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TALES OF THE BAAL SHEM TOV
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"Take from yourselves a portion for Gd,
everyone
whose heart motivates him shall bring it." (Vayakel
35:5)
JOB'S PENNY
AND then there was the time that a line of people
wound its way from the door of the Holy Baal Shem
Tov. Many stood in line too seek advice and blessing
from the holy tzaddik.
One of those who waited was Reb Zissel - a simple
man with very little in this world. He humbly asked the
Baal Shem Tov for a blessing so that he wouldn't
have to live in poverty and depend on the charity of
others.
The Baal Shem Tov listened intently to Reb Zissel's
pleading. After a long silence, the Baal Shem Tov
said, "I wish to help you, but it is not within my power
to do so. Heaven prevents me from granting such a
blessing."
But Reb Zissel was not so easily dissuaded. "Please
Rebbe," cried Reb Zissel, "I have traveled so far and
waited so long, isn't there even the smallest
blessing you could grant me?"
The Baal Shem Tov sat quietly for a moment, but
could only respond that there was nothing he could
do.
Suddenly, the Baal Shem Tov stood and walked over
to his bookshelf and removed a sefer (holy book). It
was the Talmud Baba Basra. He opened it at random,
and looked closely at the open page and read the
following words: "He who takes a pruta (penny) from
Job will be blessed."
The Baal Shem Tov turned to Reb Zissel, who stood
in respectful silence by the tzaddik's desk. "Reb
Zissel, these words have deep meaning. Each Jew
has an instinctive desire to help his fellow Jew. That
desire is borne from the source of his soul, which is
an absolute part of Gd. Just as Gd
created this
physical world out of His selfless kindness, so to
each Jewish soul desires to bestow that kindness
upon others. This statement in the Talmud teaches
us that a worthy man, who dispenses charity and
kindness to others, has the power to bestow his
blessing of success upon the tzedaka (charity) that he
gives, as well as to the recipient who will benefit from
the gift. Now, let me think if I know of such a man?"
At that moment the Baal Shem Tov thought of Reb
Shabsai Meir, a well known Baal Tzedaka
(philanthropist), who lived in the city of Brod. Not only
did Reb Shabsai give generous amounts of charity to
the needy, but he did so with the sincerest feelings
of "ahavas yisrael" - of true love for his fellow Jew.
And even more so, Reb Shabsai prayed fervently that
The Almighty continue to bless him with wealth only
so that could continue to give generously, and that the
recipients of his giving would themselves be blessed
with wealth and success. The heavenly court saw
Reb Shabsai's kindness and heard his sincere
prayers, and indeed granted all his wishes. As time
passed, Reb Shabsai was blessed with increasing
wealth, and those who benefited from his kindness
also became successful.
The Baal Shem Tov then said to Reb Zissel, "There is
one person who can help you. Travel to the city of
Brod, and seek out Reb Shabsai Meir. He has the
power to help you. Ask him for a donation. The money
that leaves his hand is blessed, and it bestows
blessing upon all who receive it."
Reb Zissel thanked the Baal Shem Tov and journeyed
to Brod. He spent Shabbos with Reb Shabsai and
when Shabbos was over, Reb Zissel begged Reb
Shabsai for a donation, which Reb Shabsai gave
willingly and with a broad smile. Soon after, Reb
Zissel departed Brod carrying Reb Shabsai's
donation.
Soon, Reb Zissel circumstances began to improve,
and he never again had to depend on the charity of
others again.
And so it was.
Freely adapted by Tzvi Meir HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn, Patent Attorney) from a story in SEFER
HASICHOS 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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And Betzalel made the ark . . . (Exodus 37:1)
For the shadow of the Holy One was there, between
the Cherubim.1
Midrash Tanchuma, VaYakhel 7
The Baal Shem Tov once taught his students the
following lesson. Pointing to a cask of beer that was
in the room, he said, This cask is made from clay
and formed by human hands. Its material substance
is simple, for the main thing is its form, as it is
said, "The last in deed is the first in
thought."2 Thus,
the vessel is actually formed from the craftsman's
thoughts, so that the life-force of the craftsman is
embodied in the life-force of the vessel, and his
intellect radiates into it. It is therefore possible to
discern in the vessel the entire personality and
conduct of its maker, just as a branch bears the life-
force of the root.
"It turns out, then, that I can see in this
cask that it was made by a craftsman who had no
legs. Now, if the existence of the cask depends upon
the presence of his wisdom, were we to remove his
wisdom from it, it would lack any unifying
factor."
After the class, one of the students lifted
the cask and set it on one of the benches. As soon as
he did so, the entire cask crumbled into dust, as
though it never existed.3
Kisvei Kodesh, p. 26a.
