mature men. Reb Moshe, the elder, sat and studied secular knowledge while Reb Yehuda Arye, the younger, dealt in business. Reb Moshe, like his father, enjoyed secular studies although he thoroughly knew the entire Talmud, Rambam, and Shulchan Aruch. And like his father, he deplored Kabbala and mussar. He was lax in the fine points of the mitzvahs and particularly careless with the blessings.
After his father passed away, Reb Moshe stopped ob-serving the mitzvahs altogether. He bought himself property outside the city of Lvov and built himself a large house where he went to live. He became friendly with a gentile scholar and used to dine and drink wine.with him. He stooped lower and lower until he finally shaved off his beard and desecrated the Sabbath, and holidays. His wife, a G-d fearing woman, could not suffer his degradation, and passed away, leaving no sons.
After her death, there was nothing to hinder Moshe. He took a gentile wife but his interest in the study of Torah did not wane. He continued to study diligently and to bring to light new explanations. He recorded his insights even on the Sabbath and Holidays.
For about thirty years, he lived on his property, disregarding all the mitzvahs. He never went to shule but constantly learned the Torah. The people of Lvov and its surroundings knew of his falling away from living a Jewish life and none cared to have anything to do with him. If, however, a traveler chanced to pass by, Reb Moshe would invite him in, give him a generous donation and warn him not to eat his food being that it was not kosher. If a Talmud Chochom would chance by, he would enjoy discussing new explanations and interpretations of the Torah. Thus he spent his days, eating all sorts of unkosher food, drinking forbidden wine, desecrating the Sabbath and Holidays while continually studying the Torah.
His brother, Reb Yehuda Arye, was not a great scholar like his father and brother, but he was a G-d fearing man. He studied mussar and was friendly with Chassidim and men of worthy deeds, both in Prague and then in Lvov. He also guided his family in his righteous ways.
When Reb Yehuda Arye grew old, he gave over the management of his business to his sons and sons-in-law. He built a House of Study - and brought ten renowned Torah scholars to study there, supporting and befriending them and their families. All this time, he suffered from his brother's behavior and it affected his heart. The doctors, who understood the root of his heart-sickness, bade him move away from Lvov so that he would forget his anguish. His children, seeing that his illness grew progressively worse, also urged him to follow the doctors' orders. He finally consented to move back to his birth place, Prague. He took with him two of his grandsons to learn in the renowned Yeshiva in Prague.
In Prague, he found many acquaintances who still remembered him from his youth, and the congregation welcomed him with open arms. They appointed him as a "Parnas" - trustee - of the community.
Concerned about the spiritual welfare of his two grandsons, Avraham Moshe and Chaim Zelig, he sought out the scholars of the city. He finally submitted them to the able guidance of Reb Yom Tov Lipman Heller, the Baal Tosfos Yom Tov.
The Baal Tosfos Yom Tov, as he was called, was a student of the great Rabbi Eliyohu Baal Shem of Worms. He had studied under him intensively for three years and afterwards continued independently studying Kabbala along the lines he had been taught. His practice was to encourage the simple Jews, and he taught Reb Yehuda Arye's grandsons to do likewise. They studied under his tutelage for five years and married into important families in Prague and continued with their studies.
To be continued . . . . .
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story reported in Tales of the Baal Shem Tov by Y.Y. Klapholtz.
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SINCERE WORDS
And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov took several of his disciples to a distant village, where he planned to spend time in the company of two very different individuals.
First they visited a simple tanner who spent his days curing animal hides. The tanner's lips moved constantly as he worked, having accustomed himself to recite Tehillim throughout the day. Despite his ignorance, the tanner knew it was forbidden to say Tehillim with unclean hands. Thus, during the actual curing of the hides, when his hands were dirty and soiled, the simple villager refrained from reciting these holy words of Tehillim.
Upon entering the home of the tanner, the Baal Shem Tov instructed his disciples to form a circle and place their hands on each other's shoulders. "Now close your eyes," he said, as he began singing a pensive melody. Closing their eyes, the disciples were astounded to see the tremendous Heavenly uproar caused by the Tehillim emanating from the poor hovel.
Afterwards, the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples went to visit a famed scholar who lived in the same village. A veritable recluse, the scholar shunned the outside world and spent his entire day immersed in Torah study and prayer. In fact, the scholar had even merited to witness a revelation of Elijah the Prophet! To publicize this fact, whenever the scholar conversed with others in learning, he always concluded his words by saying, "This is what I received from Elijah the Prophet."
During their visit, the Baal Shem Tov summoned his students together. "Close your eyes once more," he commanded, "then place your hands on the shoulder of your neighbor." The disciples quickly formed a circle again and closed their eyes, waiting as the Baal Shem Tov sang quietly to himself. Suddenly, they recoiled back in horror: a vision of slithering snakes and scorpions appeared before their eyes! Frightened, they withdrew their hands and the circle was broken.
