A Small Miracle
Retold by Kathleen MavourninOn the day before the Sabbath before Rosh Hashanah, the last Sabbath of the year, the Baal Shem Tov and some of his followers went out of the city in a horse and carriage. They journeyed through several smaller towns and then out into the forest. Eventually they stopped at a small run-down farm in a clearing among the trees. Before they got out of the carriage, the Baal Shem said, "Promise me that no matter what happens here, you will not reveal by word or gesture who I am." The hasidim trusted their rebbe implicitly, so they agreed to this.
The Baal Shem knocked at the door and it was opened by the farmer, a poor and plain man named Avi.
Behind him stood his wife, Sarah, and their four daughters.
"We are hungry," the Baal Shem said.
"Please come inside. We are honored to serve you," Avi said. Then he turned to his wife and whispered, "We'll have to kill the cow."
"But ... the cow's milk is all our children have to eat."
"We have guests. It's an honor to have guests. We must kill the cow."
So, with the Baal Shem to say the blessings and ensure that all was properly done, they slaughtered the cow.
Sarah cooked the cow. And the Baal Shem ate the cow. His followers, knowing how important the animal had been to the family, couldn't bear to eat. The Baal Shem sat up all night, eating and eating, and he never even said, "Thank you."
The next morning, he announced what he wanted to eat for the Sabbath: six loaves of challah, six kinds of vegetables, two kinds of meat, two kinds of fish, ten desserts and three kinds of wine.
The hasidim were appalled. This was the Baal Shem Tov, the Master of the Good Name. The very heart of his teaching was loving kindness. Honor and respect and kindness to all people, he said time and again, were more important even than study and learning. The hasidim thought their rebbe had gone crazy. But every time one of them began to speak, the Baal Shem would look at him and he would remember his promise.
If the hasidim were horrified, imagine how Sarah felt? She had watched this man eat all night long, and she was full of fear and anguish. Avi tried to comfort her and tell her not to worry. "Worry! I'm beyond worrying. What about our children? Who is thinking about them? That's what I want to know."
There was nothing else to be done, so Avi went into town and sold his farm to the banker to get money to buy food. He asked only that they be allowed to stay in the house until Monday. And he returned home with a cartload of food.
Sarah prepared everything the rebbe wanted. At sundown they lit the candles and sang the blessings and sat down to the Sabbath table. The rebbe began to eat. He ate and he ate and he ate. His followers were so worried and unhappy that they could scarcely swallow. It seemed to them that all they did for that entire Sabbath was sit in the little hut and listen to the rebbe's chewing. The meals seemed all to run together and the time passed very slowly.
At last, it was over. The sun went down and the first stars appeared. They lit a braided candle and sang the songs and prayers that close the Sabbath, looking forward to the coming week and the joy of another Sabbath. Then, as the Baal Shem and his followers were climbing into their carriage to return home, the rebbe turned suddenly and called out to Avi, "I am the Baal Shem Tov. I bless you to ask for whatever you need." The carriage door closed and the hasidim drove away into the forest.
Avi was astounded. The Baal Shem, the holy Baal Shem Tov, had been a guest in his house. He had dreamed of going to see him someday, of sitting near him for a while and listening to him teach. To think that he had been honored to share the Sabbath with him in his own house. Avi was filled with joy and turned toward his wife. A look of joy come into Sarah's face also but was quickly replaced by one of worry. That night the family went to bed without food.
The next day Avi got up very early. He went out into the yard, recited his prayers, and then walked into the forest. What could he do now? The banker would be coming the next morning to take his farm. Who would help him? Then he recalled that the holy Baal Shem had said, "I bless you to ask for what you need."
He stopped there on the path and began to rock back and forth. And he prayed, "Creator of the Universe, I have never asked you for anything before, so please listen. My wife and children have no food. We have no house. I need money to feed them. I need money to buy back our farm. And Sarah, my wife, she would be so happy if there was money for dowries for our daughters and to pay for the weddings. Four weddings! And, Creator of the Universe, one more thing, since I'm asking: please make a small miracle. Let my house and my purse be large enough to provide for others who need."
Then Avi began to sob. He fell down flat on the ground, weeping and praying, praying and weeping. He lay there for a long time. Finally, Ivan the town drunkard came wandering by. "Oh! Oh! please don't cry.
Whatever it is, don't worry. Maybe I can help. You have always been kind to me. Every one else in the village makes fun of me and treats me miserably, especially my own children. And I don't feel so well. If I die, I want you to have my fortune. Come, I'll show you where I hid it." Ivan led Avi to a big stone nearby and showed him a box hidden under it.
On Monday, the banker came and took Avi's farm. That same day, Ivan the drunkard died. Avi went into the forest and pulled out the hidden box. It was full of coins. Gold coins. Enough gold coins to buy a house in town even bigger than the banker's.
Exactly one year later, just before Rosh Hashanah, a fine carriage drew up before the house of the Baal Shem. The rebbe's followers did not recognize Avi and Sarah in their new clothes. "We've come to see the master," Avi said.
They were led inside to the Baal Shem, who knew them immediately and invited them to sit down. "Tell us, what has happened since we last saw you?" And all the hasidim crowded around to hear the story.
Avi told them about his prayers in the forest, about meeting Ivan the drunkard, and the box of treasure. "Now we have a house in town and everything we need," he said. "We are able to provide for our daughters. One is already married, and preparations are underway for another wedding."
"We have heard also," said the Baal Shem, "that you are truly a friend to those in need. Those who come to you for help are treated with kindness and respect. There is joy in heaven because of this."
"It is due to your blessing that our good fortune came to us. We have come to thank you."
Then the Baal Shem said to Avi, "You know, a year ago it was decreed in heaven that you were to become a rich man. But you were so humble and would never ask for anything. I had to come and eat you out of house and home so that you would ask for the blessings that were waiting for you. Mazel Tov! my friend. The very best of years!"
The Forgotten Story
adapted by Doug LipmanOnce, the Baal Shem Tov came to his disciples and said, "This is the last year of my life. Each of you will have a role to fill after I'm gone." He pointed to one of his followers, saying, "You will be the leader of the community here." To another he said, "You will explain the teachings to those who come here and ask." One by one, he told each of the disciples what they should do.
The last he turned to was Reb Yaakov. "You will be the storyteller. You will travel from village to village and spread the stories of what has happened here among us."
Reb Yaakov cried out, "Holy master, I would do whatever you want, but please! Give a different task to me! As a storyteller, I would be poor! And travelling from place to place, I would never have a home or a family."
The Baal Shem Tov replied, "As for your poverty, perhaps you will be surprised. And as for settling down, one day there will be a sign - and then you will know that your job is completed and you may cease your wandering."
It all happened as the Baal Shem Tov said. Within the year, he had died. One by one, the disciples began to fulfill the roles he had given them.
The last to start his new task was Reb Yaakov. Sadly, he said goodbye to all those in that community where he had lived so long. Then he left, alone - to go from place to place spreading the stories.
But when he arrived in a village, and announced that he had stories to tell of the Baal Shem Tov, he found that the word of the Baal Shem Tov had preceded him, and people were hungry to hear these stories. And after the stories were told, people were happy to feed him and give him lodging. "Reb Yaakov," a villager might say, "That coat you are wearing is threadbare. Please, allow me to give you this new one!"
One day, Reb Yaakov heard word that in a distant village there was a rich man who so loved stories of the Baal Shem Tov, that anyone who told him a story of the Baal Shem Tov would be given a gold coin!
Reb Yaakov thought, "I know thousands of stories of the Baal Shem Tov! I will tell them all. I will be rich!"
And so, working his way from village to village by telling stories, Yaakov came at last to that rich man's home.
He was greeted enthusiastically. "You not only know stories of the Baal Shem Tov, but you knew him personally? Welcome! In your honor, tonight I will give a banquet. I will invite all the people of this village, and they will share in your stories."
That evening, Yaakov sat at the head of a long table. When the dinner was done, his host turned to him. Yaakov stood up to tell a story.
