False Testimony

By: Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn

Do not distort justice. . . (Deuteronomy 16:19)

Once, there were three men, Reb Ezriel, Reb Anshel, and Reb Eliezer, that were partners in a business. Reb Ezriel bought feathers and hides from Russia and Reb Anshel bought similar merchandise from Galicia. The third partner, Reb Eliezer, who was the son of the Belzer Rebbe, Reb Sholom, arranged financing for their ventures and kept the books, auditing all the expenses and income of their various transactions.

For some time, all was well. Then, for some unknown reason, Reb Ezriel and Reb Anshel asked Reb Eliezer if they could see the books.

"We would like to know where we stand," they said. But Reb Eliezer refused to show them the ledgers, so the two decided to go to his father, the Belzer Rebbe with their complaint and to see if he could adjudicate the matter.

"I cannot be a judge in this matter," the Rebbe told the men. "I am the father of the accused and I am therefore invalid to judge."

"Even so," the two partners assured him, "we trust your decision even though you have an interest in the matter."

"Very well," said the Rebbe. "But it is late, just before Minchah and there is no time to hear all the details. For now, let me quickly tell you a story that relates to this situation.

The Rebbe began, "There were once two brothers, one rich and one poor. The rich brother had a daughter who was of marriageable age, and the poor brother had a son who was a fine Talmud Chochom of the same age. It seemed natural, therefore, that when the rich brother had rejected the many offers of marriage for his daughter, the shadchun (marriage broker) urged him to take his nephew, (the poor brother's son) as a son-in-law. The rich brother agreed and the two were married.

The young man, Yisroel, soon found life under his father-in-law's roof very uncomfortable. Neither his wife nor father-in-law appreciated his occupation with Torah study and would have preferred that he involve himself in business. The situation became tense, so Yisroel decided to leave and become a melamed (teacher), for the sake of peace for all involved.

Yisroel traveled far, to an isolated village and there became the melamed for the children of a chassid of the Baal Shem Tov. In time, the chassid took a trip to visit his Rebbe.

Just as he was about to depart with a group of other chassidim, Yisrael asked: "Can you kindly mention me to your Rebbe. I have a difficult personal matter that is a great burden. Perhaps the Baal Shem Tov will have some advice for me."

Yisroel's employer did indeed mention his name to the Baal Shem, and returned home with an urgent message. "As soon as we mentioned your name to the Rebbe, he became quite upset. He told us to advise you to immediately return to your home. The Rebbe's words were, 'Reb Yisroel's return involves a serious matter regarding his wife.' We didn't even know you were married?"

"It is a painful story so I did not share it with you," he answered.

Yisroel was skeptical. He questioned the Chassidim, "How would the Rebbe know of me? How does he even know I'm married?" "Never mind," they insisted. "If the Baal Shem Tov was so adamant about your returning home, you must do as he says. He told us that he looked at the root of your soul and found a danger present. You must not delay. You should leave immediately."

"How can I go home?" Reb Yisroel answered. "My belongings are here and besides, I don't have any money for the journey."

The chassidim wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. They all quickly contributed funds to hire a wagon and driver to take Yisroel home and helped Reb Yisroel gather his few belongings and load the wagon.

"What am I doing?" he thought to himself as the wagon bumped along the dirt road. "I wonder if the Chassidim were just trying to get rid of me. I wonder if they even mentioned my named to the Baal Shem Tov. How could he know about me?" Such thoughts filled his mind as he traveled. He had thoughts of stopping the wagon and turning around, but the urgent words of the Baal Shem Tov disturbed him greatly. Finally he arrived at his hometown. As the wagon came to a stop in front of his house, he hesitated. He finally summoned the courage to knock on the door. A strange man answered the door. "What did you want?" the man asked.

"Is Reb Yisroel's wife at home?"

"She is no longer Reb Yisroel's wife, and she doesn't live here. In fact, she is planning to get married in two days."

