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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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A MISSED OPPORTUNITY
The Torah portion reads, G·d spoke to Moses,
saying, "Send out men for yourself to explore the
Canaanite territory that I am about to give to the
Israelites." Leviticus 13:1
Moses sent important people of high standing as
spies and charged them with a mission of finding out
the best and easiest way to conquer the land of
Israel. But they misled the Israelites and said that the
land was impossible to conquer because they used
their intellect to arrive at this conclusion instead of
relying on Moses, the leader of the generation, who
knew the land was conquerable. Based on a teaching
of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Reb Zev Kitzes came to his Rebbe, the Baal Shem
Tov, to ask for a brocha (blessing) before setting out
for a trip to Eretz Israel (Land of Israel).
After giving him a brocha for a successful trip, the Baal
Shem Tov cautioned, "Reb Zev, just a word of advice,
carefully consider how you answer a question posed
to you."
Reb Zev put the words of advice from his Rebbe in his
mind and started off on the arduous journey to Eretz
Israel. After weeks of travel by carriage, he boarded a
sail boat and continued the journey. Several weeks at
sea passed and the boat stopped for a short time at
an island. Reb Zev, along with the other passengers,
disembarked to purchase supplies for the remainder
of the trip. He lost track of time and when he returned
to where the boat had docked, it had already sailed
away.
Reb Zev was very worried that he'd never be able to
return to his home and family. He started to wander
around the island looking for some signs of
civilization. Finally he found a path that led to a small
house. " Boruch Hashem (Thank G·d)," he told
himself.
He knocked at the front door and it was opened by an
old man with white hair and a long white beard.
"Shalom Aleichem (peace be to you), Aleichem
Shalom," they greeted each other. Reb Zev told the
old man his tale of woe about how he had been left by
the boat and his fate of being stuck for the rest of his
life on this island.
"Don't worry Reb Zev," said the old man in a
comforting voice. "Be my guest for Shabbos and next
week there will be other boats that will stop and take
you to your destination."
Reb Zev felt relieved and had a very uplifting Shabbos
with his host.
Sure enough, the next week a boat docked at the
island.
While the host walked with Reb Zev to the boat, he
asked, "How are the Jews in your land doing? What's
going on with them?"
Reb Zev was rushing to board the boat and didn't pay
any attention to how he answered the question. He
automatically replied, "Boruch Hashem, G·d does not
forsake His children." Then he boarded the boat and
it sailed away.
Several days later, Reb Zev suddenly thought that
maybe the question of the old man was the very one
that the Baal Shem Tov had warned him to consider
carefully before answering. "Why didn't I remember
the Rebbe's warning?" he thought. "Why didn't I tell
him about the suffering and hardships that the Jews
were experiencing in Poland and Russia?" These
thoughts bothered him so much that he finally decided
to return and tell the Baal Shem Tov what happened
without completing his trip to Eretz Israel.
Just as Reb Zev was entering his Rebbe's study, the
Baal Shem Tov sadly greeted him with, "Every day
Avraham Aveinu (our father Abraham) stands before
G·d and asks about the welfare of his children. G·d
always reassures him that he will not abandon them.
Recently G·d said to Avraham, 'Reb Zev is traveling to
Eretz Israel. Ask him about his fellow Jews. He'll tell
you.'
