Shalom


These stories come from Yitzhak Buxbaum's book of stories about the Baal Shem Tov. I was planning on using them for my sermon. Perhaps we should think about bringing him to speak at M'vakshe Derekh.

Enjoy...

Happy New Year!


The Baal Shem Tov

Your Own Sins

BAAL SHEM TOV WAS ONCE IN A CERTAIN TOWN WHERE HE MET A PREACHER who was constantly inveighing against the evil inclination that leads people to the gates of hell. "Tell me," the Besht asked him, "how do you know so much about the ways of the evil inclination, when you've never committed any sins of your own?" The preacher was puzzled. "How do you know that I haven't sinned?" "My friend," said the Besht, "if you have sinned, then first rebuke yourself. Don't go on making a long list of other people's sins."'

The Stolen Harness

THE BAAL SHEM TOV WAS ONCE ABOUT TO BEGIN A JOURNEY, BUT SINCE IT / was the evening for blessing the new moon, he delayed his departure from Medzibuz until nighttime. He told his attendant to have the horses harnessed to the coach and ready to travel, so that he could leave as soon as he returned from the syna¬gogue. The attendant did as he was told, getting the horses' equipment, harnessing the horses to the coach, and bringing the coach out to the front of the house.

Then, the Baal Shem Tov, accompanied by one of his disciples, left his house to go recite the new moon blessing with the congregation. As they began walking down the street, the disciple wanted to turn around to look back, but the Besht told him not to, saying, "Don't look. Someone is stealing the harness from the horses." The disciple was surprised at the Besht's words and even more surprised at his explanation, which followed. "He's stealing because he needs money for Sabbath expenses." So they went on to the synagogue and out in front of the synagogue, on the street, they blessed the new moon with the congregation.

When they were walking back and nearing the house, the Besht's attendant had just discovered that the harness was missing and began to shout, "Who stole the harness?" But the Besht hushed him, saying, "Don't shout! The thief pawned it with a certain person. Take this money"-he handed him a specific sum-"and go to him and redeem it. And don't publicize the matter."

The holy Baal Shem Tov judged the thief favorably, for good-that he was stealing for his Sabbath expenses. Later that day, the Besht reached the town to which he was traveling. And between Minha and Maariv he taught his disciples there about judging others favorably. He said, "I once made a soul-ascent and saw the angel Michael, the great heavenly intercessor for Israel, defending the Jewish people by arguing that all their vices in money matters, such as cheating in business, were really virtues, because



all their lowly acts were done in order to be able to serve God-to have money to make a shidduch (marriage-connection) with a Torah scholar or to give tzedaka and so on. From Michael," said the Besht, "I learned how to defend the Jewish people before the heavenly court."
"Earlier today in Medzibuz, I saw a thief stealing something from me. I didn't try to stop him and told myself that he was stealing for his Sabbath expenses. It might seem farfetched to say that the thief was stealing, so to speak, for the honor of the Sabbath. But why did God-who created everything for a purpose-give us the ability to be illogical? The answer is: So we could justify the faults of others. Most of us twist logic to justify our own behavior, but we should actually use our irrationality only to justify others.
"Never speak ill of any Jew, or when the Satan accuses him, he'll call you to be his witness. When the Satan accuses a Jew before the Throne of Glory, his single accusa¬tion is not accepted as true, because the Torah says: `According to two witnesses shall the matter be established.' Therefore, the Satan waits until he can find a partner to defame the person. If you have to mention a particular person when condemning some bad trait, say explicitly that you're not talking about the person himself, but just about his bad trait.

