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ORIGINS OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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OBST 24
In the last installment, the Rabbi and his wife, being childless, traveled to Israel in the hopes of being blessed with children. On the way, the Rabbi was left on an Island and gave a written promise to stranger that in exchange for the stranger taking him by ship to Israel, a son born to him would be given to nthe sttranger on the boy's 13th birthday.
A few months passed and a son was born. This happy event filled the rabbi's household with joy but the Rabbi remembered his promise on the deserted island and could not rejoice with a full heart. The boy grew and was a clever child. At a tender age he already offered his own Torah explanations and told them over to his father. To his surprise, his father did not show him any affection or appreciation of his intelligence.
He often heard his father sighing and wondered, "What is bothering him? Isn't he happy with me? Am I not successful in my studies? Why doesn't he enjoy me?" He begged his father many times to reveal what was oppressing him until finally the father told his son everything that had happened and how he had been forced to sign the paper relinquishing his son when he reached the age of thirteen.
When the boy heard his father's tale he came up with an idea. "Father," he exclaimed, "I have the solution! Give me money and provisions for the road and I will travel far away from here to a place of Torah. Maybe it will be G-d's will that I be saved from the wicked man."
The father heard his son's advice and agreed to it. The boy took leave from his mother and father tearfully and sorrowfully. They blessed each other and the young boy set forth on his journey. He went to Poland and journeyed until he reached Reb Yoel Baal Shem's house. There he grew up and learned Torah until the age of thirteen.
To be continued. . . . . .
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Moroim Gdolim as translated in Tales of the Baal Shem Tov by Y.Y. Klapholtz.
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THE BRIDE IN HER GRAVE
And then there was the time, on a Wednesday night just after the evening prayers, that Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov said," I must go away for the Sabbath." He immediately went into the barn to harness his small horse to the wagon.
Several of his close students followed after him and begged that he take them with him. He agreed.
"Where will we spend the Sabbath?" they asked.
"In Berlin, in the house of a wealthy Jew."
Though they knew that even with the fastest horses it took more than a week to reach Berlin, they did not question the Rabbi, for the Rebbe was not confined ito the bonds of time or space.
The Baal Shem Tov let his little horse walk slowly along the road all that evening, and at midnight the wagon stopped before a tavern.
"Let us stay here tonight," said Rabbi Yisrael.
The tavern-keeper welcomed them into his house, for he saw that they were holy men.
"Perhaps you will honor my house, and remain over Sabbath?" he said.
But Rabbi Yisrael answered, "We must spend the Sabbath in Berlin because on the following day there is to be a wedding in the house of a wealthy Jew, and I must be at the wedding in order to lead the service, and bless the bride."
The inn-keeper, knowing how far it was to Berlin, didn't undersatnd how it was possible for the Rabbi and his followers to reach Berlin before the Sabbath. So the inn-keeper repiled with a big smile, "You must have a wonderful horse."
"My little horse will get us there in time," said Rabbi Yisrael.
"Maybe in time for the Sabbath after this one," answered the inn-keeper, laughing. "Why, Berlin is over a hundred miles away. Even if you were to travel day and nightt, you still wouldn't arrive before the Sabbath after this one."
But his words did not trouble the Baal Shem Tov who turned to his followers and said, "We are all tired so let us go to sleep."
The tavern-keeper could not sleep that night. He lay awake wondering how the Rabbi would reach Berlin before the coming Sabbath. "This is already Wednesday night," he said over and over to himself. "I cannot understand how he intends to reach Berlin in time for the Sabbath." At last he thought to himself." I will tell him I have business to attend to in Berlin, and ask him to take me there."
When the Baal Shem Tov arose in the morning, the tavern-keeper rushed over to him saying, " Shall I harness the horse, Rabbi?"
"Not yet," said the Baal Shem Tov. "First we will pray. And after that, we will eat our breakfast."
"Rabbi," said the inn-keeper, "I have business to do in Berlin. Will you please take me there with you?"
"Yes, said Rabbi Yisrael."Please join us in our wagon."
Then Rebbe Yisrael and his followers said the morning prayers, and then sat down around the table for breakfast. They ate without haste, and carried on a lively discussion about a point of Torah.
Meanwhile, the inn-keeper ran and dressed himself for the journey. When he was ready, he looked into the room where the Rebbe sat with his students, and he saw them still absorbed in their discussion about Torah.
