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Baal Shem Tov

Baal Shem Tov

Born: c. 1700
Okopy, Poland
Died: c. 1760
Polish religious leader

The founder of modern Hasidism was the Polish-born Israel ben Eliezer, who is generally known as Baal Shem Tov.

Early life

Israel ben Eliezer was born to aged parents in Okopy, Poland, a small town that is now in the Ukraine, Russia. Most of what is known of his childhood is the product of legend and is difficult to verify. He was apprenticed (worked underneath someone in order to learn a trade from them) to the local teacher. Later he worked as an aid to the sexton (a person who looks after the grounds and building) of the synagogue (Jewish religious site), where he spent his nights studying the Cabala, or Jewish mystic lore.

Ben Eliezer married at the traditional age of eighteen, but his wife died shortly afterward. He then moved to Brody, in Galicia (a region of Eastern Europe), where he met and married the rabbi's sister. They moved to a distant village in the Carpathians (a mountain range in Eastern Europe). There Ben Eliezer worked as a laborer, but he managed to devote considerable time to prayer and contemplation in the forest.

Becomes a religious leader

At this time Ben Eliezer learned the use of medicinal herbs for treating disease and became known as a healer and a worker of wonders. He was called the Baal Shem Tov, which means Good Master of the Name (of God). He ministered (treated) to his rural neighbors, both Christians and Jews, and performed miraculous cures of both body and soul. He is said to have undergone an important self-revelation at the age of thirty-six through the intervention of a divine spirit.

About 1740 the Besht (the common abbreviation of Baal Shem Tov) settled in Miedzyboz, Podolia. His kindliness and holiness attracted many followers, who were called Hasidim (the pious). The Besht's teachings emphasized spiritual communion (a meeting that takes place, not between physical bodies, but between spirits) with God, which was achieved not only in prayer but also in every aspect of everyday life. He taught that all man's deeds must express his worship of God. He disagreed with people who studied the Torah (Jewish religious writings) and worshipped as if it were a school lesson, precise and academic. He told his followers that worshipping should be done with a complete act of body, mind, and soul and should be joyous.

The Besht angered other Jews, who preferred to emphasize the rational discipline of prayer and study of the Torah. The Besht believed that he was a righteous person whose prayers opened the gates of heaven. He believed that others who had superhuman powers like him were born in every generation. He called these righteous leaders the tzaddikim (the "righteous ones"). His teaching especially appealed to those who were uneducated, because he said that the way to reach God did not require great learning. He used anecdotes (short, clever, or amusing stories) and parables (short stories told for the purpose of teaching a virtue or a religious idea) to illustrate his ideas. He criticized asceticism, the practice of denying oneself worldly pleasure in order to illustrate spiritual devotion. Instead he emphasized joy in observing Jewish law.

His followers, the Hasidim, changed many of the ways Judaism was traditionally practiced. For instance, they prayed in small rooms instead of in synagogues. This practice horrified other Jews, who felt it was too big a break with tradition.

Becomes a legend

Many legends grew up about the Besht. It was said he understood the language of plants and animals, and that he could walk on water. Some said that he talked to the Messiah (the king of the Jews who had been foretold by the prophets) on a regular basis. Still others believed that freedom would come to all Jews when the teachings of Baal Shem Tov were believed all over the world.

Baal Shem Tov wrote no works, but after his death his followers published compilations of his sayings and teachings. The Besht and the Hasidism had, and continue to have, a notable impact on Jewish life.

For More Information

Ben-Amos, Dan, and Jerome R. Mintz, eds. In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov; the Earliest Collection of Legends about the Founder of Hasidism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970. Reprint, Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1993.

Buber, Martin. The Legend of the Baal-Shem. New York: Harper, 1955. Reprint, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995.

Heschel, Abraham J. A Passion for Truth. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Pub., 1995.

Heschel, Abraham J. The Circle of the Baal Shem Tov: Studies in Hasidism. Edited by Samuel H. Dresner. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.

Klein, Eliahu. Meetings with Remarkable Souls: Legends of the Baal Shem Tov. Northvale, NJ: J. Aronson, 1995.

Rosman, Murray Jay. Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Baal Shem Tov. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 2/1/2006; 80 words ; 0826417728 The light and fire of the Baal Shem Tov. Buxbaum, Yitzhak. Continuum Publishing Group 2005 420...speaker and storyteller. Here he collects stories about Baal Shem Tov (1700-60) that he finds to portray the great and holy... Read more
	A GOD'S-EYE VIEW.(Review) Magazine article from: Commonweal; 9/10/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...and the Kabbalistic-Hasidic thinkers, especially the Baal Shem Tov. She loves Teilhard because he had his hands in the...a very different direction-to a vision close to the Baal Shem Tov's: that in every bit of God's creation is hidden a holy... Read more
	The Great Mission.(The Great Mission: The Life and Story of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov)(Brief Article)(Book Review) Magazine article from: The Bookwatch; 9/1/2005; 107 words ; ...who first explained Jewish mysticism to the general public in The Great Mission: The Life And Story Of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov. But readers anticipating a biography alone will find much more here: The Great Mission blends in philosophy and spiritual... Read more
	How's your hisbodedus?(JEWISH WORD) Magazine article from: Moment; 1/1/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...whose teachings the Hasidic movement, founded by the Baal Shem Tov in mid-18th century Eastern Europe, is based. As a pre-modern populist, the Baal Shem Tov taught that the most learned Torah scholar was no better... Read more
	Tzava'at Harivash.(Brief Article)(Book Review) Newspaper article from: Wisconsin Bookwatch; 9/1/2004; 148 words ; ...Kingston Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 0826603998 $21.00 www.kehotonline.com Tzava'at Harivash: The Testament Of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov is expertly translated and informatively annotated by Jacob Immanuel Schochet, an acknowledged authority on Jewish... Read more
	4. [R.sub.x]: soul medicine, spirit pills.(Once upon a time for the soul: a review of the effects of storytelling in spiritual traditions)(Critical Essay) Magazine article from: Communication Research Trends; 9/22/2004; ; 700+ words ; Long long ago, a man known as the Baal Shem Tov went to a most secret place in the forest. It is said that in this secret place, he lit a sacred fire, spoke an ancient prayer... Read more
	Rebbe Nachman's fantastical fables.(BOOK CLUB) Magazine article from: Moment; 1/1/2009; ; 320 words ; ...greatest Hasidic storytellers we have in Jewish literature. Born in 1772, Rabbi Nachman was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement. Nachman was the rebbe of the Breslover Hasidim and was known as a great spiritual... Read more
	The Legacy of German Jewry.(Brief article)(Book review) Magazine article from: The Bookwatch; 5/1/2008; 225 words ; ...retracing the philosophical accomplishments of thinkers such as Moses Mendelssohn, Spinoza, and religious figures such as Baal Shem Tov. This modern path embraces the concept that remnants of the radical past could provide ideas and impetus for re-envisioning... Read more
	Religion Roundup.(Religion) Newspaper article from: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR); 1/4/2003; 570 words ; ...and silent meditation. For information, call 345-9913. Mystical Insights of the Early Hasidic Masters, Part One - The Baal Shem Tov, a two-part program by Rabbi Asi Spiegel, will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Beth Israel, 2550 Portland St. Rabbi... Read more
	"Intelligent design," Natural Design, and the problem of meaning in the natural world. Newspaper article from: Cross Currents; 3/22/2007; ; 700+ words ; ...A little history: my mother's parents came to New York from Vinnitsa in Ukraine, not far from the birthplace of the Baal Shem Tov. They were more pious than learned, with a tendency toward superstition; I clearly remember the red thread tied around... Read more

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