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ORIGINS OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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OBST 26
In the last weeks selection, the boy met his grandmother and grandfather under very straange circumstance.
After some time passed, the boy wished to return to his parent's home in Israel.
Although feeling reluctance to let his new found grandson leave, the grandfaher arranged for his passage on a passing ship going to Israel. The boy, his grandmothere and grandfather took their leave from one another lovingly.
The boy boarded the ship and just as it was leaving the dock, he leaned over the rail and shouted to his grandfather.
"Grandfather, You should know that the demon returned my father's document to me only after the king of the demons ordered that the club that was reserved for the thief who lived on the island be brought from Gehennom . I didn't tell you at first because I feared for my life. But now, my grandfather, you know your fate . . . . "
The old man turned white with fright after hearing that the demon had not returned the letter with his sons's signature after heavy beatings but only when he had heard that the club would be brought from Gehennom. He burst into tears, crying loudly and fearfully for his misfortune and his fate. He shouted to his grandson.
"Is there anyway I can redeem myself ?"
Although the ship was already far from the dock, he still managed to hear his grandson yelling, "Go to the Holy Kabbalist, Reb Yoel Baal Shem, and he will instruct you."
The old man took his wife and they travelled to meet Reb Yoel Baal Shem.
Reb Yoel showed the grandfather the path of repentance until the old man eventually became a Baal Teshuva and a complete tzadik.
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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SORCERY
And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov had a pupil who we will call Mordechai (the name wasn't mentioned in the original story) that wanted to learn sorcery.
Reb Mordechai certainly knew that sorcery was forbidden according to the Torah but he had an insatiable yearning to study sorcery. It is a well known known maxim from Torah, the greater the person, the greater his selfish ego (evil impulse).
From the first time Mordechai heard about sorcery, he felt that his life was gray and empty without it. In time, he became desperately bored and very depressed. He wanted more excitement in his life.
So he decided to leave the Baal Shem Tov and go too a place where he could study and practice sorcery. He made several contacts, and everything was set. He planned that he would spend the next Shabbos with the Baal Shem Tov and then, early Sunday morning, head out for his new life . . . a REAL life!!
Soon Shobbos was upon him. On that Shabbos night, Reb Mordechai sat with the other Chassidim in the Baal Shem Tov's shule, sang the special Shabbos songs, ate the first meal, and listened to the Rebbe expound on the Torah portion of the week. But his mind was far away.
And then he started to notice that it was unusually warm in the room. Not giving it much thought, he removed his Shtrimel (large fur hat worn by Chassidim), wiped the sweat off his brow and opened the top button of his shirt. But it didn't help, it seemed like the room was getting hotter and hotter. So, he unbuttoned another button and removed his special Shabbos coat. He'd never remembered it being so hot in the shule before.
Glancing through the window across from where he was sitting, he saw the icy winter wind howling through the trees and whipping up the deep snow covering the outside into a swirling snow clound. But because he was sweating profusely and feeling as though he was about to faint, he asked the Rebbe, "Please, may I step outside for a moment? I need some fresh air."
"Just for a few minutes, but no longer," answered the Baal Shem Tov. "And Reb Mordechai, be sure that you return immediately, it's dangerously cold out there. Remember no longer than two minutes!"
It was already getting hard for him to breathe as he stood from his place, opened the door and stepped into the freezing fresh air. "Whew! Another minute and I would have passed out," he thought to himself as he closed the door quickly behind him. But suddenly he felt hot again. Without hesitating he opened his shirt and began rubbing his face and chest with snow. But this too only brought temporary relief. In just seconds he felt again as though he was standing in a furnace.
So he began running. Ahhh . . . . The cool wind against his body felt good. He was running faster, finally stumbling and falling into the deep snow but he didn't care. He needed the and the wind!! He staggered to his feet and began running . . . . running like a madman through the woods -- the trees, the pine branches, the snow on the ground, all racing past and spinning by him. And then he was out of breath, barely noticing the cold wind, the stars, the sky . . . . then he fell and everything went black.
Reb Mordecai woke in a strange, warm room and in a freshly made bed. An old farmer and his wife were standing over him.
"Are you all right?" the old farmer asked worriedly. "We thought you were dead when we found you there in the snow," said the wife. "You've been sleeping for over a week. Are you all right? Do you want some warm soup? Where are you from?"
Reb Mordechai was in a daze. When he sat up and looked around , he didn't remember anything. But he did take the wife up on her offer to give him a bowl soup.
In a few weeks, he had regained his strength and was already learning how to clear the land and work behind the plow. Gradually the farm began to change. Reb Mordechai, although he still had no idea who he was, had a sense of business. He hired new workers, purchased all the neighboring fields and farms. Five years passed quickly and what had been a simple farm had become a massive, spreading estate.
One day, the old happy farmer returned from a trip into town and showed Reb Mordechai an advertisement he had taken from the post office. "They are looking for new officers in the army." he said. "Just read this. I think you should apply; it's your chance to be someone really important. Just look at the miracles you have done here. You are someone special; don't waste your life here on this farm. You've been here long enough."
Reb Mordecahi took to the army like a fish to water. He passed all the entrance requirements with flying colors and became an officer after completing officer's training. Two years later, a war broke out between his country and Poland he found himself a captain in the Czar's Royal cavalry.
Several chapters would be necessary to describe the many fierce battles and brave accomplishments of Reb Mordechai, his innumerable brushes with death, his brazen spirit, split second decisions and impressive victories against impossible odds.
But suffice it to say that five years later, he had already been promoted to the rank of Major-General with ten thousand mounted lancers at his command. And then suddenly, as he was sitting astride his magnificent white steed reviewing his troops, as if from nowhere it came back to him in a flash of memory. . . . that night twelve years ago when he left the Baal Shem Tov's Shabbos table!
He paused for several minutes, deep in thought remembering every rich vivid detail, and every emotion that passed through his mind back then. Suddenly he came to himself and announced, "Dis . . . mount! Return to your tents, and prepare to travel. In one hour we are beginning a three day march!"
It was late at night, three days later when the huge army reached forest surrounding the small synagogue of the Baal Shem Tov. The General, Reb Mordechai, turned to face his thouisands of mounted soldiers and yelled orders: "Light torches!"
Suddenly the entire forest was illuminated with an eerie flickering light. Then he ordered, "Draw Swords." The ringing of the swords and the glistening blades was everywhere.
He dismounted, approached the large old shule, drew his sword and began pounding with its hilt on the closed door. "Open in the name of the King! See what happens to a Chassid who leaves the Holy Master! Ha HA HAAAAAA!"
No one answered, but he heard someone speaking within the house and he got angry.
He furiously stuck his sword in the snowy ground and began pounding on the door with both fists and screaming "Open! Open for a General in the King's army!" Slowly the door opened, the wind was whistling furiously as Baal Shem Tov stuck his head out and said, "Reb Mordechai, are you still here? You have been outside for almost five minutes! Do you want to become ill? Come in immediately!"
"Five minutes?!" the General screamed. "Look at all my troops and tell me about five minutes!" He turned around and . . . . there was no one there, even his horse had disappeared! The wind was howling through the trees and deep snow covered the silent forest. Even his uniform and sword were gone! He was in the same garments as he was . . . . twelve years ago, it was all an illusion. The entire twelve years were an illusion. Suddenly he realized that the Baal Shem Tov also knew magic, and he humbly reentered the shule, back to the real world.
And so it was.
