|
| Rabbi Israel Baal Shem
Tov |
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| 5458-5520 (1698-1760),
Founder of the Chassidic Movement |
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Part
I
The
following section is excerpted from
http://www.baalshemtov.com/whowashe.htm
Yisrael [Israel] Ben Eliezer, later known as The
Baal Shem Tov (The Master of the Good Name), was born on the 18th of
Elul 5458 (August 27, 1698) to Rabbi Eliezer and his wife Sarah. They
lived in the small village Okup on the Russian Polish border. Both
Rabbi Eliezer and Sarah were already very old ... The last words his
father said to him were "Israel my son, you have a very holy soul,
don't fear anything but G-d". Soon thereafter, his mother Sarah also
died.
Young Israel, now an orphan, was adopted by the
local community and educated as was common in Jewish communities at
that time. ... By the time he entered his teens, he was probably
fluent in both Bible and Talmud. The tradition is that young Israel
was different from other children. He would often go into fields and
woods and mountains, spending many hours alone, speaking to G-d. Not
having parents, it's not surprising he would go into nature to seek
out his Father in Heaven. At an early age he was aware of the presence
of G-d in all aspects of life.
When Israel entered his teens, the community's
responsibility for him ended and he had to begin supporting himself.
First, he was hired as a school assistant because of his way with
children. He was known to sing psalms and other songs with the
children as they walked to school. He would also tell the children
stories and teach them how to daven (pray).
Israel's next position was that of a caretaker at
the local synagogue. His main duties were to clean the synagogue and
arrange the books. This gave him the time to study and develop. Late
at night, when everyone was gone from the study hall of the synagogue,
he would study the large tomes of the Talmud, Midrash and Jewish Law.
Probably, he also studied Kabala, as was common in those days. He
developed a great expertise in these areas. This expertise was later
spoken about by his students and appeared in his teachings. Young
Israel was said to sleep during the day when he had nothing to do. The
local people thought he was not very smart.
Then the son of Rabbi Adam, the Baal Shem brought
him the sacred tome of the Jewish spiritual teachings. After studying
for a time with the Rabbi's son, the latter died and Israel moved to a
little town near Brody. There he was employed as a teacher of young
children. He became acquainted with Rabbi Ephriam of Brody who became
aware of YIsrael's spiritual greatness. Right before Rabbi Ephriam's
death, the Rabbi arranged for the engagement of Israel to his daughter
Chana ...
The bride and groom moved to a mountain village
called Kutty between Kitov and Kasov in the Carpathian Mountains. This
little village was also not far from Brody. Israel spent the next ten
years praying and studying with an angelic mentor, Achiyah HaShaloni.
Achiyah HaShaloni was among those that left Egypt with Moses and was a
prophet during the reign of King Dovid. Achiyah HaShaloni initiated
YIsrael into the mysteries of the Torah.
For a time, Israel was a shochet (ritual
slaughterer) and teacher in Koslovitz. Israel and Chana had two
children, Edel and Tzvi Hirsch.
Rabbi Israel first revealed himself to the world
on Lag BaOmer, 5585 (May 22, 1734). Then Rabbi Israel moved to Talust
and became famous as a holy man. Next he moved to Medzibusch in
Western Ukraine for the remainder of his life. In Medzibusch, his fame
spread and students attached themselves to him. Not only were ordinary
people attracted to him, but some of the greatest Rabbinical
luminaries also joined with him.
Although very few documents written by Rabbi
Israel still exist, many stories and teachings have been passed down
to the present time. He became known as the Baal Shem Tov - the Master
of the Good Name...
Being a living legend, the Baal Shem Tov spent
most of his time in worship, serving G-d, teaching his disciples, and
giving blessings to the thousands that came to see him. The Baal Shem
Tov passed away on Shavuos, 5520 (May 23, 1760) having founded the
Chassidic movement that lives on today.
Part
II
The following section, a letter
from the Baal Shem Tov, is excerpted from
http://www.baalshemtov.com/story12.htm
On my
sixteenth birthday, the eighteenth of Elul 5474, I was in a small
village. The innkeeper was a Jew of quintessential simplicity. He knew
his prayers only with difficulty -- he had no idea what the words
meant. But he had a great awe of heaven and for everything that would
occur to him he would comment, "Blessed be He, and may He be blessed
for ever and ever" … The innkeeper's wife and partner had a different
saying: "Blessed be his Holy Name".
On that day, I went to
meditate in solitude in the pasture, as had been taught by the sages
before us, that on your birthday you should meditate alone for a
period of time. In my meditations I recited Psalms and concentrated on
the yichudim of the Divine Names. ["Yichudim" are a form of kabalistic meditation based on
different permutations and combinations of the divine names and
attributes of G-d]. As I was immersed in this, I had lost awareness of
my surroundings.