Reb Yisroel was shocked. He had never divorced his wife. How could she get married again? He now understood the urgency of the Baal Shem Tov's words. The first thing he must do was to prevent his wife from marrying another man. But how? Reb Yisroel went to the Beis Medrash and sat down to think. As he sat, he overheard several of the local beggars talking about the impending wedding. "I can't wait for the feast. It will no doubt be lavish because the bride's father is certainly rich." Yisroel then knew what he had to do. He went immediately to the town Rabbi's home. He related his story, insisting that he had never sent his wife a divorce.

The town Rabbi did indeed remember and believe Yisroel. "Please stay here while I go to your father-in- law and discuss this matter."

Reb Yisroel's father-in-law had been deceived by an unscrupulous, traveling darshan (speaker). The darshan had come to town and realized the rich man's great despair because his daughter had been deserted by her husband. So he approached the girl's father and said, "In my travels, I've met your son- in-law and we became friends. I'm quite sure that I can get him to divorce your daughter. Just give me power of attorney to act on your behalf and I will take care of everything."

"That would be wonderful! And you can be sure that I will pay you well for your kindness," the rich man told the darshan.

The darshan quickly traveled to another small town some distance away, where he was not known. There he found three men of questionable character and honesty who were willing go along with his ruse for a profit. The darshan then went to a Bais Din (Jewish court), claiming that he had recognized a man at the local inn who was sought for abandoning his wife. "His name is Yisroel and he refuses to give his wife a divorce. Her father has asked me to force him to give a divorce at any cost."

The Bais Din was convinced by the darshan's story. They had the man in the inn (one of the three conspirators) apprehended and brought before them. After some "coaxing", the man admitted that he was the husband that had deserted his wife. Then, the two false witnesses (the other two conspirators) were brought to testify that they also knew the man to be the alleged Yisroel, the runaway husband of the rich man's daughter. The Bais Din managed to extract a divorce, which they gave to the darshan, having the power of attorney of the rich man.

The darshan returned to the rich man with the prized bill of divorce.

"How can I repay you for all your efforts?" the rich man asked.

"I do not want any money," said the darshan. "I was just doing a kindness. However, I would appreciate the opportunity to introduce an eligible young man to your daughter. That is all I ask."

The eligible young man just happened to be the darshan's son, and he made a favorable impression on the family. The wedding date was set and plans were made.

Once the real Yisroel spoke to the town Rabbi, the Rabbi accompanied by the local police, marched to the rich man's home. The Rabbi explained Yisroel's story and accused the darshan and his son of fraud. The police promptly took the two scoundrels to jail. The rich man realized that he had been deceived but was very happy that the plot has been foiled in time. Yisroel found that his wife had meanwhile deeply regretted her unloving behavior towards her husband, and she begged Yisroel remain as her husband. "And," concluded the Belzer Rebbe, "they did live happily thereafter. Do you know why I told you this story?" he asked the two men before him. "You, Reb Anshel, and you, Reb Ezriel, were the two brothers and my son Eliezer was Reb Yisroel in a former life. You two owe him a great deal for the shame and discomfort he suffered. I suggest that you increase his share of the earnings and I am sure he will show you the books."

And so it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn of Cleveland, Ohio is the executive director of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation. He can be contacted at cohn@baalshemtov.com)

Read more about Baal Shem Tov and Students

See More Articles By Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn.

False Testimony, reprinted with the kind authorization of Rabbi Lazer Brody of Breslev Israel.

	If you would like to receive other related articles or Breslev.co.il features via e-mail, please enter your e-mail address here:      Subscribe for Free

Concealed Humility

By: Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn

In his youth, Reb Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk studied under Reb Dov Ber, later known as the Mezritcher Maggid and the successor to the Baal Shem Tov. By the time Mendel was ten years old, he was already well versed in all of the Talmud, and because of his diligence, the Maggid was very fond of him. One Shabbos morning, the Maggid saw young Mendel strutting about in high spirits.

"Mendel," he called, "How many pages of Talmud have you studied today?"