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Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story by Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
of Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim, Kfar Chabad, Israel
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Teachings Of The Baal Shem Tov On Prayer
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"He called to Moses. G-d spoke to him from the Tent of the Meeting." (Vayikra 1:1)
The Baal Shem Tov said that he learned all his remedies1 from the verse, "And He called to Moses."2
Heichal HaBracha, Vayikra
The Baal Shem Tov cured only through the use of Unifications.3 He would uplift the Shechina and unite it with the trait of Ayin,4 and the lower world would automatically be repaired.
Ma'or Eynayim, Naso
1Besides being a mystic and a communal leader, the Baal Shem Tov was also a renowned healer, who used both natural remedies and segulot - supernatural methods - to affect cures.
2R. Yitzchok Isaac of Komarno (Heichal HaBracha) explains that the letter aleph at the end of the word Vayikra represents the level of Keter (Crown) and Ayin (Nothingness). (Aleph is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in this word, is written small in the Torah scroll, suggesting the idea of ego - nullification.) The Baal Shem Tov knew how to uplift the world to this supernal root and draw down healing energy. See footnote 4, below.
3Yichudim: These lie at the basis of kabbalistic meditation, prayer and ritual acts, and include the mystical recombination of letters, as well as the uplifting and unification of one's emotions and intellect with the Divine.
4The Shechina is the Divine Presence that dwells within creation. Ideally, it receives light from G-d and reveals it in the world, so that Divinity shines from within creation itself. At times, however, the Shechina falls into "exile," and a breech occurs between G-d and creation (from our perspective). This is the spiritual root of all suffering and illness. When the Shechina is uplifted and united with G-d, all the forces of negativity are annulled. Ayin refers to the sefirah of Keter, which contains a revelation of the Divine Being completely beyond human perception, just as a crown is above the mind of the wearer. Ayin therefore means "Nothingness," since it transcends human cognition, and can only be accessed through mystical self-annulment. The Baal Shem Tov taught that a person should never pray for his own needs, but only for the fulfillment and redemption of the Shechina, for when the Divine Presence is rectified, so are all of her "limbs," which are the individual components of creation.
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light Of The Baal Shem Tov
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24. On another occasion, the cantor told Reb Elimelech that when the Baal Shem Tov would look at any object, such as a bench or a table, he could tell all the thoughts that the craftsman had when he made that object. Reb Elimelech was astounded by this.
Later in the conversation, the cantor told Reb Elimelech how the Baal Shem Tov could gaze from one end of the earth to the other. Once, when his students were sitting with him, the Baal Shem Tov chuckled a little, as he often did.
His students asked him why he chuckled. He said that in a certain city, in a very distant land, a nobleman had spent several years building a beautiful palace. And just a few minutes before a Tzaddik had been on his way to the synagogue to pray. It had started to hail heavily, so the Tzaddik took shelter in the palace that the nobleman had spent so long building.
When the hail storm stopped, the Tzaddik left the palace and continued on to the synagogue. As soon as he left, the palace collapsed. "How can I not laugh over how much G-d's direction of the world is hidden? The purpose of this great building was to give shelter to this Tzaddik for a short while. During that time, the Tzaddik rectified all of the sparks of holiness that were in the stones which formed the sides of the palace. Once the sparks were rectified, the stones no longer needed to romain standing. That is why the palace immediately collapsed."
Later, we saw in the newspaper the story of that palace and its unexplained collapse. It had happened at the moment that the Baal Shem Tov had laughed.
Then, the cantor stood up and swore that once, while he and the other students studied Torah with the Baal Shem Tov, flames had risen around them. The flames endured until they were so purified that they heard the Torah from the Master as the Children of Israel had received it at Mount Sinai - with thunder and lightening and the mighty blasts of the shofar! In fact, the cantor went on to say that because the sounds at Mount Sinai were Divine and never ceased. However, a person needed holiness and purity to hear them.
Reb Elimelech replied, "I have not achieved that spiritual level. Though it comes as no surprise, that the spiritual service and holiness of our Master and Rebbe, Yisrael Baal Shem Tov was extremely great. Moreover, his holy practices were from that pure place, the Nestur River, and from Achiya HaShiloni. Fortunate is the person who merits that state."