"Now I will explain everything to you," the Baal Shem Tov addressed his disciples. "True, someone who fasts continuously for forty days and removes himself from worldly affairs will merit to see Elijah the Prophet. In fact, anyone who fasts for this period of time will see Elijah-even a servant or a maid! However, this does not guarantee revelation of the soul. This ascetic scholar is plagued by conceit and self admiration; he is obsessed by his great worthiness. Despite having merited to see Elijah the Prophet, his entire being is permeated with the snakes and scorpions of arrogance that stems from the original snake that sinned in the Garden of Eden.
"Try comparing him to the unlearned tanner!" concluded the Baal Shem Tov. "Why, every word of this simple Jew penetrates the Heavens! It is worthwhile for all of you to hear him utter a blessing."
Having achieved the purpose of their visit, the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples left the village. Later, when they heard about the passing of the simple tanner to the next world, the Baal Shem Tov gathered ten of his disciples and returned to the village. Once there, the Baal Shem Tov himself participated in the burial.
On another occasion, the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples spent the Shabbat day in a tiny village. On Shabbat afternoon, they watched in surprise as a simple villager rounded up a group of friends and led them to his house. Inside, the tables were laden with an abundance of food and drink in honor of the third Shabbat meal.
Through Divine intuition, the Baal Shem Tov perceived that these actions of the simple villager had aroused great satisfaction in Heaven. Perplexed, the Rebbe decided to approach the villager and ask for an explanation. "Why do you spend such an exorbitant amount of money on the third Shabbat meal?" asked the Baal Shem Tov.
"I have good reason for this," confided the simple villager. "1 heard that every Jew is granted an additional soul on the Shabbat day-a soul that departs with the conclusion of Shabbat. I have also heard people wishing aloud that, when the time comes for them to depart this earth, they will expire in the company of Jews."
"This is why I spend so much money on the third Shabbat meal," explained the villager. "Since my additional soul is about to depart from this world, I make a festive meal with my friends. This way, my additional soul can depart in the company of fellow Jews."
Greatly pleased by the sincerity of this response, the Baal Shem Tov now understood why this simple villager effected such immense Divine satisfaction.
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Patent Attoney) from a story in The Great Mission by Rabbi Friedman and Rabbi Lesches
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Teachings Of The Baal Shem Tov On Prayer
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In the beginning - Bereshis. . . . (Bereshis 1:1)
When the Moshiach comes, may it be speedily in our days, he will expound upon the letter combinations of each word in the Torah, from beginning to end.1 Then he will combine the entire Torah into one word,2 so that the letter permutations will be infinite. Then he will expound upon all the combinations.
Teshuos Chen, Tazria
1The letters of the Torah, though inscribed in a pattern that tells the story of the creation of the world, and the history and laws of the Jewish people, are not fixed. It is possible to rearrange the letters to gain new insights into the meaning of the text, and G-d's will for man. Furthermore, the letters of Torah represent the creative energies of G-d that enter the world, and arranging them in different patterns can affect the flow of energy from above. By meditating on the letters, in their different combinations, mystical states of consciousness can be obtained. There are various techniques for letter combination, such as tzerufi osiyos, letter recombination; gematria, using the numerical value of each Hebrew letter, roshei tevos and sofei tevos, words derived from the first and last letters of words in a verse; the division of letters into their component parts. Thus, there is an infinite amount of meaning that can be derived from the Torah.
2See Zohar 3:36a: "The Torah is all one holy Name of the Holy One." Also, ibid.
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light Of The Baal Shem Tov
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1. A soul like that of the Baal Shem Tov comes into this world but once in a thousand years.
In name of Rabbi Yisrael of Koshnitz (1740-1814), a disciple of the Maggid of Mezritch
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
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HEART OF PRAYER
Anthology Of The Teachhings Of The Baal Shem Tov
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8.4 Sometimes, a person becomes excited to serve G-d through Torah study or prayer, but their desire does not age slowly. Rather, it becomes immediately lost as though the mitzvah has become old. This is similar to, ". . . like an old decree."1 Thus it says, "Do not cast me off" from my enthusiasm that my worship should seem to be like an old decree. Rather, let it be like a new edict from the King.
Sifsei Tzaddikim, Pikudei
1One should recite the Shema with fear and trembling, like a newly issued decree and not like an old edict that no longer inspires fear.
From
HEART OF PRAYER by Tzvi Meir
Cohn
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KESER SHEM TOV
An anthology of Teachings on the Torah by the Baal Shem Tov
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KST. 7
From the Baal Shem Tov comes an explanation of the verse from Mishlei, "His woman [steered] his heart."
[Our sages teach us that] there is no word in the Torah that can't be understood in two ways. There are at least two categories of male and female . . . . Being that this is the case, there is nothing that was created in this world that is not included in something from the rest of creation. And the choice is given to him to lean towards some category that he wants. Thus, being that there are always at least two possible directions that we can travel, the woman is able to sway his heart.
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