"Six," answered Mendel in a satisfied voice.

"I see," responded the Maggid, as if he were talking to himself: "Now if after six pages of Talmud one is so excited that his hat slips over his ears, how many pages does it take for one's hat to fall off completely?"

Mendel knew that the Maggid was speaking about him. "Rebbe, it is true that I am proud of my abilities-and I realize that such conceit is not appropriate, but I can't help myself."

"Don't worry," the Maggid reassured him. "We will both go to The Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov. He will guide us to the proper path to follow."

The next day they departed for Mezibush. When they arrived on Friday, the Maggid went directly to see The Baal Shem Tov. Mendel decided to first bathe, and put on his better suit-as he was always careful about his appearance.

As was the Baal Shem Tov's tradition-he conducted a Melave Malkah meal after the conclusion of the Shabbos. Throughout the meal, he gazed at Mendel. He then related a story that seemed to relate to Mendel's' life-from the moment of his birth until the time of his death many years later in Eretz Yisrael. At the table also sat the Maggid and Reb Yaakov Yosef of Polonnoye (two of The Baal Shem Tov's most well- known disciples).

Later, Mendel mentioned he understood that the Baal Shem Tov was referring to various aspects of his life. One of the others, the Maggid or Reb Yaakov Yosef, later said that he had understood the whole story while the other confessed that he had understood only half.

The Baal Shem Tov later commented to the Maggid that his pupil, Reb Mendel, appeared to be an "onov" - a truly humble person. And to the end of his days, Reb Menachem Mendel signed his letters, 'Mendel HaKoton' -'the small one'.

Many years later, Reb Menachem Mendel understood the whole story told by the Baal Shem Tov that night.

Once, while Reb Menachem Mendel still lived in Vitebsk, he became so ill, that he lost his ability to speak. Hearing the cries of his Chassidim, who were afraid that they would lose their Rebbe, he said: "Have no fear! - For the Baa! Shem Tov had said that I would have the merit to live in Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel)."

Later, he did recover and set out for Eretz Yisrael. On the way he stopped in the holy community of Polonnoye. After settling in at an inn, he removed his gartel (the belt worn by Chassidim for prayer and as an expression of reverence on certain other occasions), lit his pipe and strolled over to pay his respects to Reb Yaakov Yosef.

When the local Chassidim saw what appeared to be Reb Mendel's irreverent attitude, they quietly told him, "Rebbe, we think you ought to know that Reb Yaakov Yosef is likely to express his displeasure when he sees such a lack of deference!"

Reb Menachem Mendel ignored their advice, and was received warmly by Reb Yaakov Yosef. When the latter asked whether he understood the story that they had both heard from the Baal Shem Tov years before, the Reb Mendel answered that he did. Then Reb Yaakov Yosef asked, "And which part of the story are you up to now?"

Reb Menachem Mendel sighed: "I have already used up more than half of the story."

"And do you know," asked Reb Yaakov Yosef, "that there was a "remez" - a hint in the story that you would be visit me?"

"I do," replied Reb Menachem Mendel. "And that is why I passed through Polonnoye, so that I should have the honor of calling on you."

They discussed Torah late into the night, and then Reb Yaakov Yosef escorted his young guest to his lodgings.

The local Chassidim were curious about the meeting between these two great chassidic masters. Finally one of the braver elder Chassidim asked Reb Yaakov Yosef, "What kind of a man is this who dared to pay a visit to you, Rebbe, without his gartel, with a lit pipe in his mouth, and silver-threaded shoelaces in his shoes?"

Reb Yaakov Yosef answered with a parable. "Once there lived a king who possessed a priceless gem. He lived in constant fear that thieves would steal it. So what did he do? He hid it in the barn, under the manure pile -where no one would expect to find such a treasure. And so it is with Reb Menachem Mendel. He is an "onov”, and holds himself as the lowest of all people - and is afraid that if he would exhibit any slight expression of humility, others may think of it as false. And that is why he has chosen to conceal his humility in a place of "filth", namely - pride!"

