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#294 (s5763-40 / 4 Sivan) Power Books "Why don't you give Alexei, the peasant driver of the Baal Shem Tov, some money with a bottle of whiskey." [The Baal Shem Tov passed away on
Shavuot, 243 years ago. Other connections between this story and Shavuot appear
at the end.] Power BooksOnce there was a cloth merchant who lived in Medzhibuz, the hometown of the holy Baal Shem Tov. The merchant wanted to sell his wares in the city of Whitefield, but was afraid to go because a band of robbers was known to attack travelers on the road to that city. His wife told him: "The Baal Shem Tov travels that road. Why don't you give his driver Alexei some money with a bottle of whiskey and he'll tell you which day the Baal Shem Tov will make his next trip. You can travel along with him and you will not have to fear." Although the merchant wasn't a follower of the Baal Shem Tov, he took his wife's advice. And so it happened. The next time the Baal Shem Tov planned a trip to Whitefield, Alexei told the merchant on which day they would leave. The merchant loaded his wagon and left at the same time as the Baal Shem Tov. When the two wagons arrived at the forest where the robbers were supposed to hide, the Baal Shem Tov ordered Alexei to stop and allow the horses to graze. The merchant became very frightened. The Baal Shem Tov positioned the wagons opposite each other and sat down between them. He opened the Book of the Zohar, the primary text of Kabbala study, and started to read with intense concentration. Suddenly the robbers appeared, but when they got close to the wagons, they were seized with trembling and quickly fled. When they stopped running, the robbers said to each other: "What's wrong with us? Let's go and rob them." But when they approached the wagons again, the robbers were again seized by trembling and ran away. Later, when the Baal Shem Tov and the merchant continued on their journey, the robbers were afraid to go after them. "This is not a simple matter," they remarked. When the merchant saw what happened, he hugged and kissed the Baal Shem Tov and said: "Now Rabbi, I know your greatness. The Baal Shem Tov replied: "Well you might think that you know, but you still do not know." ~~~~~~~~~~ Over a 100 years later, in 1856, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (known as the Tzemach Tzedek) sent his son (and eventual successor) Rabbi Shmuel to St. Petersburg on matters of communal concern. The night before Rabbi Shmuel left, his father said to him: "In 1843, when I was summoned to the rabbinical conference in St. Petersburg, I went to pray at my mother's grave in Liozna. She told me that due to her self-sacrifice for her father and for Chassidism [see Story #154 -y.t.] she was granted entry to the heavenly palace of the Baal Shem Tov. She asked the Baal Shem Tov to pray for me, and to provide something to help me withstand the enemies of Chassidism. "The Baal Shem Tov answered her: 'Your son knows by heart the books Chumash ("Five Books of Moses"), Tehillim (Psalms), and Tanya (a primary Chasidic text). We learn from the Torah that the sons of the Patriarch Jacob were not harmed by the Canaanites, because "the dread (chitas in Hebrew) of G-d was upon the cities around them" (Gen. 35:5). The three consonants of the word chitas are the first letters of the Hebrew names of the three books: Chumash, Tehillim, Tanya. One who is thoroughly acquainted with every letter in them is granted the spiritual strength to shatter any obstacles that could prevent the revelation of holiness.' "Therefore," the Rebbe instructed his son Rabbi Shmuel, "wherever you may be, whether in government buildings or with government ministers, recite a chapter each from Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya." Many years later, when Rabbi Shmuel recounted this experience to his son (and eventual successor), Rabbi Shalom Ber, he added: "It was a wonderful prescription. With the first three chapters of the Chumash, three psalms from the Book of Tehillim, and three chapters of Tanya, all the plans of our opponents collapsed, and Torah-true Judaism triumphed." ~~~~~~~~~~ So now, we follow the Baal Shem Tov's heavenly advice and study Chitas -- a section of Chumash, Tehillim and Tanya -- every day. Shavuot is an especially propitious time to renew or initiate this practice. The Torah (Chumash) was given on Shavuot; King David (composer of Tehillim/Psalms) and the Baal Shem Tov (whose teachings are in Tanya) passed away on Shavuot.
Biographical
note:
Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of
Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and
KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit. | |
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