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| The Baal Shem Tov's Letter and Spiritual
Legacy |
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| By Rabbi David
Sears |
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| The Baal Shem
Tov's LETTER that describes his "ascent of the soul" on Rosh Hashana is
one of the few original writings of the founder of Chassidus that has survived.
The LETTER was written during the last years of the Baal Shem Tov's life
to his brother-in-law, the Torah scholar of repute, Rabbi Avraham Gershon of
Kitov, who had immigrated to the Holy Land. However, for some reason, the
LETTER was never delivered. Thus, Rabbi Gershon Kitover's loss was
posterity's gain. The precious document remained in the Baal Shem Tov's
immediate circle until its publication some 30 years later in Ben Poras Yosef,
a collection of Chassidic discourses by Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaKohen of Polonoye.
The LETTER also appears as the first entry in Kesser Shem Tov (Crown of
a Good Name, 1794), Rabbi Aharon HaKohen of Zhelikhov's classic anthology of
the Baal Shem Tov's teachings gleaned from the works of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of
Polonoye. |
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| The
LETTER bespeaks the mystical experiences to which its author was privy,
as well as the directness, intimacy, and emotional warmth with which he related
to family members and disciples alike. Its contents attest to two central
points of the Baal Shem Tov's legacy: the belief that the dissemination of his
unique path of divine service is of Messianic import; and that it was (and is)
the Baal Shem Tov's mission to bring the mystical dimension of Jewish religious
practice to the entire Jewish people, from the greatest Torah scholar to the
humblest untutored laborer. (It should be mentioned in passing that this
refutes the idea, recently advanced, that the Baal Shem Tov was simply a
"private mystic" of a fairly conventional type.) To a great extent, the former
goal has been accomplished by the various Chassidic leaders who succeeded the
Baal Shem Tov; however, the fulfillment of the latter remains something of a
mystery. |
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| Although many
of the Baal Shem Tov's values and concepts have been instilled in a broad
spectrum of the Jewish religious community - in particular, the striving to
increase in ahavas Yisrael, to serve God with joy and a whole heart, and
to regard the spiritual life as a privilege and not a burden - his mystical
practices, for the most part, seem to have "fallen through the cracks." Most
Chassidim today may be religiously devout, but not much more concerned with
mysticism than their non-Chassidic peers. Nevertheless, when one explores the
spectrum of Chassidic teachings, the experiential aspect of the Baal Shem Tov's
path still may be discerned. |
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| Rabbi Nachman
of Breslov, the Baal Shem Tov's great-grandson, advocated hisbodedus, secluded
personal meditation and prayer, ideally practiced in the fields or forests at
night for an hour or more. It is known that the Baal Shem Tov used to practice
hisbodedus regularly. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi and his successors in the
Chabad Chassidic dynasty taught hisbonenus, a unique method of guided
contemplation that can open the gates of higher perception. The Komarno
tradition takes a more liberal stance toward the use of kavanos ("intentions")
and yichudim ("unifications"), two categories of Kabbalistic techniques
formulated by the sixteenth century master Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, known as the
holy Ari. In more recent times, Rabbi Kolonymus Kalman of Piacetzna included
meditation and visualization practices as part of his highly original Chassidic
teachings. Although the Piacetzna Rebbe perished in the Holocaust, his
manuscripts miraculously survived, and have been birth to a regeneration of
Chassidic spirituality that transcends any one group or community. |
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| To find proper
guidance along any of these paths may be a challenge - but as the sages of the
Talmud state of all those who strive to learn Torah: "If someone tells you, 'I
tried, but I did not succeed,' do not believe him; if someone tells you, "I
tried, and I succeeded,' believe him!" (Megillah 6b). In the Breslov and
Chabad communities there are qualified individuals who teach the practices of
hisbodedus and hisbonenus; in Kabbalistic circles the kavannos and yichudim
still are employed; and in both Brooklyn and Jerusalem, contemporary teachers
have formulated their own more eclectic approaches, rooted in the path of the
Baal Shem Tov. We look forward to the day when hisbodedus and such practices
will be as commonplace as the daily prayer service. Then, at last, the
Mashiach's assurance to the Baal Shem Tov will be fulfilled. |
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| THE
LETTER |
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| To my beloved
brother-in-law, my friend who is dear to me as my own heart and soul, the
exalted rabbi and Chasid, renowned for his Torah scholarship and fear of
Heaven, our master, Rabbi Avraham Gershon, may his light shine. Peace unto him
and his family, his modest wife, Bluma, together with all their children; may
they be blessed with life, amen, sela. |
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| I received the
letter written by your holy hand, which you sent by means of the emissary from
Jerusalem, at the fair of Luka in the year 5510 (1750 c.e.). It was written
with extreme brevity, explaining that you had already written at length to each
of us individually and had sent those letters by means of a certain man en
route to Egypt. However, the letters never arrived, and I was sorely grieved
that I never saw the work of your holy hand which was written in greater
detail. Assuredly this is due to the calamitous state of the many lands in
which the plague has spread because of our many transgressions. Not far from
our region the pestilence has reached the holy community of Mohilev, as well as
Wallachia and Turkey. |
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| [Your letter]
also states that the Torah teachings and mystical revelations which I sent you
through the rabbi and preacher of the holy community of Polonoye did not reach
you; this, too, caused me great distress. It certainly would have given you
great joy if they had reached you. I have since forgotten many [of those
teachings]. However, the few details I still remember I will write to you in
brief. |
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| On Rosh
Hashanah of the year 5507 (1746 cue.), I made a [Kabalistic] oath and elevated
my soul in the manner known to you. I saw wondrous things in a vision, the like
of which I had never witnessed since the day my mind first began to awaken. The
things which I saw and learned when I ascended there would be impossible to
communicate, even if I could speak to you in person. When I returned to the
lower Garden of Eden, I saw many souls, both living and dead, some known to me
and others unknown-their number was beyond reckoning. They were hastening to
and fro in order to ascend from one world to another through the Column known
to those initiated into the Mysteries. Their joy was too great for the mouth to
express or the physical ear to hear. Also, many evil-doers were repenting, and
their sins were being forgiven, since it was a special time of Divine favor.
