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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE THE KAISER'S
BANQUET
When the Tabernacle is to be moved, the Levites shall
take it down, and when it is to remain in one place,
they shall set it up." Numbers 1:51.
Before the time of the Baal Shem Tov, lived a saintly,
holy Jew, known as Reb Adam Ha Tzaddik. Rabbi
Adam had mastered Torah and secrets of Kabbalah,
but was still not satisfied. He pleaded with The
Almighty: "Father in Heaven! I beg of You to open the
innermost secrets of so that I may bring honor and
glory to Your name." One night, Rabbi Adam had a
dream in which he stood in The Ma'aras
Ha'Machpelah - the burial place of Adam and Eve,
Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob
and Leah. He saw lying before him 'HaSefer
Ha'Adam - THE BOOK OF ADAM", in which is
contained the TETGRAMATON - the secret, mystical
name of the Eternal Being. Only six others were worthy
of its secrets: Adam, Abraham, Joseph, Moses,
Joshua and King Solomon.
Rabbi Adam studied the book and its
secret knowledge was revealed to him. He then
asked: "After I am gone from this world, to whom
should I pass on these secrets of The BOOK OF
ADAM?" A heavenly voice replied: "Seek Rabbi Israel,
son of Rabbi Eliezer, who lives in Okup. He is worthy
to receive it". The next day, Rabbi Adam wrote down
all he had learned. He then called his son and
said, "When I take leave from this world, take this
BOOK OF ADAM to Israel, son of Eliezer, who lives in
Okup. This book will belong to him. After Rabbi Adam
departed from this world, his son followed his father's
request and gave the holy manuscript to The Baal
Shem Tov.
In his time, Rabbi Adam was known as a
man of great wisdom even among the non-Jews. The
ruler of the adjoining land, a Kaiser, occasionally
asked for his counsel. Once, when Rabbi Adam was
summoned to the Kaiser's castle, after offering his
opinion on a certain matter, he invited the Kaiser to a
banquet in his home. To the surprise of the ruler's
attendants, The Kaiser accepted the invitation, and a
date was set for the following week. Then Rabbi
Adam returned home to prepare for the Banquet.
Rabbi Adam lived in a very small, modest
house-hardly suitable to entertain royalty. After
purifying himself by immersing in a mikvah, Rabbi
Adam fell into a deep state of meditation using secret
powers entrusted to him through the Book of Adam.
He envisioned a king who lived in
a large palace. This king wished to invite the ruler of
the neighboring land for a banquet. The king
instructed his servants to prepare a grand banquet. In
a large banquet hall stood a large table bedecked
gold dishes. The king arranged for the neighboring
land's king to attend his banquet on a certain date-the
same day the Kaiser would visit Rabbi Adam.
Among the Kaiser's ministers was one
who held a well-known hate for Jews. He tried his
best to dissuade the Kaiser from visiting Rabbi
Adam: "Your Excellency, the Rabbi lives in a tiny two
room house in a village. It is not fitting your honor to
dine in such a setting." But the Kaiser recognized
Rabbi Adam's wisdom and enjoyed their discussions,
so he paid no attention to his minister. As the royal
entourage traveled towards Rabbi Adam's town, the
minister tried to convince the Kaiser to abandon the
idea and return home to the palace. In the course of
the journey, the Kaiser began to wonder how he and
all his attendants would be able to dine in such a
small house. He instructed one of his guards with the
fastest horse to ride ahead and to report back as to
the banquet preparations.
The messenger soon returned and
reported that Rabbi Adam's house was a small shack
and he did not see any special preparations being
made.
The Kaiser was now unsure, but as they
were almost at their destination, decided to continue
towards Rabbi Adam's home.
As the royal carriage entered the small
town, the residents stood in disbelief: The Kaiser
himself was in their town! As the Kaiser's carriage
turned onto the street where Rabbi Adam lived, he
beheld magnificent palace! The Kaiser stepped out of
his golden carriage with a great smile. Servants took
the horses to the stables, while palace waiters silently
escorted The Kaiser and his attendants to the
banquet hall.
Rabbi Adam awaited the Kaiser in the
banquet Hall, and soon the Kaiser and his court were
sitting with Rabbi Adam enjoying the lavish feast.
Rabbi Adam then said, "I welcome you all
to this palace of my King, and I invite you all to eat and
drink to your fill! But I have one request. Please do not
remove any of the table settings from the room."
Following the feast, Rabbi Adam
turned to the Kaiser: "Any person among you who has
a particular wish should say to me-'I want this, or I
want that'-and then put his hand in the pocket of his
coat, and he will find the object what he wished for."
The Kaiser was first. He wished for a gold watch -and
found it in the pocket of his coat. The ministers were
beside themselves with excitement: They each told
the Rabbi their requests, and each received his
specific request.
When it was the turn of the minister who
hated Jews, after telling Rabbi Adam his wish, he
preached into his pocket, but screamed as he felt
something disgusting! He quickly pulled out his hand
covered with putrid slime! The smell was nauseating!
He ran to wash his hand, but try as hard as he could,
he could not rid himself of the foul smell that overtook
his whole body. The minister turned to Rabbi Adam:
Pleas help me! I am going to faint from this stink!"