1Gd's shadow refers
to the
Divine
Presence that was manifest over the Ark of the
Covenant. The name Betzalel means, "In the shadow
of Gd." Thus, Betzalel knew how to build the
Ark, so
that it would be a fitting place for the revelation of
Gd.
2From the Lecha Dodi prayer
recited at the
onset of
Shabbat. This means that the original intention (of
Gd
or of an artisan) is reflected in the final product.
3Apparently, the Baal Shem Tov
removed the
life-
force from the cask, as he said. See Ohr HaMeir, by R.
Zev Wolf of Zhitomer, parashas HaAzinu, who writes:
Once, the Baal Shem Tov heard a wicked man playing
on the violin, and could hear in the music all the sins
that the man had ever committed. And had he heard
the man singing, he could have discerned even more,
such as the outcome of all of his sins, because a
person puts all of his energy into his singing
(therefore revealing more of his soul).
Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Dr. Eliezer
Shore
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HEART OF PRAYER
The Baal Shem Tov's Teachings on Prayer
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7-a2 Pray with single-minded concentration until you
forget your physicality.
You should pray with total concentration, going from
letter to letter until you forget your own physicality.
Imagine that the letters are combining together, which
generates great pleasure. This is the world of
Yetzirah, the level of Daat. Next, you should ascend to
the letters of thought until you no longer hear what you
are saying. Then you come to the world of Beriyah, the
level of Binah. Finally, you attain total nullification in
which your entire physicality is annulled. This is the
world of Atzilut, the level of
Chochmah.
Kesser Shem
Tov,
part 2 p. 17b
Translation
and
Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
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DIVINE LIGHT
The Mystical Light of the Baal Shem Tov
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44. The Baal Shem Tov instructed his disciples to
learn a passage of Zohar before each of the daily
prayer services, Shacharit, Mincha and Maariv.
Likutey Torah, hadracha 7
Translation
and
Commentary by Rabbi Dr.
Eliezer Shore
From DIVINE LIGHT by Tzvi Meir
HaCohane (Howard M.
Cohn. Patent Attorney)
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KESER SHEM TOV
Anthology of the Teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
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Kst 80
The Baal Shem Tov taught:
The most important thing when praying in exile is
faith - to believe that Gd's glory fills the earth.
By so
doing, one elevates and exalts the Shechinah/Divine
presence.
One must also believe that as soon as one
expresses the words of prayer from his mouth, his
request is answered. And even when one's request
does not seem to be answered, this is because the
answer has remained hidden from him. For example,
his request may have been answered for the benefit
of the world in general, although he had requested
that his personal suffering be removed. However, this
itself is for his benefit, for instance, to atone for his
sins. But if the intention of one's request is that he
personally should be answered, then one has
entered an element of [materiality] into his request.
One's request should be solely for spiritual benefit,
for the sake of the Shechinah/Divine presence, and
not for some earthly benefit, which creates a veil of
separation.1
This, then, is the meaning of, "Jacob lifted his legs"
2 - which refers to the "legs" of the
Shechinah/Divine
presence, by virtue of his faith and trust, as the
verse says, "Take courage and strengthen your
hearts, all those who trust in
Gd."3 And
this is the
meaning of the oral teaching on the verse, "Jacob
lifted," which says that his heart lifted his feet after he
was promised [that Gd was with
him].4
1The teaching begins with a statement
that Gd's
glory exists equally throughout the earth, an axiom
that itself is an aspect of Oneness. Acknowledging
this is in prayer reveals the Divine presence to the
one praying, it "elevates and exalts the Shechinah."
But for this to be revealed to the one praying, for one
to experience the Oneness, one cannot have one's
personal needs in mind, because this creates
a "separation" between oneself and the Oneness.
One must rather perceive oneself as an inseparable
part of the totality of the Oneness of creation, and pray
for the benefit of that Oneness, for one automatically
benefits from the benefit of the Oneness. This is the
meaning of "praying for the sake of the Shechinah,"
because Gd's presence is revealed on earth,
as
said, only to the extent that man perceives the
Oneness of creation.
2Genesis 29:1
3The "legs" of the Shekhinah are a
reference to the
lowest spiritual levels, just as the legs are the lowest
part of the body (Degel Machaneh Ephraim,
VaYaytzay). Jacob was able to elevate the people at
these levels because of his faith that Gd can
be
found within their worlds as well, in other words, that
he, at his exalted spiritual level, and they, at their lowly
levels, are equally part of the singular body of
mankind in general, and the Jewish people in specific.
3Psalms 31:25
4Rashi ad loc. Since Jacob was
promised that Gd
was with him, by automatic extension, He is with
Jacob's "feet," the lowest levels. This encouraged
Jacob to indeed elevate those levels with this very
message.
Translation and commentary by Rabbi
Yehoshua Starrett.
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