Rabbi
Yisrael - The Baal Shem Tov
Born:
Okop, South Poland, 1698
Died: Medzibosh, South Poland, 1760
Founder of Chassidism
The early life of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov is surrounded by mystery. As
founder of what is possibly the single most
important religious movement in Jewish
history, Chassidut, many legends have grown around him.
Rabbi Yisrael was born in Okop, a small village in the Ukraine on the Polish
Russian border (Podolia). His parents, Eliezer
and Sarah, were quite old when he was born
and they passed away when he was a still a very young child. Many legends
are told about Eliezer, the father of the Baal Shem Tov. We are told that
his last words to his son were "Fear nothing other than God."
The young orphan was cared for by the community and presumably received the
same education most children received.
Nevertheless, he was different from most
children. He would wander in the fields and forests surrounding his home
and seclude himself, pouring out his heart to
God. Young Yisrael had an unusually strong
emotional relationship with God. This relationship was perhaps
the defining characteristic of the religious approach he would
ultimately
develop and which came to be known as Chassidut.
When he entered his teens the community's responsibility to support him ended
and he was given a job as a teacher's assistant.
One of his tasks was to escort the
children to and from school, a task which he performed in his own unique
way, leading the children in song and praise to God.
His next job was as a caretaker in the local synagogue. This provided the
young Yisrael with the opportunity to study and
develop. During this period he attained an
outstanding level of knowledge in the entire body of Jewish
knowledge,
including eventually, the mysteries of Kabbalah. Nevertheless, publicly
he maintained an image of simplicity, and the townspeople were completely
ignorant of his stature.
During this period Yisrael developed a relationship with other
nistarim (hidden tzaddikim).
Most significant was a tzaddik named Rabbi Adam Baal
Shem, who bequeathed his writings to Yisrael.
He later moved to a town near Brody where he was hired as a teacher for young
children. He became acquainted with Rabbi Efraim
of Brody, who somehow discovered that
Yisrael was not the simple fellow he appeared to be. He was so
impressed with Yisrael that he offered his daughter, Leah Rochel, to Yisrael
for a wife. However, Rabbi Ephraim passed away a short time later, so when
Yisrael went to Brody to marry his wife, he met the bride's brother, Rabbi
Gershon Kitover, also a major scholar. When Yisrael presented
himself as the groom, Rabbi Gershon was
shocked, since Yisrael was dressed in the manner
of an ignorant peasant. However, Yisrael produced a letter of engagement
and Rabbi Gershon begrudgingly agreed. Leah Rochel however, was apparently
more perceptive and saw that there was
more to Yisrael than appeared on the
surface. After their marriage, Rabbi Yisrael and his wife moved
to a small town in the Carpathian Mountains. Supported by his wife, he spent
this period immersing himself in prayer,
contemplation, and the study of Torah and
Kabbalah.
Finally, when he was thirty-six years old in the year 1734, Rabbi Yisrael
revealed himself to the world. He settled in
Talust and rapidly gained a reputation as
a holy man. He became known as the Baal Shem Tov – Master of the
Good Name. (The title Baal Shem (Master of
the Name) was used for holy men who were
known as miracle workers since they used the power of the Name of
God to work miracles.) Later he moved to Medzibosh in Western Ukraine, where
he lived for the rest of his life, and was the nucleus of his newly emerging
Chassidic movement.
Rabbi Yisrael's fame spread rapidly. Many important rabbis and scholars
became his disciples. The Baal Shem Tov's
teachings were largely based upon the
Kabbalistic teachings of the Ari
(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 joyful
prayer, singing, dancing, love of God, 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 God, 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. The essence
of his message was: Don't fret about the sins of the past. Turn over a
new leaf: find strength, joy, and ecstasy in ahavat Hashem, the love of
God, Who knows and delights in your good
intentions and your happiness.
Through prayer mitzvot and other spiritual actions you are linked to
him. Furthermore, it should also be noted
that while Chassidut 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.
The masses of simple, hardworking Jews, uplifted by the message of Chassidism,
joined the charismatic
leader in creating a vibrant movement that spread
rapidly through all of Eastern Europe. The Baal Shem Tov did not commit
his teachings to writing. His disciples, such as Rabbi
Yaacov Yosef of
Polnoye, often
quoted his thoughts in their works.
As
the Baal Shem Tov and his followers came soon after the episode of Shabtai
Tzvi, they met harsh opposition from
traditionalists who feared another false messianic
movement.
The
Baal Shem Tov felt a powerful love for the land of Israel and his entire life
he wanted to immigrate there. Many times he attempted to do so, once even
reaching Constantinople, but always something prevented him from fulfilling
his dream. One of his motives to go to Israel, was to meet Rabbi
Chaim Ben Atar (Ohr HaChaim) and together
with him bring the final
redemption.
There is an opinion that the root of soul of the
Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi
Chaim Ben Atar came
from King David.
Despite his personal inability to move to the land of Israel, the Baal Shem
Tov succeeded in inspiring many of his disciples
and followers to do so.