For the first time, Yaakov could not think of a single story of the Baal Shem Tov. Unaccustomed to being tongue-tied, at last he said, "Dear host, perhaps someone else should tell first."
A villager stood and told a story of the Baal Shem Tov. Yaakov had told that same story many times - in fact, he had been there when it happened. Yet the story did not make him think of others. Listening to the story, every word seemed new.
He tried to do what he always did whenever he was troubled. He tried to imagine his master's face, smiling at him. But this time, he could see only the outline of the Baal Shem Tov's head - with no features.
"Gracious host, perhaps someone else should go next."
After four more stories told by the assembled villagers, Reb Yaakov said, "I feel like an impostor. You must allow me to leave!"
"Please, Reb Yaakov. Stay here tonight. Perhaps in the morning you will remember a story."
But in the morning it was the same, and Yaakov wished to leave. His host pleaded, "I beg of you! Stay the day. You don't know what your presence here means to me."
The next morning, Yaakov could still remember nothing. Again, his host insisted that he stay. But on the third morning, Yaakov said, "No, I cannot continue to accept your hospitality without giving a story in return. I must go."
"Then please, Reb Yaakov, allow my coachman to take you on the first leg of your journey."
Soon, Yaakov sat in unaccustomed splendor ... and in unaccustomed humiliation. After four hours of travelling in the coach, suddenly a story of the Baal Shem Tov emerged in Yaakov's mind. "Driver! Driver! Turn around quickly!" He told the story over and over to himself, so that he wouldn't forget it.
Standing outside the wealthy man's door, Yaakov began to speak. "Kind host, I have remembered a story. No, we will not wait for the banquet. I will tell you now, lest I forget.
"It is a very strange story. I do not even know the end of it. But I can promise you that you will not have heard it from anyone else. For only my master and I were there. And I have never thought of it from the day it happened until this day."
Yaakov paused a moment, then began his part of the story.
One night, the Baal Shem Tov woke me from my bed and asked me to come with him on a journey. This was not unusual. But this time, he asked only me. I sat facing him in his carriage. He drew the curtains over the windows, and I could hear the wheels rattling over the cobblestones. Then I could not hear that sound, but only the wind rushing by. And then, after hours, I heard again the sound of wheels on pavement.
When the Baal Shem Tov drew open the curtains, I could see that we were in a land completely unfamiliar to me. The buildings were of an unusual architecture.
I could see, too, a great square, with tens of thousands of people gathered. But our carriage continued beyond it to a small, winding alley, where every door and every window was barred.
"Yaakov, this is the street of the Jews."
And it was here that the carriage stopped. My master got out and knocked on one of these boarded-up doors. "It is I, Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov. Open the door!"
Then we heard whispers. "Go away! Are you mad?" But at last the door opened part way, and we were ushered up a narrow stairway. Once on the second floor, we saw only a boarded-up window, but my master strode to the window and threw open the shutters.
Our host became agitated once again. "Do you not know? This is the day of the year they will kill the first Jew they see. We will be murdered!"
"It is safe." My master pointed out over the square.
I could see the crowd. I could see a great dais at the far end - and on it, those who must have been the priests of that country. And in the center, rising to address the crowd, was the one who must have been their high priest.
The Baal Shem Tov turned to me. "Yaakov, bring me that man."
Our host cried out, "Don"t send him there! He"ll be killed!"
But if my master asked me to walk on fire, I would do it.
I went out onto the square. The people were standing shoulder to shoulder. But somehow, a pathway opened for me. Soon, I stood looking up at that high priest.
I spoke to him in my language: "My master, Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, wishes to speak to you."
And to my amazement, the high priest spoke back to me in my own language. "Tell him I will be there in two hours."
For the second time, a pathway opened for me through the town square. But my master was furious. "Tell him to come now!"
For the third time, I made my way across that square. When the high priest saw me coming, he interrupted his speech - and he followed me back to the Baal Shem Tov. The two of them went into a room, and they talked for three hours.
Kind host, that is all I can tell you of that story!When Yaakov looked at the wealthy man, there were tears streaming down the man's face.