"Half the day is gone alreadyl" thought the inn-keeper.
He heard Rabbi Yisrael's words. "With every good deed we do, a good angel is born. With every bad deed, a bad angel is born. In all the deeds of our daily life we serve G-d as directly as though our deeds were prayers. When we eat, when we work, when we sing, when we wash ourselves, we are praying to G-d."
"Therefore we should live constantly with the highest joy, for everything that we do is an offering to G-d."
"And of those things that we do badly, work that we leave half finished, or thoughts that we leave uncompleted, malformed angels are born. Angels without heads, angels with no eyes, angels without arms, without hair, without feet. Therefore no deed should be left unfinished."
The inn-keeper thought, "If that is the way he travels to Berlin, the angel born of his ride will have perhaps the beginning of a toe, and nothing else."
But the rabbi and his students remained around the table, talking.
" I will tell you the story of a king," said the Baal Shem Tov. "There was a very wise king who had built for himself a strange and wonderful palace. In the centre of the palace was a room in which stood the throne. Only one door led into this room. All through the palace were passageways and halls and corridors that turned and twisted about and led in every direction, there were endless walls without openings, and there were more corridors and more passageways."
" When the palace was finished, the King sent an order to all of his lords commanding them to come before him. He sat on his throne and waited.
"The lords came to the outside of the Palace, and stared in wonder at the confusion of corridors. They said, "There is no way to come to the King!"
"But the Prince, the son of the king, threw open the door saying,' Here he sits before youl All ways lead to the Kingl'"
Then Rabbi Yisrael added, "In the same way, we may also find G-d."
In the afternoon, the Baal Shem Tov called the tavern-keeper.
"I will harness the horse at oncel" said the tavern-keeper.
" No, not yet. First, we will eat the evening meal."
Then the Rabbi and his students sat down, and again had a leasurely meal.
As evening came, the rabbi himself went to the barn and harnessed the horse to the wagon. "Now we will go," he said.
The inn-keeper got into the wagon with the others.
"At last I will see what manner of horse he has here," he thought. And he tied a scarf around his neck, for he thought, "A great wind will come because of our swift riding."
The little horse began to walk. At first, the tavern-keeper saw they were going along the same road on which his tavern stood. Every house and every tree along the way he knew, . But as it became darker, he was no longer sure where he was. Although he was wide awake was was listening carefully, he could not hear the hoofbeats of the horse. The wagon moved silently through the darkness, smoothly as if riding across a flat surface of glass. The air was gentle on his face, and there was a sweet smell in the air.
He thought to himself, "Perhaps I am not here at all!"
Then he felt the chassid who sat next to him, in order to make sure that this was not a dream.
"Where are we going?" he asked the Baal Shem Tov.
" We are going to Berlin."
" But I do not recognize the road "
The Baal Shem Tov answered, "This is a short cut."
All night long they rode, and the tavern-keeper saw nothing but the stars in the sky, and heard nothing but the voices of the chassidim as they spoke about various topics in the Torah.
The Rabbi himself spoke of many wonderful things. He spoke of the prophet Elijah, who wanders about the world, and of how at the time of Redemption he would bring down Messiah, and then at last the Shechina, the Glory of the Living G-d, will cease her wandering, and unite again with Him.
" No man can hasten the coming of that day," said the Baal Shem Tov. "Even the mightiest of Words cannot bring that day, as long as evil is among us."
Towards dawn, the inn-keeper began to hear the hoofbeats of the horse. Then he felt the wagon jolting along on a road. He saw trees and houses along the road and then a great city appeared in the distance. As they entered the city, he realized that it was Berlin.
The tavern-keeper remembered that the Baal Shem Tov had said he was going to the house of a wealthy Jew to perform a wedding service. But now, instead of driving to the street on which stood the houses of the rich, the Rabbi stopped before a humble guesthouse and went in with his followers. They said the morning prayers, and sat down for breakfast.
The tavern-keeper wandered out into the streets. He was restless, and filled with thoughts of the marvellous ride he had taken. He wanted to find someone to tell of the great miracle he had just experienced.
.He came to the street of rich houses. Each house was a veritable palace. And one of these houses, he saw, was decorated as for a great feast. As the tavern-keeper stood before this house, the door opened and a young man came running out. Though he ran in great haste, he did not seem to know where he was going, but turned first one way and then the other way. His face was wrought in grief.
