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BAAL SHEM TOV STORY
Following the Weekly Torah Reading
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THE TURKISH
KAMEYA
And then there was the time that Reb Dovid
Moshe of Tchortkov was sitting with a few of his
Chassidim at a Melave Malke. As was his custom
every motzi Shabbos, he related a story about what the
Baal Shem Tov.
"It all started while the Baal Shem HaKodesh was
forced to spend Pesach in the city of Istanbul on his
aborted trip to Eretz Yisrael. He heard of the
opposition that were enraged about the holy man, Reb
Naftoli Hacohen, for his distribution of "Kameyos" -
charms which used holy names to protect the wearer
against evil powers.
The Baal Shem Tov asked that one of Reb Naftoli's
kameya be brought to him. When he finally obtained
one, he opened it and examined the writing on the
enclosed parchment. To his surprise, only the
words "Naftoli Hacohen" appeared. He knew these
words were apparently sufficient to protect or aid the
recipient of such a kameya."
The Tchortkover Rebbe went on to explain that he now
understood what our sages meant when they stated
that one who addresses his rebbe by name is worthy
of the death punishment.
"If one takes this
statement at face value, it difficult to see why such a
simple act
should deserve such a severe retribution. But from
what we learn from the Baal Shem Tov, the above
incident we can readily understand that the name of a
rebbe alone can protect and heal, just as a holy name
can. One who pronounces his rebbe's name, then, is
considered as if he pronounced G·d's name."
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaKohane
(Howard M. Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in
Divrei Dovid as translated in Stories of the Baal Shem
Tov by Y.Y.Klapholtz
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Sefer Baal Shem Tov
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on the Torah
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I heard from my Master (the Baal Shem Tov), that a
person must strengthen himself before prayer, so that
he will have the clarity of mind to at least pray without
extraneous thoughts, or [ideally] with
devekut.1 This
can be accomplished by first reciting psalms or
studying Torah, which will give one clarity of
consciousness.
There are some people, however, who will lose their
consciousness by reciting too many psalms or
studying too much Torah before prayers. This is what
is written: "One may do a lot and another a little, as
long as their intention is for the sake of
Heaven"2 - that is, [as long as they
intend] to attain the proper
consciousness for prayer, they are equal . . .
When a person seeks ways to
arouse himself in prayer, it is called "male" -
masculine consciousness.3 On the
other hand,
sometimes they arouse him from Above, such as
when he spontaneously begins to cry [in his prayers].
This is called "woman" - feminine consciousness.
Then, G·d forbid, "his prayer will be turned into
sin"
(Psalms 109:7).
The solution is to tremble at the realization
that he did not arouse himself in the first place, but
needed to be awoken from above; he should cry over
the first crying. Then the "female waters" will be
converted to "male waters," and become
masculine.4
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Tazria, p. 92a
1Spiritual cleaving to G·d.
2Menachos 110.
3Because the worshiper initiates the
relationship
with the Divine, he consciousness and the
corresponding down flow is considered masculine,
as explained above.
4That is, by adding more emotion and
fervor to the
prayers than one receives from Above, one again
assumes the role of the initiator, which is masculine,
and engenders an outflow of kindness.
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 113.
How does one dance before the bride? Beis
Shammai said: "The bride, as she is." Beis Hillel
said, "A pleasant and gracious bride!"
The Baal Shem Tov explained their disagreement as
follows:1
Beis Shammai said
to praise
the bride as she is, even in a general way, by knowing
that G·d's glory is hidden everywhere. Beis
Hillel said to praise the grace and beauty of the bride,
for he knew the specific sparks of holiness that had
fallen among the shells, and how the foreign thoughts
come to mind during prayer in order to be repaired.
Then, one must separate and remove the shell, and to
raise and adorn the holy spark from among it, making
it into a lovely and graceful bride.
Toldos Yaakov Yosef, p. 8d
1The Baal Shem Tov interprets this
Mishnah as applying to prayer, which is a
manifestation of the Shechinah, the spiritual "bride" of
the Holy One. Beis Shammai sees prayer as being
mixed with good and evil, with holy words, yet many
distracting thoughts. Thus, he can only praise it "as it
is." Beis Hillel knows how to extract the fallen sparks
of holiness even within the foreign thought, thereby
uplifting that thought, and making prayer a beautiful
bride of G·d.