And so it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn of Cleveland, Ohio is the executive director of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation. He can be contacted at cohn@baalshemtov.com)

Read more about Baal Shem Tov and Students

See More Articles By Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn.

Concealed Humility, reprinted with the kind authorization of Rabbi Lazer Brody of Breslev Israel.

	If you would like to receive other related articles or Breslev.co.il features via e-mail, please enter your e-mail address here:      Subscribe for Free

The Baal Shem Tov’s Tefillin

By: Tzvi Meir Cohn

"Bind [these words] as a sign on your hand, and let them be an emblem in the center of your head." Deuteronomy 6:8

And then there was the time that the Baal Shem Tov was studying Torah in the Bais Medrash (study hall) with his close disciples. Suddenly, he became so sick that he was unable to speak.

The disciples became very alarmed. "Rebbe, Rebbe," they asked, "What's wrong? Can we get you something?"

The Baal Shem Tov motioned to his Tefillin bag. Quickly, the students took out his Tefiilin and wrapped one around his arm and put the other on his head. By this time, the Baal Shem Tov was so weak that he just lay down on a bench. He closed his eyes and didn't move. The disciples sat by his side unsure of what to do.

After a long time passed, the Baal Shem Tov sat up and began speaking to the disciples. "Thank G·d, I'm feeling better."

The disciples asked in a concerned voice, "Rebbe, what happened?"

The Baal Shem Tov explained, "In my youth, I committed a sin. An accusation was made against me before the Heavenly Court and the Court decided that I deserve to die. At first, I wasn't aware of what was happening to me. All I knew was that I started to feel very, very weak. Just then, my teacher, Achiya HaShaloni (a spiritual Being and teacher of King David), came and told me the situation. Then he told me, 'Reb YIsrael, quickly put on your Tefillin.'"

"After you put my Tefillin on," continued the Baal Shem Tov to the disciples, "the Accuser (the Satan) came in the form of a Russian peasant carrying an iron shovel in his hand. He wanted to chop off my head. But because of the power of the Tefillin, the Satan could not get close to me. He started yelling, "Take off that leather (the Tefillin are made of leather)!" But I didn't pay any attention to him and he continued yelling until, thank G·d, the accusation was nullified."

The Baal Shem Tov continued, "During that time, my brother-in-law, Rabbi Gershon came to testify for me. However, the gates to the Heavenly court were closed and he couldn't get through. But that didn't stop Reb Gershon. He took a heavy wooden pole and started banging on the Gates until they were finally opened. Then, he ran in and started yelling before the Court in an angry voice, 'Will you sentence Rabbi Yisrael to death, G·d forbid, for a trivial thing that happened in his youth?' The court wasn't able to overcome the defense of Reb Gershon and revoked their original sentence."

The Baal Shem Tov continued, "It says in the Tikune Zohar (book of Kabbalah), the commandment of Matronita (the Schechina, the female aspect of G·d) places a man under her wings and protects him from the hand of the Accuser. So it is with the commandment of wearing Tefillin."

And so it was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn of Cleveland, Ohio is the executive director of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation. He can be contacted at cohn@baalshemtov.com)

Read more about Baal Shem Tov and Students

See More Articles By Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn.

The Baal Shem Tov’s Tefillin, reprinted with the kind authorization of Rabbi Lazer Brody בס"ד of Breslev Israel.