"Yaakov, I can tell you the rest of that story. For I was that high priest." And now the wealthy man began his story:
You see, my parents raised me as a Jew, and they raised me well. But when I was a young man, something came over me and I converted to the religion of that distant country. I found that by speaking ill of my people, the Jews, I rose in my new countrymen's esteem. In time, I began to speak with hatred of the Jews. And they made me a priest.
Then, one year, I had the idea for this annual festival, during which we would sacrifice the first Jew who we saw. Then they made me the high priest.
Every year, I stood and I addressed the crowd. I incited them to murder. I felt the power of my words.
Then, one night, I had a dream. I dreamt of a room with a long table. And seated around it were people I knew, in my dream, to be my ancestors. They were looking at a thin, dried object. In my dream, I knew this object to be a human soul.
One of my ancestors spoke, "Is it not clear that the force of evil has completely overcome the force of good in this soul?"
Then one man spoke who - I knew in my dream - was not one of my ancestors, but was the Baal Shem Tov. He stepped forward and touched his finger to that dried soul. Where his finger touched it, it became moist. Slowly, the moisture began to spread. "Is it not clear," he said, "that there is still hope for that human soul?"
When I woke, I knew that the dream meant that one day the Baal Shem Tov would intercede for me. And so, Yaakov, when you came across the square to me that day, I knew I must go with you. But I wished to feel the power one more time.
When you came the second time, I knew I could put it off no longer. In that little room above the square, I asked the Baal Shem Tov, "What must I do to be redeemed?"
"Your sin is very great. There is no guarantee that your prayers can ever be answered. But if they are ever to be heard, you must do what I say. Sell all your property. Divide the proceeds into three parts. With one part of that money, buy your freedom from your obligations as high priest. The second third you must immediately give to those around you in need. With the third portion, you must go to some distant village and set up a home where it is known that anyone may come and be given food, shelter, and clothing. Perhaps, after years, you will be made whole again."
"Holy master, how will I ever know if my prayers have been heard?"
"You will know that your prayers have reached the Gates of Heaven the day that some one ... tells you your own story."
And so, Yaakov, when you came to my home, I recognized you as the messenger who had come across the square so many years before. I knew that you alone could tell me that story. And I took it as a sign that my prayers had been answered.
When you could think of no story to tell, I was certain that my prayers would never be answered. But now ... you have told me the story I have waited all these years to hear.Within the week, the rich man had sold his home. He gave half of the value to Reb Yaakov. Yaakov took that money and bought his own home. He started his own family. He stopped his life of wandering - just as his master, the Baal Shem Tov, had always intended.
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Prayers That Were Sung in the Fields
by Micha Joseph Bin GorionA certain student went to his rabbi, Rabbi Israel of Medzhibozh, for the Day of Atonement. He traveled by day and night without stopping in order to reach the city where his master lived as soon as possible.
At dawn on the eve of the holy day he was about one league from the city and proposed to pause and rest a little and pray. Meanwhile, his weary horse would also rest. When he ended his prayer, he became very drowwsy and said to himself: "What if I sleep here for an hour or two, it is still broad day." So he stretched himself out on the cart and fell fast asleep.
When he woke up, it was already the twilight hour of the Day of Atonement and therefore he was forbidden to travel any further. He grieved very much to think that after all his great effort to visit his rabbi on the holy day he would now have to spend it in the fields not far from the city, and all this had come about because of this misstep. He cried out and wept bitterly all that night and all the following day.
Upon the close of the holy day he went swiftly to his rabbi, feeling bitter at heart, and when he came there his rabbi explained to him that he had had to raise up the prayers that are sung in the fields, and that he had been compelled by heaven itself to do this.
Rabbi Gershon's Dream
by Doug LipmanRabbi Gershon wrote to his brother-in-law, "My family and I are coming to see you. We will visit you on our way to move, finally, to the Holy Land."
Rabbi Gershon's desire to emigrate was not unusual. Any pious Jew in Eastern Europe during the 1700's wanted to live in the Holy Land. The land itself was holy. The air was holy. People who moved there said it was like getting a second soul.
