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ORIGINS OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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OBST 20
In the last installment, Reb Yoel, the Baal Shem brought the demons to Bais Din. The demons told why they owned the house they were then living in.
Reb Yoel had a ready retort. "Evil spirits cannot be rightful heirs, just as the good angels created by good deeds cannot become heirs, but only serve as defenders in the hereafter. So too the wicked angels cannot inherit but only serve as prosecutors after one hundred and twenty years."
The demons also had their ready reply. "We refuse to leave the cellar, for Ashmedai, our king, himself commanded us to remain here. We obey him and none other. At first we occupied Avigdor Tuvia's apartment itself but were forced to flee from the great light that accompanied the arrival of the Sefer Torah and the establishment of the Beis Medrash. Now we occupy the cellar and we refuse to leave it."
He finished his words and exploded into shouts and screams and was joined by a whole chorus of the other demons who started wreaking havoc on the place.
All kinds of colored scratches appeared upon the walls. Sounds of insects and animals filled the air. Forms of black winged children with tails appeared overhead.
The spectators were terrified, their teeth chattered. The only fearless person was Reb Yoel himself. He announced loudly, "You demons and evil spirits. I decree in the name of the G-d of this verse, 'There shall fall at your side a thousand, and ten thousand from your right hand. They shall not come near you,' to disappear from mortal view. Still your cries and listen to the sentence passed by the righteous Beis Din which you will be forced to fulfill! Beware lest you harm any person or release into the air any evil breath."
Silence reigned in the Beis Medrosh. The strange creatures disappeared to the amazement of all.
The judges consulted among themselves and then declared, "The spirits have no rightful part or parcel in the heritage of the Ooldschmidt couple."
A stifled sobbing was heard in the air.
Finally the Baal Shem arose and said, "Have you heard the final judgment? If so, leave this place immediately without harming a soul!" He finished his words and told the assembled crowd to begin saying the Ketores and to recite the afternoon prayers.
From then on the demons disappeared, never to return again.
To be continued. . . . . .
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Sefer Hazichronos by Reb Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch, Zal
as translated in Tales of the Baal Shem Tov by Y.Y. Klapholtz.
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THE VILLAGE OF YISRULAVA
When Reb Yisrael of Ruzhin - better known as "the holy Ruzhiner Rebbe (1797 to 1850), was fleeing from the Russian government, he crossed the border and eventually came upon a small village named Yisrulava. His curiosity piqued by this unusual name, so similar to his own, he began to question each villager he met as to how the town became called this name.
It didn't take too long before he realized that not even one Jew lived in the village. This fact aroused his curiosity even more and he thought, "I must find out why a townful of non-Jews live in a place called Yisrael!"
The day before he was preparing to continue his travels, another guest in the inn where he was lodging suggested that he ask a very old man who lived on the edge of the village and was reputedly over a hundred years old. "Surely, the guest said, "He'll know the reason for the reason for the name of the village, and if he doesn't, no one does!"
The Holy Ruzhiner located the old man's cottage on a small plot of land on the far side of the village adjacent to the river. As he approached, a flock of geese was quacking joyfully in front of the house and once in a while one of them would jump into the water.
A very ancient man, with a wrinkled face and bony hands opened the door. For a man of his age, he was very alert and his expression was one of puzzlement. The last person he expected to find on his front doorstep was a bearded rabbi! But his expression quickly changed and he sighed deeply. "Please come in," he said, smiling courteously.
The Holy Ruzhiner sat down and expalined the purpose of his visit. "Perhaps you could recall why this town is called 'Yisrulava,'" he asked excitedly. "Is there indeed a connection between this name and the Jewish name 'Yisrael'?"
The old man closed his eyes and his forehead wrinkled momentarily as he thought over the question. "Ah! Of course I remember," he replied happily. "How could I forget...?" And he began reminiscing.
"It happened when I was still a young man. I worked as a shepherd and would take the sheep out to graze on the mountains in this area. No one lived here then. Towards evening, I would lead the sheep to the river that flowed between the mountains, in order to quench their thirst.