Arousing an Accusation Above
1( DURING THE PRAYERS ONE ROSH HASHANAH, THE SNUFF BOX OF ONE OF the Baal Shem Tov's disciples fell to the ground, whereupon he picked it up and sniffed the tobacco. This disciple, like some others at that time, used snuff to keep alert and increase his concentration while praying. But another disciple was annoyed at seeing this and thought, "How can he interrupt in the middle of the prayers and sniff tobacco?" This tzaddik's annoyance aroused an accusation in heaven and caused a heavenly decree that the man he criticized die that year.
The Besht saw all this with his holy spirit and made a soul-ascent to defend the accused before the heavenly court, "How can a punishment of death be decreed for such a minor transgression?" But none of his arguments succeeded and he could not cause the decree to be annulled. As a result, the Besht was upset and troubled.
On Hoshanna Rabba*, he made another soul-ascent, and he argued and complained and cried out, until he achieved by his prayer that if the accuser himself found a justifi¬cation for his comrade, the decree would be ripped up and the other disciple par¬doned. The Besht then entered his belt midrash, and found the accusing disciple sitting reciting the Hoshanna Rabba Tikkun. By mystical means, the Baal Shem Tov removed the disciple's power of concentration so that he could no longer recite the tikkun with d'vekut! He then got up and began to walk around thinking about various matters, such as, "Why did divine providence arrange for snuff and smoking tobacco to be introduced into Europe in recent generations?" It occurred to him that certain souls were only able to meditate and concentrate with the help of tobacco. When he thought this, he regretted having been critical of his fellow disciple, who had been sniffing tobacco while praying.
Now, on Hoshanna Rabba, the Baal Shem Tov's custom was to answer questions of all sorts. And this day he was in a very good mood and was answering questions put to him by his disciples. This disciple asked him, "Why was tobacco introduced in recent generations?" "What do you think?" replied the Besht. The disciple told him what he had thought. Then the Besht asked him why he had been thinking about this. The dis¬ciple remembered, and told him how he had been critical of his comrade and had onlynow found a justification for what he had done. The Besht knew that because the accuser had repaired the damage by finding an excuse, the decree was nullified. He then revealed to the disciple what had happened and told him the danger his fellowdisciple had been in because of his judgmental attitude and his critical thoughts. The Besht went on to rebuke him severely about this and warned him not to judge another person, saying, "When you see someone acting badly, don't judge him, because it arouses an accusation against him in heaven. Judge others favorably, and then you too will be judged favorably.”
"

Shanah tovah…a gut yohr….
It is no coincidence that the Jewish New Year begins just as we bid farewell to summer, and welcome the Fall.The changing season inspires us to turn inward, and reflect on the course of our lives and our relationships, and at the same time, the changing season invites us into the strong contrasts which can lead to clarity. This clarity and inward movement affords us the ability to wipe our slates clean, as well as the possibility for real change.
1) Last week I talked about teshuvah, repentence and some of the
tradional jewish laws which apply to it:

The word “Teshuvah” comes from the root “ShaV/Shuv” Shin Bet, which means to turn, or to return, and it implies a movement inward

I pointed out last week that there are
2 kinds of sins for which the Jewish tradition teaches we must do teshuvah for:

God and man, man and man

For sins between god and man, the gemara says, yk provides repentence,
but not for sins btwn m and m.

Accding to rambam, repentence is complete when you are faced with the
same situation again but don't do it.

When you are at this pt, you must go and apologoze to the other b/c
you are in their debt, but only 3 times, and then the sin lies on
their head.

This week, I am going to say a bit about the other side of the coin
from repentence, that is forgiveness.

Ordinarily, we think of forgiveness as something that really virtuous people do -- people who are stronger than you and me -- when they accept that someone has wronged them, but somehow are able to get past it and move ahead. This implies that forgiveness is an act of only those who are most pious among us, those who are most spiritual. This, to me, is a cop-out, an excuse. Forgiveness, and judging others favorably are two important attributes in Jewish ethics, and though it may be difficult to forgive, and to suspend our inner voice which constantly judges others, tradition encourages all Jews, even those who are not overly pious to do so. Not just for the sake of those who are asking our forgiveness, or those who we may judge, but for our own sakes, because carrying grudges is detrimental not only for our neighbor who we hold a grudge against, but also for ourselves, (to both our mental and physical health.)

What I would like to offer as an aid to those of us who have a hard time giving up our grudges (and I think this probably applies to all of us) is that forgiveness is an act of release. By forgiving others, or refraining from judging others, we are letting go of something that burdens us, something that weighs us down. In order to do this, we need to begin by holding back our ego...and our need to be ‘right’

I invite you to ask just who we think is really "wronging" us when we are hurt by another person. Why did that person make the choice, say the words, do the deed that s/he "chose" to do? Well, obviously, because of a thousand causes and conditions, many of which we may not even be aware of…

Being angry at someone for an offense they may have had a hand in causing is like when we get angry at traffic for being there, or at a computer for not working right, or at a baby for crying. Sure, the offensive person is more intricate than the traffic patterns, microchips, and baby -- but only different in degree, not in kind

It's like the woman who was upset at not being invited to her friend's wedding, and held a grudge for 20 years... until the invitation finally arrived in the mail accompanied by an apology from the Post Office.

Sometimes we feel we lack either the tools or patience to forgive, or to judge others favorably. As a matter of fact, more often than not we feel there could not possibly be any excuse or justification for certain behavior.

We can challenge these thoughts and prove how talented and ingenious we can be in inventing excuses for others - by seeing how well we do it for ourselves:

BUDDHIST STORY
2 monks walking through the woods and acc to orth Buddhist tradition it’s illegal for a man to touch a woman. They see a woman by a river and she can’t cross b/c she doesn’t want to get wet. She asks the monks for help, the teacher picks her up and carries her across the river and then puts her down on the other side. She thanks them and they keep walking (for 2 hhours). The disciple [continually looks at his teacher strangely] and when his teacher asks him what is bothering him, he turns to the teacher…
We are not supposed to touch women..you picked her up and carried her.. yes, I picked her up and put her down across…but YOU have been carrying her around for the past two hours.

