The Baal Shem Tov was the title given to Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (1698 -1760) founder of the Chassidic movement. The early life of the Besht is surrounded in mystery. He was born in Okop, a small village in the Podolia ( on the Polish Russian border). His parents Eliezer and Sarah, were quite old when he was born. Many legends surround his parents and in particular his father, who like Abraham, was very hospitable and was promised by an angel in disguise that in return for his hospitality he and Sarah would be blessed with a child even though they were elderly. His father died when he was 3 years old and the story is told that his last words to his son were ‘Fear nothing other than G-d’. His mother died shortly after. As a young orphan he was cared for by the community and presumably received the same education as most children in the village. 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 G-d.

 When he entered his teens the community’s responsibility to support him ended and he was given a job as a teacher’s helper. One of his tasks was to escort the children to and from school. Legend has it that he would take them the long way round via the fields and forests leading them in songs and praise to G-d. His next job was as a caretaker (shames) in the local synagogue. This job provided the young Israel the opportunity and time, particularly at night, to study Torah, Talmud and even Kabbalah of Isaac Lauria  (1534 -72). Nevertheless, he publicly maintained an image of simplicity and the townspeople were completely ignorant of his stature and wisdom. During this time he married but his wife passed away shortly after the wedding. He then moved to a town near Brody in Podolia where he became acquainted with Rabbi Ephraim of Brody who was so impressed with Israel ben Eliezer that he offered his daughter Leah Rochel to Israel for a wife. After this second marriage he and his wife moved to a small town in the Carpathian Mountains. Supported by his wife, he spent this period in study and worship.

At the age of 36 years in 1734, Rabbi Israel revealed himself to the world. He settled in Talust and rapidly gained the reputation as a holy man practicing white magic and healing and acting much like the Shamans of the Native American Indian culture. Holy men of that time were know as the Baale Shem (Masters of the Name) since they used the power of the name of G-d to work miracles but Rabbi Israel became know as the Master of the Good Name or the Baal Shem Tov to signify that he was a man who lived with and for his fellowmen on the foundation of his relation to G-d.

The Besht subsequently moved to Medzeboz in Western Ukraine, where he lived the rest of his life. His grandson, Rabbi Shneur Zalman, was born in Medzeboz but later moved to Lubovitch where he founded the CHABAD (Lubavitch) movement. (The name Chabad comes from the initial letters of the 3 upper sefirot of Isaac Lauria’s kabbalistic Tree of life - Hokhma, wisdom; Binah, intelligence; Dat, knowledge.)

 The Baal Shem Tov’s teachings were largely based upon the Kabbalistic teachings of Isaac Lauria but his approach made the benefits of these teachings accessible even to the simplest Jew. He emphasized the profound importance and significance of prayer, love of G-d and the 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 daily prayer, love of G-d and love of one’s fellow Jew. He also taught that while Torah study was important that it was not the only way to draw close to G-d and emphasized the importance of having a close relationship with a rebbe, a great Torah scholar who would be one’s mentor and spiritual leader. The Baal Shem Tov never wrote down his teachings himself but his followers and in particular his greatest pupil and successor as leader of the Chasidic movement, Rabbi Dov Baer, the Maggid of Mezritch, did. They have been rewritten and retold ever since then. At the time of the Baal Shem Tov’s death in 1760 the Chassidic movement had grown to approximately ten thousand followers. It subsequently grew to include a large portion of European Jewry and continues to be a significant force in the Jewish world today.

 If you want to read more about the teachings and the stories of the Baal Shem Tov and the Chassidic movement I would recommend:

The Legend of the Baal Shem Tov by Martin Buber (Routledge 2002)

The Path of the Baal Shem Tov by David Sears ( Jason Aronson Press 1997)

Chassidic Masters: History, Biography, Thought by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan