205. The Baal Shem Tov Caused His Talmidim To Hear Voices From Another World

00:16 Shalom Aleichem, kinderlach. We just passed Shavuos. Shavuos was the Yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov. I wanna tell you in a, in a beautiful, beautiful, inspiring story of the Baal Shem Tov, which is told by the previous Rebbe. Previous Rebbe, in his letters, describes the story in great detail. As you all know, the Baal Shem Tov used to be very, very mekarev, very close to the simple people. These were people, Jews, who didn't know much how to learn. In fact, they barely knew how to translate the Hebrew words, but they were very, very... loved Hashem with all their hearts, and they feared Hashem. They wanted to do everything they knew. They didn't know all the halachas because they weren't learned. But whatever they knew, they did with all their hearts. And when they would daven, even if they didn't understand all the words, what they mean, but they said it with such passion, with such excitement, because they felt a love for Hashem that was so unusual, that even the big hakhamim didn't have. The Baal Shem Tov appreciated that, and that's why he showed great love for these simple people. But the Baal Shem Tov, as you know, had also other Hasidim. The simple people, a lot of them used to come to the Baal Shem Tov because everybody heard, all the simple people, the farmers, the tailors, the shoemakers, who were very simple people, they heard how much the Baal Shem Tov loves them. So they all started coming to the Baal Shem

01:48 Tov in great numbers to visit in Medzhybizh for Shabbos. They wanted to be close to this great tzadik who loves them and appreciates them, because the big talmidi hakhamim of the time didn't appreciate the simple people. They thought the simple people are am ha'aretz, they don't know the halachas, they don't observe mitzvahs properly because they don't know what to do, what not to do. The Baal Shem Tov said, "No, no, no, no, no. These simple people I love more than anything, more than anyone. And Hashem loves them more than anyone, and that's why I love them more than anyone. There's something so beautiful about them." But the Baal Shem Tov, as you know, had also talmid-- uh, had talmidim that were great, great gaonim. They were some of the greatest gaonim of the time, and tzadikim who became the Baal Shem Tov's talmidim. Like, we know the Mezritcher Maggid was a gaon, gaon, big, big gaon. He was already famous before he came to the Baal Shem Tov when he was still a misnaged. And then he came to Baal Shem Tov and became his chosid, his talmid. And there was the, the Toldos Yaakov Yosef, Yaakov Yosef of Polnoye. There was a great gaon, Reb Chaim HaKohen Rapoport, who was the Rav in Lwow. There were many. He had about 60 talmidim. Sixty talmidim that were all great gaonim and great tzadikim. These gaonim, tzadikim, they also wanted to learn from the Baal Shem Tov. And of course, they saw the greatness of the

03:14 Baal Shem Tov, and they weren't so excited about the Baal Shem Tov making a big deal about these simple people. So they, they didn't like it. Why is he making a big deal about it? These are very simple people. They don't know anything. They don't understand the Torah. Why is he loving them so much and making them feel like they're so important? They, they couldn't understand it. One Shabbos, it was a summer Shabbos, it's a long Shabbos. Many, many simple Jews, farmers, and all kinds of people from all different, uh, um, places in the... in, in Russia and Ukraine, uh, tailors and, and shoemakers and, and all kinds of people, farmers that worked the land, that had animals, people that had milk farms with, with animals and cows and birds, and they raised eggs, and there were people who had vineyards where they grew grapes and other fruits, and gardens. Simple people, but very, very warm people, people that loved Hashem, but they didn't know much. And they came for the Shabbos. Now, there was a rule in the, in the, in the, in the shul of the Baal Shem Tov that for the first... The Baal Shem Tov had three meals, like Seudat, they have Shalesh Yudis, three meals. So Friday night and Shabbos lunch, everybody was allowed to come to the meal, even the simple people. But there was one meal by Shalesh Yudis, the third meal, where no one was allowed, only the great gaonim and tzadikim were allowed there. The simple

04:51 people weren't allowed to be in that room. They weren't allowed to be in the same room. It was very, uh, private and personal between the Baal Shem Tov and these great gaonim. That Shabbos, many, many farmers came, simple Jews came to the Baal Shem Tov, and when they came Friday night to the table, to the tish, to the meal of the Baal Shem Tov, the Baal Shem Tov showed incredible love for them. He... One, one, one guy, he was a simple farmer, so barely knew how to read the words in Hebrew, and the Baal Shem Tov called him over and gave him special wine from his own cup, from the Baal Shem Tov's cup. Another guy, also a simple am ha'aretz, didn't know much, but he was such a warm and excited Jew. He loved coming to shul, but he didn't understand much, but he loved Hashem. And Baal Shem Tov gave him, "Come, make kiddush with my own cup." The Baal Shem Tov gave him his personal cup, and he said, "Make kiddush." A third one, the Baal Shem Tov called over, said, "Here, take from my challah." And then there was another guy, you know, Yankel the schlepper, was just a simple guy. Baal Shem Tov says, "Come, sit next to me. You take... You'll eat from my plate. You know, see my fish? You'll eat a piece of the same fish that I'm eating from." Like such kind of Kiruvim, closeness and love that he showed to those simple people, that was