"But you misled Avraham Aveinu," said the Baal Shem
Tov sadly. "Had you described our suffering and
hardship to him, you could have brought the
Moshiach."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in Sipurei Tzadikim
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of
Jephunneh lived from those men that went to spy out
the land. (Numbers 14:38)
[A Tzaddik] should join his life-force to the life-force of
the wicked. But if the wicked refuse to attach
themselves to him, then their life-force remains with
the Tzaddik.1 This is what is written: "But
Joshua . . . lived from those men that went to spy out
the land."2
Ben Poras Yosef, Vayetze
1The sefer Da'as Moshe (parashas
Noach) explains this as follows: The Talmud states
that G·d created a world of opposites, based
upon the
verse: "G·d made one thing against another"
(Ecclesiastes 7:14). Every Tzaddik has a wicked
person opposite him, and both have two portions - in
heaven and in hell. If the Tzaddik is worthy, he will
receive his own portion in the World to Come and the
portion of his wicked protagonist. If he is undeserving
it, he will receive his own portion in hell, and that of the
wicked. According to the Baal Shem Tov, this principle
applies to this world as well. The Magid of Mezritch
explained that this occurs when the Tzaddik
admonishes the wicked. The Tzaddik's words are the
aspect of the Sefirah of Malchus, and the listener's
ears correspond to the World of Hearing, Binah -
which is higher than Malchus. When the listener does
not heed the words of the Tzaddik, then the Tzaddik
regains his own words, as well as the aspect of the
listener.
2 That is, his own life force was added to
from those of the other spies.
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 123.
One must elevate one's thoughts from
below to above, in the mystery of the 288
sparks.1
For all extraneous thoughts are in Malkhut of
Malkhut,2 and when a foreign thought
enters your
mind, you must be scared of it.3 For by
means of this
fear, you unite "fear" and "awesome" and remove the
holy spark from the impure shell, which is the foreign
thought itself.
Now, the thoughts of Rabbi Bun were pure and clear,
and he had no way to uplift them, not until it occurred
to him to count the bricks of his house, or the chicks
[in the case of Shmuel].
Furthermore, each of these cases also needs to be
understood.4
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 209a
1According to the Arizal, at the time of the
Breakage of
the Vessels, the lights of the vessels ascended to
their source, and only the vessels themselves broke.
However, 288 sparks of light remained in the vessels
to enliven them. It is the main task of human beings
throughout history to redeem these sparks from the
kelipah nogah into which they fell, thus bringing the
world to perfection.
2Each of the Sefiros contains aspects of
all the
others. The lowest Sefirah is Malchus, and the lowest
aspect of Malchus is "Malchus of Malchus." It is from
this lowest level that all disruptive and extraneous
come.
3For they are pushing you away from the
King, as the
Baal Shem Tov explained elsewhere.
4See R. Tzaddok HaKohen of Lublin,
Tzidkas
HaTzaddik 233. It is worth noting that the word "chicks"
(as in Shmuel's prayers) is ephroach, which
has the letters RPCh in its root, that may allude to the
248 sparks that fell.
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 8.
The Baal Shem Tov was
incapable of speaking down-to-earth language with
simple people because of his devekus - his intense
attachment to heaven - until his Heavenly mentor,
Achiyah Ha Shaloni,1 taught him to recite
certain psalms which enabled him to speak everyday
language without losing his devekus.
Shivchei Baal Shem Tov
1In prior incarnations, Achiyah
HaShaloni was one who left Egypt and a prophet
during the time of King David. 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 157
DYING IN THIS WORLD
One of the things that protects a person from suffering
in the grave is dying on the afternoon before the
Sabbath.1
The Baal Shem Tov asked2:
If the intention is to give advice how one can avoid this
suffering, dying on Friday afternoon is not within one's
hands.
Rather, it means that one should "die" before the
Sabbath, that is, one should "empty" oneself
3 of all mundane affairs, as if one
were "dead" to the world, so that one is able to
properly accept the Sabbath. This will protect one from
suffering in the grave.
May the wise hear and increase wisdom.
1Chesed L'Avraham V:6.
2Toldoth Yaakov Yoseph, teachings
after Zos HaBrachah.
3This means emptying one's mind and
heart of earthly concerns, so that one is able to focus
one's mind on spirituality on the spiritual day of the
Sabbath. The reason why this protects one from
suffering in the grave is because this trains one to
make the transition from an earthly existence to the
spiritual worlds, which is what the transitional period
during which the body decays in the grave is all about.
One who is not prepared for this transition will
inevitably suffer the pain of being torn from earthly life.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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