Though I just gave you an example from the Buddhist tradition of how we can carry around our negative judgements, forgiveness and favorably judging others are well-known and oft-repeated imperatives in Judaism as well. Countless times we are enjoined by the sages to look upon others sympathetically, always assuming the best and never presuming the worst
(M. Avot 1:6; Derech Eretz 1:31).
A few examples:
• According to the Talmud, if you even suspect an innocent person of doing wrong, you must apologize and bless him!
• Hillel said: Judge not your fellow man until you have been in his place
• If a Jewish court unanimously convicted a person of murder, the person went free because no one judged him favorably!
• Joshua ben Perahiah said: When you judge anyone, tip the scale in his favor
• R. Yose said: May my portion be with him who is suspected of something he is innocent of
• When the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson was a little boy, he asked his father, Rabbi Sholom DovBer, "Why do we have two eyes?" His father replied, "We should always use the right eye to judge others favorably. We should always use the left eye to judge ourselves!"

As if to stress the importance of judging others favorably, the sages speak of the harsh punishment for one who presumes the worst of a good person - in or out of the courtroom. Citing biblical sources, the Talmud tells us that one who suspects the innocent of misdeeds is punished by suffering bodily harm Resh Lakish said: He who is suspicious of innocent people will be smitten in his body (B. Shabbat 97a).
We are enjoined to judge others favorably, and to develop our capacity to forgive. What, however, are the limits of this? Are there times when we should judge others, are there times when we should not forgive?
According to some rabbis, if someone habitually transgresses and we have seen no indication of change, then we are not required to automatically forgive, or suspend judgement
Automatic favorable judgment is reserved for those with a proven track record of righteousness.(tzadik gamur) A history of constant misconduct (rasha gamur), carries an opposite default: We suspiciously assume the worst, even when the deed appears at face value to be credible. Most people, however, fall somewhere in between these two categories(we are the beinoni), and when such people's actions can be construed in multiple ways, we are instructed, according to Rambam, to judge them favorably (Maimonides).
Thus our sages are clear about the importance of looking upon others with sympathetic eyes - even when this positive view is unlikely.
Why should we judge others favorably, isn’t it naïve? Might we run the risk of be taken advantage of…?
• One answer from the tradition [that speaks to me] is a utilitarian justification: If we judge others favorably, we can expect to be assessed in a similar vein by others In the Talmud it says that one who judges his fellow man on the scale of merit is himself judged favorably.
(B. Shabbat 127a-b; Eliyahu Zuta 16).
When we frown upon others, not only may we be doing them an injustice that may boomerang back on us one day, but we reflect what is inside ourselves. “As a face reflects a face in water, thus a person's heart reflects another person” (Proverbs 27:19) - what we see in others is a reflection of what is inside ourselves.
Jay Michaelson, a modern Jewish author, and acquaintance of mine writes, “Only a true artist can grasp the artwork of another; only the palate of a food connoisseur can fully appreciate an exquisite dish. Thus how we assess others mirrors our own innards.”
An important step on the path to piety is being able to recognize the good in other people. Eliminating the dross of assuming the worst in others, stamping out this reflex action, reflects a sincere effort to refine our own behavior and cleanse our souls.
A simple story from the 18th c. founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, illustrates this beautifully:
The Stolen Harness
THE BAAL SHEM TOV WAS ONCE ABOUT TO BEGIN A JOURNEY, BUT SINCE IT / was the evening for blessing the new moon, he delayed his departure from Medzibuz until nighttime. He told his attendant to have the horses harnessed to the coach and ready to travel, so that he could leave as soon as he returned from the syna¬gogue. The attendant did as he was told, getting the horses' equipment, harnessing the horses to the coach, and bringing the coach out to the front of the house.
Then, the Baal Shem Tov, accompanied by one of his disciples, left his house to go recite the new moon blessing with the congregation. As they began walking down the street, the disciple wanted to turn around to look back, but the Besht told him not to, saying, "Don't look. Someone is stealing the harness from the horses." The disciple was surprised at the Besht's words and even more surprised at his explanation, which followed. "He's stealing because he needs money for Sabbath expenses." So they went on to the synagogue and out in front of the synagogue, on the street, they blessed the new moon with the congregation.
When they were walking back and nearing the house, the Besht's attendant had just discovered that the harness was missing and began to shout, "Who stole the harness?" But the Besht hushed him, saying, "Don't shout! The thief pawned it with a certain person. Take this money"-he handed him a specific sum-"and go to him and redeem it. And don't publicize the matter."
The holy Baal Shem Tov judged the thief favorably, for good-that he was stealing for his Sabbath expenses. Later that day, the Besht reached the town to which he was traveling. And between Minha and Maariv he taught his disciples there about judging others favorably. He said, "I once made a soul-ascent and saw the angel Michael, the great heavenly intercessor for Israel, defending the Jewish people by arguing that all their vices in money matters, such as cheating in business, were really virtues, because
all their lowly acts were done in order to be able to serve God-to have money to make a shidduch (marriage-connection) with a Torah scholar or to give tzedaka and so on. From Michael," said the Besht, "I learned how to defend the Jewish people before the heavenly court."
"Earlier today in Medzibuz, I saw a thief stealing something from me. I didn't try to stop him and told myself that he was stealing for his Sabbath expenses. It might seem farfetched to say that the thief was stealing, so to speak, for the honor of the Sabbath. But why did God-who created everything for a purpose-give us the ability to be illogical? The answer is: So we could justify the faults of others. Most of us twist logic to justify our own behavior, but we should actually use our irrationality only to justify others.
"Never speak ill of any Jew, or when the Satan accuses him, he'll call you to be his witness. When the Satan accuses a Jew before the Throne of Glory, his single accusa¬tion is not accepted as true, because the Torah says: `According to two witnesses shall the matter be established.' Therefore, the Satan waits until he can find a partner to defame the person. If you have to mention a particular person when condemning some bad trait, say explicitly that you're not talking about the person himself, but just about his bad trait.