06:11 very unusual. Even to the great Gaonim Tzadikim, they didn't show such closeness and such love. So they were-- they became like very, um, there were many of the Talmidim, the great Gaonim, who were very, um, very, um, surprised. Why is he making a big deal about these simple people? They, they don't know much, and they don't do things right, and, and they, they're Amoratzim, and they're s-simple, and they're... What's suddenly such a big deal about them? So they, they didn't say anything, but they felt a little bad. Now, I made a mistake. It's not the third meal, the second meal. The second meal, the Baal Shem Tov only did... So that means Shabbos lunch. Shabbos lunch, he only did it with a Chevrei Kadisha. They called the Chevrei Kadisha the Holy Chevrei, the Holy Chevra, the Holy Group. That's what they were called. The great Gaonim Tzadikim were called the Holy Chevrei, Chevrei Kadisha, and Baal Shem Tov had a special meal only with them. The simple people did not come to that meal. So they came to lunch. The simple Jews who came to visit the Baal Shem Tov for Shabbos knew that they can't go to the second meal. So what did they do? They ate lunch in their own little place where they stayed, in a little motel. And then for after the meal, they went to Shul and said Tehillim. They didn't know how to learn. They couldn't open up a Gemara or a Chumash and learn. They didn't understand the

07:49 words, but they knew what to say Tehillim. So they would say Tehillim for hours and hours and hours, and they would sing and say it with great passion. Meanwhile, the Baal Shem Tov is sitting with his great and close Talmidim who were the great Gaonim. And normally, the way they always did it is they would sing Nigunim, and then the Baal Shem Tov would say words of Torah. And the, the Chevrei Kadisha, these holy great Tzadikim who are sitting at the Baal Shem Tov's table, saw that the Baal Shem Tov was in a very good mood, which is a good sign. It's a sign that the Baal Shem Tov is going to say a lot of Torah for them. So they got very excited. Then a few of the great Talmidim, um, started thinking in their heads, you know, now it's so great to be alone with the Baal Shem Tov, and he's gonna talk to us like deep Inyanim, steep things from Torah and Chassidus, which he doesn't do when there are simple people. When simple people are there, the Baal Shem Tov spoke simple things so the simple people can understand. But now he says it's great because now they're not here, we can have a good time with the Baal Shem Tov. Baal Shem Tov is gonna teach us some deep Inyanim. And that's what they were thinking, you know, that it's a shame that Friday night felt like we couldn't hear anything meaningful from the Baal Shem Tov because all these

09:10 simple people were there. Suddenly, the Baal Shem Tov, they didn't say anything. They were just thinking in their heads. Suddenly, Baal Shem Tov's face turned very serious. Very, very serious. And he began to speak, and he says, it says in the Gemara that Baalei Teshuva, people who do Teshuva, people who do Averus all their lives, and then they decided to do Teshuva and come close to Hashem, they're greater even than Tzadikim who never did Averus. Why? Because Baal Teshuva feels bad. But he feels bad about his Averus, so when he comes to Hashem to get closer to Hashem, he does it with a broken heart because he's broken over the Averus he did. When somebody's broken, he comes before Hashem, that Hashem loves especially. A person who's not brokenhearted, but they, they feel like, you know, I'm a Tzadik, and they love Hashem, of course, but that's not the same thing. Hashem loves the Baal Teshuva more. A Baal Teshuva is greater than a Tzadik. That's what the Baal Shem Tov said, and he said, the simple people, that's what he said, the simple Jews that are not here with us now, they were here with us last night, they are like the Baal Teshuvas because they don't know anything, so they feel always bad. They're always broken in front of Hashem that they don't know so much, and they don't know how to do the mitzvahs properly because they don't know all the halachas. And that makes them so special and so beloved by

