The Baal Shem Tov studied Torah in the beit midrash but he also studied the natural world with the penetrating gaze of a mystic; he saw through the veil to the divinity within Nature. He saw God in all things and heard Him in all sounds. He heard the divine voice in the rustling of tree leaves, in the flowing sounds of the river, in the singing and chirping of birds. This mystic knowledge is called the "language of the animals, the birds, and the trees." The Besht loved the divine music emanating from every aspect of the natural creation.

Once, when he was sitting in a field with the Maggid of Mezritch-- one of his greatest disciples-- and they heard some cows lowing, the Besht taught him secrets of the Divine Chariot and the languages of the animals, birds, and trees. He also said, "If you listen carefully to the inner sound that’s within the material sound that enters your ears, you’ll hear the voice of God, which enlivens and brings into being, each moment, the sound that you hear."