What was unusual was this: As eager as he was to move to the Holy Land, Rabbi Gershon knew he would not begin his journey without his brother-in-law's blessing. Why? His brother-in-law was the famous mystical rabbi known as the Baal Shem Tov. If the Baal Shem Tov would give his blessing to Rabbi Gershon's journey, he could be sure it would be a success.
Therefore, Rabbi Gershon travelled overland across Eastern Europe to Medzhibozh, the city where the Baal Shem Tov lived. When Rabbi Gershon arrived, the Baal Shem Tov greeted him warmly, ushering him to the quarters the Baal Shem Tov had prepared for him.
When he entered the quarters, Rabbi Gershon's mouth dropped. The Baal Shem Tov had prepared an entire apartment for Rabbi Gershon and his family. Why such a spacious dwelling for a short visit?
The next day, Rabbi Gershon rested from his journey. Whenever he heard someone walk near his door, though, he looked out - in case it was a messenger from the Baal Shem Tov, summoning Rabbi Gershon to received the Baal Shem Tov's blessing.
But the Baal Shem Tov never called.
Rabbi Gershon was a great scholar. So he spent the next, unexpectedly free days studying the Talmud. He went to the house of study, where the other scholars sat, studied, and debated together.
The Talmud has no "page one" - to remind us that there is no beginning and no ending to study of the Torah. At the center of each page of Talmud is a passage from the Torah. Around that passage are arranged the most revered, ancient commentaries on that passage. Around those commentaries are slightly more modern texts that comment on the ancient ones.
Studying a page of Talmud may take a day - or a week or longer. Often, a group of students will spend a year studying a single tractate.
So Rabbi Gershon spent his days studying the ramifications of passage after passage. This way, several weeks passed.
Then one day, a messenger appeared at the house of study, asking Rabbi Gershon to meet the Baal Shem Tov in his office.
When Rabbi Gershon arrived, he saw the Baal Shem Tov's grandson seated across from the Baal Shem Tov himself. That was unusual! Rabbi Gershon thought, "Perhaps the Baal Shem Tov wants his grandson to witness someone being given a blessing to go to the Holy Land!"
The Baal Shem Tov said, "You know my grandson?"
"Of course."
The Baal Shem Tov smiled. "I would like you to teach him."
Rabbi Gershon was surprised. "He is coming with me to the Holy Land?"
"No," said the Baal Shem Tov. "I would like you to teach him here."
Rabbi Gershon tried to keep smiling. To teach the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov was, after all, a great honor! With as much gratitude in his voice as he could muster, he said, "Of course."
Starting the next morning, Rabbi Gershon's days in the house of study changed. He brought the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov with him. Now only a few hours each day were for his own study of the Talmud. The other hours he taught.
Rabbi Gershon devoted himself to his teaching and his studies, but each day he hoped that the next day would bring a blessing from the Baal Shem Tov - and the beginning of his holy journey. This went on for many months.
It went on so long that Rabbi Gershon had nearly completed an entire cycle of the Talmud since he arrived in Medzhibozh. It is customary that, when you finish a cycle of Talmud study, you give a banquet, to which you invite your teachers and those who have studied with you. This way, you celebrate - punctuate - this particular moment in your endless encounter with the Talmud's wisdom.
One day, Rabbi Gershon had a thought: This banquet would be a perfect opportunity for the Baal Shem Tov to give him his blessing! When he thought about it, it seemed clear. This was what the Baal Shem Tov had been waiting for. To have studied the entire Talmud with the constant intention of leaving the next day for the Holy Land - this was what Rabbi Gershon had needed, to be spiritually ready to depart!
Rabbi Gershon thought ahead. "If I wait to finish my studies before setting the date for the banquet, that will cause a delay of several days. Instead, I will set the date now. That way, the banquet can happen the very day my studies are over! At last, I will receive the Baal Shem Tov's blessing and begin my journey into greater holiness!"
Rabbi Gershon calculated on what day he would finish studying. He set the next day as the date for the banquet and continued his visits to the house of study. But the night before the banquet, he had not yet finished the last tracdtate!
So Rabbi Gershon studied the entire night. After morning prayers, however, he was so tired he could not continue. He had to nap. So he lay down. He dreamed.
He dreamt that he arose from his bed and walked out into the city. Soon, he found himself in the woods on the city's outskirts.
When dark fell, he was lost. He spent the night in the forest.
The next morning, he wandered through the woods. He saw no sign of a road, nor of another person. He spent that night in the woods, as well.
The next day, he saw no feature that could orient him. He wandered, always finding himself deeper in the woods. But he had to get back to Medzhibozh! The Baal Shem Tov would be waiting for him, at his banquet! He could not keep the holy Baal Shem Tov waiting!
By the last light of day, he saw the figure of a man in the distance. He shouted. The man answered his call. The two of them ran toward each other, meeting in the darkening forest.
"I am so glad to have found you," said Rabbi Gershon. "I have been lost three days. But I have to get back to Medzhibozh! The holy Baal Shem Tov himself is waiting for me!"
"I am in a bigger hurry," said the man. "I am the caretaker for three children in Brody. Their father, a wealthy man, expects me to teach them. I have been lost in these woods for three days. I must find my way back to Brody!"
"Since we are both lost," said Rabbi Gershon, let us journey together in the morning. Perhaps we will find our way to one of our destinations." So they wandered off together.
Later that day, they saw a building in the distance. They ran toward it. As they came closer, they saw how large and grand it was. They recognized it as a yeshiva, an advanced school of Torah study.
As they walked up to the steps, they heard the sounds of Torah study from within. They stopped to listen.
What Rabbi Gershon heard pleased him! This was a high level of study!
Inside, they listened as the rosh yeshiva (head of the yeshiva) lectured on the Torah. He was revealing secrets of the Torah neither had ever heard!
When the rosh yeshiva finished speaking, the two men approached him. "We are lost. I must find my way back to Medzhibozh," said Rabbi Gershon.
The man from Brody said, "And I must find my way back to Brody."
The rosh yeshiva looked at them. "Medzhibozh? Brody? I know of no such places."
Both men said, "We just left there three days ago!"
The rosh yeshiva said, "I can only tell you this: There is no other world but this one. I advise you to stay here."
"No! We must keep looking!"
"In that case," said the rosh yeshiva, "Continue on this road. You will find another yeshiva a day's walk from here. Perhaps they can help you."
Late the next day, the two men approached an even larger building. It was magnificent! From within, they heard the sounds of Torah study and stopped to listen. Rabbi Gershon was so pleased with what he heard, he could scarcely rouse himself to enter.
Once inside, they listened to the rosh yeshiva lecturing. He revealed powers hidden in the words of Torah, powers that Rabbi Gershon had never suspected.
After his lecture, they approached him. "We are lost," said Rabbi Gershon. "I must find my way back to Medzhibozh."
The man from Brody was still staring at the passage of Torah the rosh yeshiva had just explained. At last he said, "And I must find my way back to Brody."
The rosh yeshiva looked at them. "Medzhibozh? Brody? I know of no such places."
Rabbi Gershon said, "We just left there four days ago!"
The rosh yeshiva said, "I can only tell you this: There is no other world but this one. I advise you to stay here."
"No! We must keep looking," said Rabbi Gershon. But the man from Brody said nothing.
"There is another yeshiva," said the rosh yeshiva, "a day's walk from here. Perhaps they can help you there."
In the morning, Rabbi Gershon left the yeshiva. But the man from Brody said, "No. The study is so sweet here, I cannot bear to leave it."
Alone, Rabbi Gershon found his way to the third yeshiva. It was a palace! Coming upon it, Rabbi Gershon heard the sound of teachings from within. Even before he was close enough to understand what was said, the sweetness of the sound nearly overcame him.
Inside, he heard the rosh yeshiva speaking. As the rosh yeshiva spoke, Rabbi Gershon saw the Divine Chariot flying through the air.
When the rosh yeshiva had finished, Rabbi Gershon approached him. "I must get back to Medzhibozh. I walked out from there days ago. I met a man from Brody, who was also lost. We came to two yeshivas before we came to yours."
The rosh yeshiva said, "There is no other world but this one."
Rabbi Gershon said, "But I must return! The Baal Shem Tov himself is waiting for me!"
At this mention of the great rabbi's name, the rosh yeshiva looked sharply at Rabbi Gershon. Then he sighed and spoke to his students, "Then bring me the map of all the worlds!"
In a moment, the rosh yeshiva was pouring over an enormous book. After many minutes he looked up from one of its pages and spoke to Rabbi Gershon. "There does seem to be a small world - a mostly corrupt one - where there are two places named Medzhibozh and Brody. But my advice to you is to stay here."
"No," said Rabbi Gershon. "How can I keep the holy Baal Shem Tov waiting?"
At this, the rosh yeshiva pointed to two of his students, saying, "Take him, then." They each grabbed Rabbi Gershon by one of his arms, took him to a door, opened it, and pushed him through it into the darkness.
Rabbi Gershon felt himself falling. He fell and fell, then landed in his own bed.
Opening his eyes, he saw from the clock that his entire dream had lasted merely thirty minutes. In fact, the Baal Shem Tov was just entering his room.
Rabbi Gershon said, "I am so glad to see you! I was lost for three days. In my dream, I was afraid I would miss my banquet!"
"I know," said the Baal Shem Tov. "But I am worred about the man from Brody. What happened to him?"
"He stayed at the second yeshiva."
The Baal Shem Tov grew quiet. "His soul was very great. We needed him in this world. But he chose to stay there."
Rabbi Gershon was silent a long time. At last he said, "I see. So I will be staying here to teach your son?"
[Based on a story in Abraham Heschel, The Circle of the Baal Shem Tov. pp. 59-61. Heschel cites a manuscript in Uman, of R. Isaac Joel Rabinowitz, Admor of Monestrisht.]
Courtesy: http://www.hasidicstories.com/Stories/The_Baal_Shem_Tov/doctor.html
The Baal Shem Tov and the Doctor
by Doug LipmanOnce, a famous doctor met one of his patients on the street. Without a word of greeting, the doctor said, "I told you not to walk on that leg until it heals!"
"But it IS healed," said the man.
"Impossible! I saw the wound in that leg. It will take months!"
"I went to another kind of healer, doctor. I went to a mystical rabbi, the one they call the Baal Shem Tov."
The doctor narrowed his eyes, then simply walked away.
A week later, the doctor rapped loudly on the Baal Shem Tov's door. When the door opened, he said, "I hear you claim to be a healer!"
The Baal Shem Tov looked at his visitor. "God is the healer, my friend. Come in!"
The doctor did not move. "Let us examine each other," he said. "Whoever best diagnoses the sickness of the other will be proved the better doctor."
The Baal Shem Tov smiled. "As you wish. But please do me the favor of coming in!"
Once inside, the doctor began his examination of the Baal Shem Tov. The doctor poked him, pinched him, gazed in his ears, and tapped on his knees. After an hour, the doctor said, "You have no sickness that I can find."
"I am not surprised that you could not find it," said the Baal Shem Tov. "I so desire the presence of God that my heart cries out in pain when I can not feel it. My sickness is this constant yearning for God." The Baal Shem Tov looked at the doctor a long while. "Let me now examine you."
The Baal Shem Tov took the doctor's hands and gazed into his eyes. At last the rabbi said, "Have you ever lost something very valuable?"
"As a matter of fact," said the doctor, "I once had a large jewel, but it was stolen from me."
"Ah! That is your sickness!" said the Baal Shem Tov.
"What? Missing my diamond?"
"No. My sickness is yearning after God. Your sickness is that you have forgotten that you ever had that desire."
The doctor sucked in a breath. In a moment, a tear flowed down his cheek. One tear turned to many. Still holding the hands of the Baal Shem Tov, he began to sob. "Please," he said. "Teach me how to yearn!"
"With God's help," said the Baal Shem Tov, "your healing has already begun."