10:43 Hashem, and that's why I love them too. Those Talmidim that were thinking about why the Baal Shem Tov is Mekarev so many of the simple people realized that the Baal Shem Tov was reading their thoughts with Ruach Hakodesh, and he knew what they were thinking, and that's why he said what he said. After he finished speaking, the Talmidim began to sing again. And, um, and then the Baal Shem Tov became very, very Fadvekit. Fadvekit means he became deep in thought, like he closed his eyes. You could see that he was in another world. He was deep in thought, and they kept singing while he was deep in thought, and when they finished singing, he opened his holy eyes, and he looked very, very strongly and seriously at each one of his Talmidim, and then he told them to do something very unusual. He said... You know, the Talmidim were sitting around the table. He was sitting, the Baal Shem Tov was sitting at the head, and all the Talmidim were sitting around the table. He said to each Talmid to take his right hand and put it on the shoulder of the next Talmid next to him. And so each Talmid put his hand on the shoulder of the Talmid next to him so that it was like a completely, like a, a chain, a chain of Talmidim that were all the way from one side of the table to the other side of the table. Everybody was connected. And then when they finished putting

12:25 their hands on each other's shoulders, the Baal Shem Tov took his holy right hand, put it on the shoulder of the Talmid that was sitting to his right, and his left hand on the shoulder of the Talmid that was sitting to his left, and now there was a closed chain, like a full circle, 'cause all the Talmidim were connected through their hands on the shoulders of their friends, and the Baal Shem Tov closed the circle because now he had his hand on the Talmid to his right and his left hand on the Talmid to his left, and that was a closed circle. And suddenly, the Talmidim started hearing voices, sounds, strange sounds. Suddenly they hear this very, very, very emotional cry from the depth of the heart of a person, of a Jew who is singing with a sweet voice, the crying out, "Oi, Ribono shel olam, oi, Hashem, imrei Hashem amoros tehoros, Hashem's words are so pure." And he- then the second voice out of another person they can hear. When they c- they closed their eyes. The Baal Shem told them to close their eyes, and they, when they closed their eyes and they kept their hands on the shoulders of their f- of the person next to them. So while they closed their eyes with a closed circle of hands on each other's shoulders, they heard these unusual voices. Voi- they didn't know where it came from. There was nobody in the room that was crying like this, but they could hear

14:00 voices coming from another place. Then they heard a voice saying, "Oi, Ribono shel olam, bochoni, Hashem, ve'nasseini. Please, Hashem, test me and, and help me become better and purer." They said words of Tehillim. And this one s- this, the other one said, "Oi, beloved Father in heaven, in, in, in shamayim, please choneini, Elokim, chones Hashem, save me and help me. I wanna be with you all the time." And then another one was crying and saying, "I give valt, sweet Tatte in heaven. Yoka malachim yifutzo eivav. May Hashem disperse all his enemies. May He destroy all his enemies." And the other one cried, "Oi, Hashem, gam tzipa motzo ba'ais." And so they kept hearing on and on and on, people who were crying from the depth of their hearts, saying the words of Tehillim with such sweet songs and voices. The, the, the Maggid said later when he told the story to the, to the Alter Rebbe, he was in that group, in the Chavrei Kadisha. So he's described what it was like. He says, "All of us were shaking when we heard these voices. It was so powerful that we w- began to feel like this tremendous desire to come close to Hashem. We felt like a desire to do more tshuva because we were so inspired by these voices. These voices made us feel like we wanted to be close to Hashem in a way that I've never felt in my life so intensely." So intense was the feeling, the desire to get close

15:37 to Hashem. You felt like this love and this desire. These are my, my, my, my, my slippers. He wa- he wearing slippers. It was soaked with w- with tears and with sweat. And he says, "Then the Baal Shem Tov took off his h- holy hands from the two people on his right and on his left, and all the voices stopped." They didn't hear anything anymore. And then the Baal Shem Tov said... They finished singing. They sang, and they finished singing. The Baal Shem Tov said, "You should know that the voices that you heard, these terrifying voices that made you feel like shaking, you were like, like shaking inside, you felt this desire, you should know this came from the simple Jews that are sitting in the Beit Midrash now and saying Tehillim. I want you to see the emes, the deep, deep, deep emes that lies, that lies inside of them. You don't see, you don't appreciate them because you don't see how deep and how, and how beautiful their neshamas are. But what you just heard, this is from their neshamas." And that's when the Talmidim realized that the Baal Shem Tov sees something in those simple Jews that they can't see. And from that point on, they never, they never questioned why the Baal Shem Tov is doing it. They realized the Baal Shem Tov taught them a whole new lesson, how to appreciate the simple Jew who doesn't know much, but he feels bad about it, and he wants to do everything

17:07 he can with, with Hashem, with love, as he loves Hashem. And there's something so special about it that even that tzaddik, even the, the biggest gon, doesn't have that kind of special connection to Hashem like these simple Jews.