The tavern-keeper saw that the young man was wearing Sabbath clothes and new shoes. "He is certainly the bridegroom," he thought.
The bridegroom ran up to the tavern-keeper and said, "Where is a doctor?"
The tavern-keeper took him by the arm and cried, "Come with me. I know of a rabbi who is a wonder worker."
But the bridegroom stood still, repeating to himself. "Of what use will it be? My bride is dead."
To be continued.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Classic Chassidic Tales by Meyer Levin
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Teachings Of The Baal Shem Tov On Prayer
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And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary. (Exodus 30:13)
G-d showed Moses a shekel of fire, and said, "They should give like this."1
A goldsmith had an apprentice. When he finished teaching him the craft, he wrote down for his student all the steps in the process. However, he did not write down that he had to ignite the coals before he started, because that was the main thing, and unnecessary to mention. However, the student forgot, etc.2
This parable is easily understood. The main thing [in serving G-d] is that there be a spark of fire that can be ignited.3
Ben Poras Yosef, p. 119b
1Midrash Tanchuma, Ki Sisa 9. Quoted by Rashi on the verse.
2The parable ends here. Obviously, the student forgot to light the coals, and was unable to produce any results.
3The Baal Shem Tov said about the Maggid of Mezeritch, when the latter first came to see him, "A box full of candles has come to me. They only need to be lit." (Zicharon Tov, p.5c)
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light Of The Baal Shem Tov
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21. And then there was the time that several of the Baal Shem Tov's students entered his study at the same time. He spoke to them, advising each about his particular problem. When the group left the study, they discussed what the Baal Shem Tov had told each one separately. They were stunned to discover that at the time they had all stood together in the study, each had been positive that the Baal Shem Tov had addressed him alone. To their amazement, they found that he had spoken to each one about his individual problem without the others being aware of what was said to his neighbor.
Emunas Tzaddikim
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir Cohn
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HEART OF PRAYER
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov on Prayer
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9-c3 Realize that G-d is there even when He pushes you away.
Even though Rabbi Nechunia ben HaKaneh knew all the mystical intentions of prayer, he still prayed with the simplicity of a small child. This is because there are two aspects of serving G-d - one on His left side when G-d pushes a person away, and the other on His right when He draws a person closer. This is reflected in the statement, "When you refer to G-d by the Name 'Ado-nai,' remember that He is L-rd over everything. At the same time, keep in mind the written meaning of the Tetragrammaton - that G-d "is, was and will be," and that He brings all the worlds into existence."1
Thus, when you say the words "Blessed are You," realize that G-d stands right before you and that He "is, was and will be." There is no greater pleasure for G-d than your mentioning His Name and speaking to Him face to face, as it is written, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth"2 and "His right hand will embrace me."3 On the other hand, if your sins distance you from G-d so that when you say, "Blessed are You," your mind is flooded with mundane thoughts, you cannot concentrate and you lose the wondrous pleasure of "the kisses of his mouth." This is the "left hand" of the Holy One.
Nevertheless, even when His left hand completely rejects you, it is only so that His right hand will receive you in repentance. A smart person will realize that G-d is there even when He pushes him away. In order for one person to push another, one must be right there - right in front of him. Therefore, he will accept His rejection in love, kiss it and be in great fear, knowing that it is meant to bring him even closer. For His right hand is outstretched to embrace the penitent.
So too, one should use the experience of externally generated fears to come to an inner fear of G-d. There is inner goodness of the bad thoughts themselves even though G-d's kisses are surely better than His rebuffs.
Katones Pasim p. 43b
1Tur Orach Chayim Sec. 5
2Song of Songs 1:2
3Song of Songs 2:6
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 56
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Wherever a person's thoughts are, that's where he fully is. 1
1This thought was already expressed in #43 regarding the spiritual world in which a person is at any moment, or the physical world that surrounds a person at any given time. Perhaps this quote is adding that this is so not only regarding the surrounding physical world, but also regarding one's own physical body, and even if one is actually not "there." This is because thoughts are so potent and have such an effect on one's body, that the thought alone will create the virtual reality as if the body was indeed "there." An echo of this idea is found in the Sages' teaching that fantasizing about sinning is worse than the actual act, when one's mind may likely be somewhere else.
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