The Baal Shem Tov claimed that his main teachers were the prophet Achiya
HaShilony (teacher of Elijah the prophet), and
The Ari (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria) who
appeared to him frequently.
In 1759, about a year before the Baal Shem Tov passed away, there was an
incident that illustrated his immense love for
his fellow Jew. At that time there was a
heretical sect led by a man named Jacob Frank. These Frankists
had
begun agitating amongst the Christian authorities against the Jews with
specific emphasis against the Talmud. (In a
previous "debate" in 1757 the Frankists
had succeeded in causing the Talmud to be burnt in Lvov.) The bishop
of Lemberg decreed that a debate should be held between the Jews and the
Frankists. The Baal Shem Tov was a member of the three man delegation that
represented the Jews. They were successful in averting this evil decree, and
the Talmud was not burnt. At the same time however, the defeated Frankists
were then forced to convert to Christianity. While most of the Jewish
leaders were happy at the downfall of these evil men, the Baal Shem Tov was
not. He said. "The Divine Presence wails and says, 'So long as a limb
is attached to the body there is still a hope
that there can be a cure, but once the
limb is cut off there is no cure forever.' And every Jew is a limb of
the Divine Presence."
The Baal Shem Tov passed away on the second day of Shavuot. He left behind a
son and daughter and a movement which continues
to be significant force in the Jewish
world today, in virtually every corner of the world. He was succeeded as
leader of the Chassidic movement by Rabbi Dov Ber, the Maggid
of
Mezritch.
A
Baal Shem Tov story...
The son of the Rabbi Yisrael of Rizin, Rabbi Avraham Yaacov of Sadigora
once told this story. One Erev Shabbat the
Baal Shem Tov appeared in a town unexpectedly.
Declining invitations from all the locals, he elected to remain
alone
in the Shul after Shabbat evening prayers. The wonder of the
residents turned to alarm when they saw
his fervent praying and Tehillim continue the whole
night long. Something was surely the matter. But in the morning the
Baal
Shem Tov was relaxed and joyful, and he accepted the invitation of one of
the locals for the morning Shabbat meal. Naturally, all of the
townspeople crowded into the house of the
host to see the Holy Baal Shem Tov. As they
were
sitting at the table, a local peasant came around looking for a drink of
vodka. They were about to drive him away when the
Baal Shem Tov called out that he should be
brought in, and provided with a generous glass of vodka. He asked
him to tell what he had seen in the mansion of the Poritz (wealthy Polish
estate owner) the previous night. The peasant's tongue, loosened by the
vodka, related that the Poritz, believing that he had been cheated in a
business deal by a Jewish merchant, assembled his peasants and armed them
with
knives and hatchets telling them to be on the ready to avenge themselves
on the Jews at his command. They would then all
be able to liberate their stolen riches
from the Jews. "The whole night we waited for the command, he continued,
"But the Poritz had closeted himself in his office with an unexpected
visitor, an old friend that he hadn't seen for 40 years! Finally,
he emerged and told us all to go home, that the Jews were upright and honest
people and nobody should dare lay a hand on them.
We all went home and that's the whole
story!"
"This old friend", explained the Sadigorer Rebbe, "Had been
dead for decades. The Baal Shem Tov had
dragged him from the grave to influence his friend the Poritz."
"But I always wondered," queried the Rebbe, "Why did the Baal
Shem Tov have to travel all the way to
that town for Shabbat to avert the decree? Couldn't
he just as well have remained in his hometown of Medzibuz?" "But I
understand now. The Baal Shem Tov said to
himself, if I can succeed in saving the
town, fine...but if not, then I will perish together with them!"
The
Soul of the Baal Shem Tov
In
the city of Tzfat in Eretz Yisrael, once lived a simple Jew who
only knew
how to pray. Nevertheless he was extremely modest
and straight-forward. One night, as he was
saying the Tikun Chatzot, (the midnight lamentation over the destruction
of the Holy Temple), there was a knock at the door. A man entered and
introduced himself as Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet). He came to
reveal to this simple Jew when the Mashiach (messiah)
will come. But first, the man must reveal
to him what he did on the day of his bar-mitzvah which
earned
him the privilege of receiving this information.
The
man declined to tell. Even though it was
Eliyahu HaNavi asking, what he did was completely l'shem
shamayim, (for the sake of Hashem
alone), and therefore a secret between him and
the creator. Then he agreed not to recieve
the information.
Eliyahu HaNavi went back up to heaven where there was a tremendous tumult
over this man's purity. They ordered Eliyahu to
return and to teach this man deep secrets
of Torah. The man became a great tzaddik nistar (hidden
righteous
man). When he died, the Heavenly Court decided that his reward would
be to return to earth and reveal a new path in Torah that would renew souls,
purify the world and hasten the redemption. This was the soul of the Baal
Shem Tov.
May the merit of the tzaddik
Rabbi
Yisrael - The Baal Shem Tov,
protect us
all, Amen.