Israel ben Eliezer

Rabbi Israel (Yisroel) ben Eliezer (about 1698 Okopy Świętej Trójcy – May 22, 1760 Międzyborz) was a Jewish Orthodox mystical rabbi who is better known to most religious Jews as the Holy Baal Shem ("der Heiliger Baal Shem" in Yiddish), or most commonly, the Baal Shem Tov. The name "Baal Shem Tov" is usually translated into English as "Master of the Good Name", with "Tov" ("Good") modifying "Shem" (" Name"), although it is more correctly understood as a combination of Baal Shem ("Master of the Name") and Tov (an honorific epithet to the man). The name Besht?the acronym of the first letters of his name, bet shin tet?is typically used in print rather than speech. The appellation "Baal Shem" was not unique to Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer; however, it is Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer who has achieved near synonymity with "Baal Shem", being as he was the founder of the spiritual movement of Hasidic Judaism.

Early life and marriage

His benefactors gave up the hope of his ever becoming a rabbi, and made him a "helper", who took the children to and from school and rehearsed short benedictions and prayers with them. His sentimental nature, to which his later success was in great measure due, now stood him in good stead; for he could win children and attach them to him by explanations suited to their understanding. Later he became shammash (sexton) in the same community, and at about eighteen he married. When his young wife died he left the place, and after serving for a long time as helper in various small communities of Galicia, he settled as a teacher at Flust near Brody.

Related Topics:
Rabbi - Sexton - Married - Galicia - Flust - Brody

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On account of his recognized honesty and his knowledge of human nature he was chosen to act as arbitrator and mediator for people conducting suits against each other; and his services were brought into frequent requisition owing to the fact that the Jews had their own civil courts in Poland. In this avocation he succeeded in making so deep an impression upon the rich and learned Ephraim of Brody that the latter promised Besht his daughter Leah Rachel in marriage. The man died, however, without telling his daughter of her betrothal; but when she heard of his wish, she did not hesitate to comply.

Related Topics:
Human nature - Arbitrator - Mediator - Civil court - Ephraim of Brody

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Besht's wooing was characteristic. In the shabby clothes of a peasant he presented himself at Brody before Abraham Gerson Kytower, brother of the girl, and a recognized authority in the Kabbalah and the Talmud. Kytower was about to give him alms, when Besht produced a letter from his pocket, showing that he was the designated bridegroom. Kytower tried in vain to dissuade his sister Leah Rachel from shaming the family by marrying him, but she regarded her father's will alone as authoritative.

Related Topics:
Abraham Gerson Kytower - Kabbalah - Talmud

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After his marriage Israel ben Eliezer did not long remain with his brother-in-law, who was ashamed of him (for he kept up the pretense of being an ignorant fellow); and he went to a village in the Carpathians between Brody and Kassowa. His worldly property consisted of a horse given him by his brother-in-law. Israel ben Eliezer worked as a laborer, digging clay and lime, which his wife delivered every week by wagonload to the surrounding villages, and from this they derived their entire support. But the magnificent scenery in this, the finest region of the Carpathians, and the possibility of enjoying it without the interruptions of city life, compensated him for his great privations. Baal Shem Tov and Leah Rachel had two children: Udel and Zvi Hersh. Udel was born in 1720.

Related Topics:
Carpathians - Clay - Lime - 1720

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