"One day, as I returned the sheep to their pens, I noticed that one of them was missing. The same thing occurred on the following days: I would return with one sheep less than I had set out with in the morning. One afternoon, after having settled down for a nap under one of the oak trees, I heard one of the animals squealing. I jumped up and got a glimpse of a wolf running.away from the flock. It held a sheep between its teeth.
"The following day I remained vigilant and didn't let myself take a nap. Just after midday I noticed the wolf approaching the flock with extreme caution. I was overcome with fear and screamed for help. But then I remembered that there wasn't a living soul in the area.
The wolf was closing in. I trembled with fear, not for the sheep but for my life.
"Suddenly I caught sight of a 'Bisrul' on the nearby hill. (That was our nickname for a Jew.) This was a quiet fellow who liked to keep to himself. He spent most of the day sitting in the woods, deep in thought and studying the books he brought with him. 'Yisroel, Yisroel!' I cried, addressing him by his name. I hoped that he would come to my aid. When the wolf was getting really close, Yisroel got up and stared piercingly, first at the wolf and then at me. 'Don't be afraid, the wolf will never harm you," he called out confidently. In fact the wolf took just a few more strides before collapsing in a heap as if struck by a poisonous arrow and died.
"I was dumbfounded! It! was then that I realized that Yisroel the Jew was a holy man. From that day on, I kept track of his movements and noted his conduct with interest.
"I observed that every morning when he arrived in the area to be alone in the woods, he would disrobe and immerse his entire body in the cold river water. In fact, he would immerse himself so many times that I never could figure out the exact number."
"One frosty day in the middle of winter, I saw him immerse in the river, despite the fact that it was frozen over. I was concerned for his health and I quietly approached the rivery.
"I noticed that he had broken a hole in the ice through which he entered the river. His feet were sticking to the ice, his skin was peeling and patches of blood appeared on the ice. I couldn't bear to see this holy miracle-worker suffering, so I approached him and placed some dry rags on the ice to stop his feet from sticking and to ease his pain.
"A few days later, one of my friends from my village, located quite a distance away, told me innocently that he had been unwell of late and had drunk some of the river water. To his surprise, he soon felt much better and then the illness disappeared completely. During this period there were other, similar incidents.
It wasn't long before the word spread: this river had supernatural qualities. I told my friends of my personal experience with the wolf and the Jew 'Yisroel' and of his custom to immerse in the river. Everyone agreed with me that the miraculous qualities of the river were a result of the holy Jew bathing in the river. They nicknamed the river the 'Holy Well.'
"It wasn't long before all the villagers were taking regular trips to the river. Some of them decided to build their home on the edge of the river; many others soon followed and I was among them. That's how this village was given the name 'Yisrulava, in honor of this holy Jew.
"One day while I was tending my sheep, Yisroel approached me and thanked me graciously for the assistance I had provided him on that bitter winter day. 'Let me bless you with long life and good years,' he said to me. 'The day will come when a stranger will approach you and inquire as to the reason for the name of the village. Receive him courteously and tell him the story in detail. Until then I guarantee you a good and happy life.'"
The old man finished his story and sighed deeply. It was clear that he understood all too well the significance of this last sentence from all those years ago.
The Holy Ruzhiner thanked him warmly and left. The following day, word spread that the old man had passed away.
"When relating this story, the Holy Ruzhiner said, "This Yisroel was none other than the Baal Shem Tov himself.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir Cohn (Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in SEEKER OF SLUMBERING SOULS by Rabbi Moshe Rabin
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SEFER BAAL SHEM TOV
The Teachings Of The Baal Shem Tov On Prayer
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And you shall serve the L- rd your G- d, and He will bless your bread, and your water. . . (Mishpatim 23:25)
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
When you speak words of Torah during your meals, the words become the soul for the physicality [of the food] that is on the table. You should always speak a lot of Torah over your meals - during the week, and all the more so, on Shabbos.