Even to me, it was amazing how many of them were accepted as penitents, a
number of whom you also know. There was great joy among them, too, and they
ascended in he same manner. |
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| Together they
begged and implored me unceasingly, "Because of the glory of your Torah, God
has granted you an additional measure of understanding to grasp and to know
these matters. Ascend with us so that you can be our help and
support." |
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| Because of the
great joy that I beheld among them, I agreed to go up with them... And I
besought my master (Achiyah HaShiloni) to accompany me, for the ascent to the
Supernal Worlds is fraught with danger. From the day of my birth until now, I
never experienced such an ascent as this. |
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| I went up
from level to level until I entered the Palace of Moshiach, where Moshiach
studies with the Tannaim and tzaddikim, as well as the Seven Shepherds. There I
found extremely great rejoicing, but I did not know the cause of this delight.
At first I thought that it might be due to my having passed away from the
physical world, God forbid. Later they told me that I had not yet died, for
they have great pleasure on high when I effect mystical unifications in the
world below through their holy Torah. However, to this very day, the nature of
their joy remains unknown to me. |
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| I asked
Moshiach, "When will you come, master?" And he replied, "By this you shall
know: it will be a time when your teachings become publicized and revealed to
the world, and your well-springs have overflowed to the outside. [It will be
when] that which I have taught you-and that which you have perceived of your
own efforts-become known, so that others, too, will be able to perform mystical
unifications and ascents of the soul like you. Then all the evil klippos will
be destroyed, and it will be a time of grace and salvation." |
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| I was amazed
at this and greatly troubled, since a long time must pass for this to be
possible. But while I was there I learned three segulos and three Holy Names
which are easy to learn and explain. My mind was then set at ease, and I
thought that with these teachings the people of my own generation might attain
the same spiritual level and state as myself. They would be able to elevate
their souls and to learn and perceive just as I do. However, I was not granted
permission to reveal this during my lifetime. I pleaded for your sake to be
allowed to teach you; but I was denied permission altogether and took an oath
to that effect. |
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| Yet this I can
tell you, and may God assist you, that your way may pleasant to the Lord, and
that you do not go astray (particularly in the Holy Land). Whenever you pray or
study-and with every utterance your lips-intend to bring about the unification
of a Divine Name. For every letter contains worlds and souls and Godliness, and
they ascend and combine and unite with one another. Then the letters combine
and unite to form a word, and they are actually unified with the Divine
essence-and in all these aspects, your soul is bound up with them. All [the
worlds become unified as one, and they ascend and bring about great joy and
delight without measure. Consider the joy of a bridegroom and bride in this
lowly physical world, and you will realize how much greater is the joy on such
a lofty spiritual level. |
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| God will
surely help you. Wherever you turn, you will succeed and become enlightened.
"Give wisdom to the wise, and he will become wise all the more." Please pray
for my sake, that I might be privileged to dwell in God's land during my
lifetime; and pray for the remnant of our people who still remain in the
Diaspora. |
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| These are the
words of your brother-in-law who longs to see you face-to-face, who prays that
length of days be granted to you and your wife and children, and who wishes you
peace "all your days-including the nights, for many good years, amen, sela.
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| Israel Baal Shem Tov of the Holy
Community of Medzhibuzh |
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The Path of the Baal Shem
Tov
By David Sears
Jason Aronson Inc.
www.aronson.com |
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