R. Nachman of Breslov the Besht’s grandson taught: “even if one seems to have no redeeming qualities, search further. " (Pirkei Avos Treasury, p. 26-7)

Let’s do this now:
Think about someone you know who does not appear to have any redeeming qualities.. It may be someone with whom you work, it may be an ornery family member It may be someone who goes to your school but is not one of your friends, or it may simply be a person who you don't know very well but who has a bad reputation. Now follow Rav Nachman's advice and make it your mission to find at least one good quality about that person.

Now…Remember what you have found, and discuss it with your loved ones, maybe over dinner…
I invite you during this season of reflection to look at the people who have wronged you and people who you may be judging, from a different perspective. In this world of so many trials, most people,(aside, perhaps, from the rasha gamur/the completely evil person) are trying to live their lives the best way they know how. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes things just happen, and there is no one, besides God, perhaps, that we can blame (by the way, there IS a rich history of people blaming God in Judaism..E.g.- Levi Yitzhak). Causes lead to effects. That is all. Even how we respond to those effects is itself an effect of many other causes.
We should even refrain, according to some, from judging ourselves too harshly for the same reasons. In the words of R’ Nachman,
"The Talmud says that we should always judge other people favorably. We must also judge ourselves favorably". (R. Nachman of Breslav)
This season, this time of repentance is an invitation to cultivate the ability to leave our mortal, limited, ego-centered selves behind and see things as they really are--a vast, selfless matrix of causes and effects, conditions and consequences, with only the illusions of a well-functioning brain leading us to think differently. This is true tshuva, true returning to our Source: knowing clearly that the ego is an illusion -- a blessed, vibrating, shining, dancing illusion, but an illusion nonetheless -- and that we are all God wearing ourselves as a mask--God pretending to be wronged, pretending to be evil, pretending to be you, pretending to be me.

We experience so much pain and loss in our lives from small/trivial losses to big losses… sometimes this can be unbearably painful, and we want there to be an explanation. A cause, a reason for our pain.. and so we lay blame…we judge, we hold on to grudges as if they are a life preserver and we are at drift in the middle of a tumultuous sea…

However, our own personal pain does not have to lead us into conflict, despair, and ultimately ulcers and grey hair. Feeling our own pain can also provide us the golden opportunity to step outside of ourselves, develop empathy, and realize that we are not alone in our pain--everyone experiences the same pain, the pain of impermanence and loss which is shared by all sentient beings. (Zusya said…).If we are able to relate to the world in this way, we will begin to cultivate empathy and forgiveness for others and for ourselves, and with time, perhaps, we will cease to carry around the extra burdens of resentment, anger and regret.

The Greek thinker, AESCHYLUS:
(escalus) wrote:

Even in our sleep pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom, through the awful grace of God.

Where there is suffering -- on the planetary scale, or in the political world, or in our own lives -- there the work begins.

OH GOD wipe our slates clean for the coming year, take away our resentment, anger and judgmentalism.

Bless us in this new year, in this season of forgiveness, with forgiving hearts so that we may reach out to others w/ compassion and bring peace and wholeness to a world that is full of turmoil and broken-ness and is so in need of healing.


SHANA TOVA