Keser Shem Tov, part 2, p. 4b
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Yitro 20:8)
On the eve of Shabbos, during the Mincha and Kabbalas Shabbos prayers, a person raises up all the words and mitzvos of the previous week, because that is the time when the worlds ascend.
Tzivos HaRivash, part 2, p. 4b
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light Of The Baal Shem Tov
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18. The following story was told many times by the Alter Rebbe, who heard it from his Rebbe, the Mezritcher Maggid.
Once, the Baal Shem Tov was teaching the Chevraya Kadisha intimate secrets of the Torah that had never before been heard in this world before. These secrets could not even be found in any of the writings of the early mekubolim or even the Arizal.
And all the Baal Shem Tov's disciples were Torah giants in their own right, especially the eminent Reb Dov Ber. Even before coming to the Baal Shem Tov, Reb Dov Ber was famous for having studied and reviewed every available book of Torah, both of revealed knowledge and mystical thought, one hundred and one times.
Upon this occasion, Reb Dov Ber heard previously unknown teachings about such deep concepts of Torah that they utterly confused him. As he thought about the Baal Shem Tov's ability to transmit such teachings, he found it difficult to believe that a soul enclothed in flesh and blood could know such hidden thoughts, probably beyond even the grasp of the angels themselves. He was seized with the thought that the voice that spoke from the mouth of the Baal Shem Tov came directly from his disembodied soul.
At the same time, several of the other disciples were so mesmerized by these teachings that they finally were compelled to touch the Baal Shem's hand to see if it was tangible.
Niflaos Sipurim
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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9-c1 Experiencing foreign and confusing thoughts during prayer is a good sign.
The fact that a person experiences foreign and confusing thoughts during prayer is actually a good sign. We can explain this by way of a parable. A king in his palace is surrounded by many walls and guards to keep people away. If a person wants to make a request of the king but the guards sense that it will be bad for them, they will not let him enter. However, if they think that he is an unimportant person and that the king will not fulfill his request, they let him through. What difference does it make to them? However, they will do all that they can to prevent an important minister to enter since they know that the king will listen to him, and it will be bad for them.1
The same applies to prayer, which is attachment to G-d in order to redeem the Holy Sparks from the side of evil and lowly things. This is also bad for them. But if a simple person, whose prayers are not so good and who makes little impression, approaches G-d - the king's guard ignore him and do not confuse him too much. This is not the case with a G-d-fearing person whose prayers bear fruit below and in their supernal root above. The side of evil does everything it can to disturb him with foreign thoughts. If the person is smart enough to realize this, they will fight with all their might and cry out bitterly, "Father, save me!" Then, the Holy One, Who longs for the prayers of Israel, will open all the doors for them and bring about a rectification, uplifting the Holy Sparks and bring the Redemption.
Sefas Emes, Va'eirah
1In this case, the gate-keepers represent the forces of illusion that keep people from recognizing and drawing close to G-d. These manifest themselves in the consciousness as the distracting thoughts and desires that arise during prayer. These forces (and thoughts) are only enlivened by a spark of holiness that is exiled within them. The tzaddik wants to redeem this spark and bring it to the King, thereby robbing them of their power and negating them. Thus, they opposed his entry into the palace.
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 47
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
Since the Jewish people had already said, "We will do and obey whatever G-d says,"1 why does oral tradition say that G-d had to impose the Torah on the Jewish people by holding Mount Sinai over their heads and threatening to bury them underneath it if they didn't accept it?
The answer is that this comes to teach us that even when one has no desire to learn Torah and serve G-d, nevertheless, one is not absolved from doing so, and one must force oneself by visualizing that [G-d] is [now holding Mount Sinai over his head and] forcing him.2
1Exodus 24:7.
2This is not meant merely as a theoretical thought, but as a meditative visualization that can re-ignite the enthusiasm of, "We will do and obey," that naturally wanes and waxes throughout the day.
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