	If you would like to receive other related articles or Breslev.co.il features via e-mail, please enter your e-mail address here:      Subscribe for Free

The Baal Shem Tov’s Legends

By: Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn

The legends of Israel Baal Shem Tov, as well as the other Tzadikim (spiritual masters), were passed down for the last three hundred years, orally and more recently in writings from Chassid to Chassid. It's very important to remember that Chassid embody a fundamental belief that stories about their own Rebbe are definitely true, and those of other Rebbes are probably true. The closest analogy of how the stories were passed down to us in 1998, about 300 years from the Baal hem Tov's death in 1760, is the game called Telephone. A message is passed from person to person. When the last person tells the others the message, it has usually changed so dramatically from the message as it began, we get a good laugh. So just because Baal Shem Tov stories are the result of several hundred years of Eastern European Telephone, does that mean that the stories are not true? Well there is an old saying. "If you believe all of the Baal Shem Stories you're a fool, and if you don't believe any of them you are an epicoris (a disbeliever who was once a knowledgeable believer). No help in our quest for the Truth.

Let's look at a Maiseh (story) for the answer. Once, while the Baal Shem Tov was experiencing an aliyah (elevation) of the Neshamah (Soul) in the heavenly worlds, he encountered the Satan (the Angel in charge of our experiencing difficult situations). The Satan was strutting around studying a Sefer (book) and gesturing so that the Baal Shem knew the sefer contained the Baal Shem Tov's own transmission of the Torah. Upon return to his earthly body, the Baal Shem called together all of his close Chassidim (disciples) and inquired as to who among them wrote a sefer of the Baal Shem Tov's Torah. One of the Chassidim sheepishly came forward holding a small sefer (book) in which he had carefully recorded Torah teachings which he personally heard from the lips of the Baal Shem Tov. The Baal Shem Tov immediately sat down and read the entire Sefer. After he finished, he handed the Sefer back to the student and said "There is not a single statement that I said within this sefer."

Oil painting by Sarah Feldman

Comment:

Of course it’s impossible that a Chassid in the inner circle (generally brilliant scholars of exreme piety and with high spiritual awareness) could have made more than a slight mistake in recording the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov.

Rather, the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov were actually projections of spiritual vibrations that were enclothed, so to speak, in the garment of a Torah teaching or Story. Thus, the actual words or expressions, as spoken by the Baal Shem Tov, were not the point of what he spoke, but rather just a convenient mechanism to direct spiritual vibrations of different frequencies, depending on the circumstances, to the listener.

Today, the stories and teachings of the Baal Shem Tov serve the same function as over 250 years ago. That is, to direct spiritual vibrations onto our soul to heal any weak aspect of our soul body and enable us to intensify our service to G-d, i.e. to serve G-d while remaining in the spiritual flow that originates in G-d by living life b'simchah (with a joyful attitude).

Since the specific spiritual vibrations associated with each story still exists, my goal in presenting the stories is to connect the reader or listener to the original spiritual vibration still associated with that story and thereby affect some healing. Presently, few Beings are openly teaching and/or applying these healing spiritual vibrations. I have humbly attempted to present with a full heart a few stories with the intent to spiritually uplift my Brothers and Sisters of the Jewish Nation to heal them of any sickness, either of a spiritual or physical nature, and help them move quickly and effortlessly onto the path of a Jewish life with a Joyous attitude. And while on the path, I bless us to serve as beacons of G-ds light to help guide our soul brothers and sisters on their journey along the path to greet our Holy King Moshiach, May he come quickly in our days.

I bless everyone I've encountered along my path and pray for each of my Soul Brothers and Sisters that they enjoy a spiritual expansion and physical renewal of such an astounding degree that the only explanation can be that we truly are directly connected to the vibrational flow surging from G-d through the Universe. And I bless us that this realization be accompanied by our private, indisputable experience that the degree of spiritual expansion and physical renewal is proportional to the degree of joyous attitude we have during the living of our life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn of Cleveland, Ohio is the executive director of the Baal Shem Tov Foundation. He can be contacted at cohn@baalshemtov.com)

Read more about Baal Shem Tov and Students

See More Articles By Rabbi Tzvi Meir Cohn.

The Baal Shem Tov’s Legends, reprinted with the kind authorization of Rabbi Lazer Brody בס"ד of Breslev Israel.

	If you would like to receive other related articles or Breslev.co.il features via e-mail, please enter your e-mail address here:      Subscribe for Free