The G-d-fearing who read this will understand that all the above-mentioned levels, or similar ones, were attained by Reb Elimelech.
From the Manuscripts of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac of
Komarno
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-d3 Negative and foreign thoughts enter a person's mind during prayer in order to be fixed and uplifted.
"If a person says 'Shema, Shema'1 we silence him.
But perhaps he wasn't concentrating the first time?
So what? Is he G-d's friend?2 If he doesn't concentrate the first time, we hit him with a hammer until he does."3
The question still remains, however. Maybe he didn't concentrate the first time and now he is trying to concentrate so as to fulfill his obligation. Also, why is the example of the Shema chosen as opposed to something else?
The answer lies in the meaning of "accepting the yoke of heaven." A person must believe that the entire world is filled with G-d's glory and that is no place devoid of Him. G-d exists in all of a person's thoughts, and each one of them is a complete structure. Negative and foreign thoughts enter a person's mind during prayer in order to be fixed and uplifted. One must know with full clarity that a person who does not believe this, has not fully accepted the yoke of heaven. In fact, they are setting limitations to G-d's being which is a sharp contradiction to the belief that G-d exists in all of a person's thoughts.
Why would a person say "Shema, Shema?" Probably because he was not concentrating the first time, for he had foreign thoughts. Yet, had he realized that G-d's Presence is in that thought as well, he would not have had to say it twice.
This is expressed in the Talmud's terse language, "We hit him with a hammer" - his own thoughts strike him like a hammer in order to be fixed and uplifted. Saying Shema twice, on the other hand, suggests that G-d wasn't there the first time. This person limits G-d's existence and his own acceptance of the yoke of heaven. Thus, we silence him.
This explains the Talmud's statement, "If a chick dies in its shell, from where does its spirit leave? In the same way that it came in." For it is taught, "If you see eggs in a dream, your supplications are being held in abeyance. If you see broken ones, your supplications are answered."5 Eggs corresponds to prayer. Every thought is a complete entity; even an evil or foreign thought comes to you to be repaired and uplifted. If you reject that thought, you have rejected and killed a complete entity.
Yet sometimes, certain thoughts must be pushed away. How do you differentiate between them and the ones that should be drawn close and uplifted? Think about what happened when the thought came to your mind. If you immediately understood how to rectify and elevate it, then draw it close to you and do so. But if you did not immediately realize how to fix it, then it is most likely coming to disturb you and take your mind off of your prayers. Then, you can push it away for "if a person comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first."6
This is the meaning of, "If a chick dies in its shell, from where does its spirit leave?" A foreign thought during prayer - "an egg" - that "dies" - that you reject and kill - "from where does its spirit leave?" How dare you reject and kill a complete entity? The answer is, "The same way it came in." Just as it came in to distract you and push you away from G-d, that's how it leaves. You are allowed to cast it out of your thoughts.
Someone once asked if it is allowed to repeat several words of prayer that are said without concentration. The Baal Shem Tov answered, "It is well known that G-d's existence is in everything. Even extraneous thoughts contain sparks of holiness. Therefore, if you say a few words of prayer without concentration because of extraneous thoughts, you should realize that the thoughts came to have their spark removed. If you repeat the word, you show that G-d was not there the first time, and you thus limit G-d's existence. You shouldn't say them twice. Instead, you should think about and concentrate on those words in your mind."
Ben Poras Yosef p. 50b-c, 53d
1That is, if he recites the first word of the Shema twice in a row.
2That he can be so casual to recite the words of Shema without concentration.
3Talmud Berachos 33b
4Talmud Bechoros 8b
5Talmud Berachos 57a. Just as the insides of an egg are revealed (Rashi, loc. cit.)
6Talmud Sanhedrin 72a
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 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
Ben Porath Yoseph, 88a.
1The 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.
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