Rabbi Adam the said: "If you will swear to
me in front of your master, The Kaiser, never to
express your hate for the Jewish people again, I will
help you. If not, you will bear this filthy odor for the
remainder of your life." The minister began to wail -
and then swore never to express hate for the Jewish
people again.
Then Rabbi Adam told him: "There is only
one remedy. To take the urine from a Jew. You will
wash in it and this will take away the smell." And so it
happened.
The Kaiser decided to test the Rabbis
request, and hid two gold cups from the banquet table
in an inner pocket of his coat. The Kaiser thanked
their host, and departed. As soon as they turned the
corner, the palace and all that it held, disappeared.
Only two gold cups were missing.
Word of the strange events spread
throughout the land - That an unknown king with an
unknown palace had suddenly appeared, and then
again disappeared -except for two missing gold cups.
Sometime later, The Kaiser sent a letter to
the "unknown" king in which he wrote: "A Rabbi who
brought us to your palace, where we ate and drank
your fine food and wine. As a sign of my respect, I am
returning to you your two gold cups."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story found in Shivchei
HaBesht and translated in Tales of the Baal Shem Tov
by Mintz and Ben Amos.
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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And G·d spoke to Moses in the Sinai Desert,
in the Tabernacle of Meeting.
Numbers 1:1
Until the Tabernacle was erected, He spoke with him
at the [burning] bush. . . . and afterward "And
G·d spoke to Moses and Aharon in the land of
Egypt, saying" (Exodus 12:1), and He spoke with him
in Midian. . . . And He spoke to him at Sinai. . . . But
once the Tabernacle was erected, He said, "Modesty
is the best," as it says: "walk modestly with your
G·d."1
Rabbi Moshe Isserles writes: "A person should not be
ashamed if other people mock him in his service of
G·d. He should also act
modestly. . . . "2 That is, when should
he not be ashamed of others? When he acts
modestly. For the main thing is that one's Torah study
and service of G·d be done in truth and faith.
One's words and heart should be together, be he
among others or alone.3
Toldos
Yaakov Yosef, Ki Setze, p. 198a
There are two types of laughter: When a person is on
the level that the entire world laughs at him, for "he
who departs from evil makes himself ridiculous"
(Isaiah 59:15). And when he laughs at the entire
world, and serves G·d with complete
confidence, for G·d is with him on his
path.4
Rishpei Esh HaShalom
211
1Midrash Rabbah,
Bamidbar 1:3.
2Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 1:1,
based upon Micah 6:8: ". . . what does the L-rd require
of you, but to do justly and to love true loyalty, and to
walk modestly with your G·d?" Rabbi Isserles
seems to present these as two separate traits: not to
be embarrassed of others, and to be modest in one's
behavior, even when alone in one's house (See
Mishnah Berurah, note 7). The Baal Shem Tov
explains the connection between the two.
3Meaning, when a person is completely
sincere in his service of G·d, and behaves the
same whether he is at home alone or with others,
then he will not be ashamed when others mock him.
However, if his piety is only external and done to
impress others, he should certainly be ashamed
when others mock him. Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of
Polnoye also writes in the name of the Baal Shem Tov
that when a person is attached to G·d, he will
pay absolutely no to those who mock him. Only when
he falls from his spiritual attachment will the attitude of
others affect him.
4Admonitions like these were especially
important for the early Chasidim, who broke
conventions with the ecstatic prayers and
performance of mitzvos. However, they apply to us as
well. A person may feel that people are laughing at
him for choosing to fulfill G·d's will. However,
he or she can laugh at the world, knowing that
G·d is with him, and that he follows a path of
meaning and spiritual growth.
Translation
and Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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THE PILLAR OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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Section 121.
Prayer consists of gift-giving and battle.
One must fight against distracting thoughts until each
are bound to their root, as I received from my Master,
regarding the three lines. . . Then, one receives as a
gift the very distracting thought that was brought close
to its holy root in our Father in Heaven.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 40c
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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THE LIGHT OF THE EYES
On the Greatness of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 5.
The Holy Rabbi Moshe of
Kobrin1
said, "We must believe all the stories, miracles, and
wonders attributed to the Baal Shem Tov. We should
believe that even if they didn't happen, they could have
happened."
Imros Tahoros, p. 34
1Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin 1745-
1815.
Translation
and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Shore
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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Section 154
The Baal Shem Tov taught1 :
Why was the Exodus from Egypt brought about
specifically by the plague that killed the First Born?
The concept of the "first born" is connected with novel
ideas that arise in the mind, that is, one should use
one's mind in holiness, to come up with new ways in
which to serve G·d. On the other hand,
the "first born"
of the handmaid represents the kelipot, which
separate between one's mind and G1d.
Thus, when the first born of the handmaid were
stricken and the kelipot were removed, the people
automatically left exile.2
1Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, Zot
HaBrakhah #6.
2Physical exile is only a manifestation of
spiritual exile, which is the result of the "kelipot"-
mental blocks, distractions, and limiting mindsets.
Thus, when one's mind is released from these
limitations, one is "set free" from
spiritual "bondage."
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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