Suddenly,
I beheld Elijah the Prophet -- and a smile was drawn over his lips. I
was very amazed that I should merit a revelation of Elijah the Prophet
while alone. When I was with the tzaddik Rabbi Meir, and also with
others of the hidden tzaddikim, I had the fortune to see Elijah the
Prophet. But to be privileged to this while alone -- this was the very
first time and I was very amazed. Understandably, I was unable to
interpret the smile on Elijah's face. And this is what he said to
me:
"Behold,
you are struggling with great effort to focus your mind upon the
Divine Names that extend from the verses of Psalms that David, King of
Israel composed. But Aaron Shlomo the innkeeper and Zlota his wife are
ignorant of the yichudim of Divine Names that extend from "Blessed be
He, and may He be blessed for ever and ever" that the innkeeper
recites and "Blessed be his Holy Name" that she recites -- yet these
yichudim make a storm throughout all the worlds far beyond the
yichudim of Divine Names that the great tzaddikim can create." Then,
Elijah the Prophet told me about the pleasure G-d takes, so to speak,
from the praise and thanksgiving of the men, women and children that
praise the Holy One Blessed be He -- especially when the praise and
thanks comes from simple people, and most specifically when it is
ongoing, continual praise -- for then they are continuously bonded
with G-d, blessed be He, with pure faith and sincerity of
heart.
From that
time on I took upon myself a path in the service of G-d to bring men,
women and children to say words of praise to G-d. I would always ask
them about their health, the health of their children, about their
material welfare -- and they would answer me with different words of
praise for the Holy One, blessed be He -- each one in his or her own
way. For several years I did this myself, and at one of the gatherings
of the hidden tzaddikim they all accepted this
path...
Part
III
The following section is
excerpted from
http://members.aol.com/LazerA/baalshemtov.html
Rabbi
Yisrael's fame spread rapidly. Many important scholars became his
disciples. It was during this period that the movement, which would
eventually be known as Chassidus (piety), began. The Baal Shem Tov's
teachings were largely based upon the Kabalistic teachings of the
AriZal
(Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-72)) but his
approach made the benefits of these teachings accessible even to the
simplest Jew. He emphasized the profound importance and significance
of prayer, love of G-d, and love of one's fellow Jews. He taught that
even if one was not blessed with the ability or opportunity to be a
Torah scholar, one could still reach great spiritual heights through
these channels. It is important to note that while the Baal Shem Tov
taught that Torah study was not the only way to draw close to G-d, he
did not teach that Torah study was unimportant or unnecessary. On the
contrary, he emphasized the importance of having a close relationship
with a rebbe, a great Torah scholar who would be one's spiritual
mentor and leader. Furthermore, it should also be noted that while
Chassidus was (and continues to be) of great benefit to the
unsophisticated, it is a very sophisticated system of thought. As
anyone with any experience in Jewish studies can attest, the many
major Chassidic works were written at a very high level of scholarship
by men who had reached the pinnacle of Torah knowledge.
There is no way that
this essay can really do proper justice to the teachings of the Baal
Shem Tov. Let us simply conclude that while there was no particular
element in his teachings that could be viewed as new to Judaism,
nevertheless his teachings revolutionized the Jewish world. At the
time of his death the Chassidic movement had grown to approximately
ten thousand followers and after his death it grew to include a
significant portion of European Jewry.
The
Baal Shem Tov passed away on the second day of Shavuous, in the year
5520 (1760). He left behind a son and daughter and a movement which
continues to be significant force in the Jewish world today. He was
succeeded as leader of the Chassidic movement by Rabbi Dov Baer, the
Maggid of Mezritch.
Part
IV
THE BAAL
SHEM TOV'S LETTER: HIS ENCOUNTER WITH MOSHIACH (THE
MESSIAH)
(This can be found on-line at
http://www.baalshemtov.com/story08.htm)
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.
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.
[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.
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.
Together they begged and
implored me unceasingly, "Because of the glory of your Torah, G-d 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."
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.
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, G-d 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.
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 [forces of unholiness] will be destroyed, and it will be a
time of grace and salvation."
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.
Yet this I can tell you,
and may G-d 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 G-dliness, 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.
G-d 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 G-d's land during my lifetime; and pray for
the remnant of our people who still remain in the Diaspora.
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.
Israel Baal Shem Tov of the Holy Community of
Medzhibuzh
This
letter can be found in "The Path of the Baal
Shem Tov"
by David Sears
Jason Aronson Inc.
www.aronson.com |