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 50.
Throughout the generations, the main work of
tzaddikim such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his
companions, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (The Arizal), and
the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples, was to bind the
souls of the Jewish people to their [spiritual] roots,
and to remove the partitions and physical desires that
separated them [from G·d]. In this way, their
souls
would become bound to their roots, so that they could
not be detached. If this were accomplished, the
Jewish people would fear G·d, even in private,
and not
transgress, even to the slightest degree, the decrees
of the Rabbis.
[The Tzaddikim] bind their souls to G·d by
stripping
themselves of their physicality and completely
transcending their corporeality. They bind their souls
to the light of the Infinite. By such means, they lifted up
the souls of the Jewish people with them, and bound
them to their roots.
However, as the Baal Shem Tov said, even when the
tzaddikim attached their own souls to their supernal
root, they had to be careful not to nullify their own
existence. Otherwise, they would not be able to return
to their physicality. They had to remain attached [to
G·d], in such a way that even when they were
busy
with physical [and mundane} activities, their thoughts
were not separate from the Creator. Thus, even when
they were involved in the material world, their intention
was to serve G·d. This is known as serving
G·d in the
aspect of smallness.
Ma'or VaShemesh, Pinchas
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 145
"Everyday a bath kol1 emerges from
Mount Choreb [Sinai] and proclaims, Woe to mankind
for the insult to the Torah. . . "2
The Baal Shem Tov asked:3
If no one hears this proclamation, what is the use to
proclaim it? And how can anyone say that he does
hear it, since sensory reality contradicts him? For who
can say that he actually hears the proclamations
made in Heaven? And even if someone does say that
he has heard it, what fool would believe him rather
than judge him as a false prophet? Therefore, what is
the purpose of this proclamation?
The answer can be found in the following
story:4
While Rabbi Yehoshua son of Chananiah was
standing in front of the Caesar, an apostate
pantomimed to him, "A people whose G·d
has turned His face away from them." Rabbi
Yehoshua answered him in pantomime, "His hand is
still outstretched to protect us."
But why did they talk in pantomime rather than in
verbal words? And why does the Talmud mention this?
From here we can learn a lesson about the
proclamation made in Heaven. That, too, is not a
verbal sound, for there are no words and no speech in
the spiritual worlds, which are worlds of thought.
Speech, on the other hand, is a physical
phenomenon. For the procedures of kingdom on earth
reflect the procedures of kingdom on High, and it is
improper that a king should speak directly to his
nobles, counselors and servants other than in
pantomime or allusion. And indeed, this is how things
are conducted in Arabian royal courts even today.
The Talmudic story is thus teaching us that the
proclamations made by the King of the world are also
in "pantomime,"5and one must be able
to "read" the "signals" of the proclamation that are
taking place in one's thoughts - the pangs of remorse
that enter one's mind everyday are the effects of the
proclamation. The message can also come in other
ways, as is known to anyone who has "eyes to
understand," and is not among those about whom the
verse says, "Don't be like a horse or a mule that don't
understand."6
Thus, whenever we are aroused in this world with
some fear, we must realize that we are being called
upon from Above to connect with the Source of this
fear. Similarly, when we are aroused to rejoicing, we
must connect with the joy of serving G·d.
The same is true in other instances. Let the wise one
hear and increase wisdom.
1A sub-prophetic voice of ruach
hakodesh. From this teaching we learn that we are all
privy to such "voices" from heaven. G·d is
always talking to us. The problem is that we aren't
interested to listen.
2Tractate Avot 6:2
3Toldot Yaakov Yoseph, R'eh #1.
4Tractate Chagigah 5b.
5Thus, while the apostate's challenge,
that G·d has abandoned the Jewish people,
was in pantomime, out of deference to the Caesar,
Rabbi Yehoshua's very answer, "His hand is still
outstretched to protect us," embodies the message,
by "saying" that G·d still speaks to us
in "pantomime."
6Psalms 32:9.
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua
Starrett
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