Baʿal Shem Ṭov

Baʿal Shem Ṭov

▪ Polish rabbi
Introduction
(Hebrew: “Master of the Good Name”),byname of  Israel Ben Eliezer,  acronym  Beshṭ 
born c. 1700, , probably Tluste, Podolia, Pol.
died 1760, Medzhibozh

      charismatic founder (c. 1750) of Ḥasidism, a Jewish spiritual movement characterized by mysticism and opposition to secular studies and Jewish rationalism. He aroused controversy by mixing with ordinary people, renouncing mortification of the flesh, and insisting on the holiness of ordinary bodily existence. He was also responsible for divesting Kabbala (esoteric Jewish mysticism) of the rigid asceticism imposed on it by Isaac ben Solomon Luria (Luria, Isaac ben Solomon) in the 16th century.

Life
      The Beshṭ's life has been so adorned with fables and legends that a biography in the ordinary historical sense is not possible. He came from humble and obscure beginnings in a village known to contemporary Jews as Okop or Akuf, depending on the Hebrew vocalization. As a young orphan he held various semi-menial posts connected with synagogues and Hebrew elementary religious schools. After marrying the daughter of the wealthy and learned Ephraim of Kuty, he retired to the Carpathian Mountains to engage in mystical speculation, meanwhile eking out his living as a lime digger. During this period his reputation as a healer, or baʿal shem, who worked wonders by means of herbs, talismans, and amulets inscribed with the divine name, began to spread. He later became an innkeeper and a ritual slaughterer and, about 1736, settled in the village of Medzhibozh, in Podolia. From this time until his death, he devoted himself almost entirely to spiritual pursuits.

      Though the Beshṭ gained no special renown as a scholar or preacher during his lifetime, he made a deep impression on his fellow Jews by going to the marketplace to converse with simple people and by dressing like them. Such conduct by a holy man was fiercely condemned in some quarters but enthusiastically applauded in others. The Beshṭ defended his actions as a necessary “descent for the sake of ascent,” a concept that eventually evolved into a socio-theological theory that placed great value on this type of spiritual ministration.

      While still a young man, the Beshṭ had become acquainted with such figures as Rabbi Naḥman of Gorodënka and Rabbi Naḥman of Kosov, already spoken of as creators of a new life, and with them he regularly celebrated the ritual of the three sabbath meals. In time it became customary for them to deliver pious homilies and discourses after the third meal, and the Beshṭ took his turn along with the others. Many of these discourses were later recorded and have been preserved as the core of Ḥasidic literature. When the Beshṭ's spiritual powers were put to a test by other members of the group—an indication that he probably was not yet recognized as the “first among equals”—he reportedly recognized a mezuzah (ritual object affixed to a doorpost) as ritually “unfit” by means of his clairvoyant powers.

      The Beshṭ gradually reached the point where he was prepared to renounce the strict asceticism of his companions. In words recorded by his grandson Rabbi Baruch of Medzhibozh, he announced:

I came into this world to point a new way, to prevail upon men to live by the light of these three things: love of God, love of Israel, and love of Torah. And there is no need to perform mortifications of the flesh.

      By renouncing mortification in favour of new rituals, the Beshṭ in effect had taken the first step toward initiating a new religious movement within Judaism. The teaching of the Beshṭ centred on three main points: communion with God, the highest of all values; service in ordinary bodily existence, proclaiming that every human deed done “for the sake of heaven” (even stitching shoes and eating) was equal in value to observing formal commandments; and rescue of the “sparks” of divinity that, according to the Kabbala, were trapped in the material world. He believed that such sparks are related to the soul of every individual. It was the Beshṭ's sensitivity to the spiritual needs of the unsophisticated and his assurance that redemption could be attained without retreat from the world that found a ready response among his listeners, the common Jewish folk. He declared that they were, one and all, “limbs of the divine presence.”

      The Beshṭ and his followers were fiercely attacked by rabbinical leaders for “dancing, drinking, and making merry all their lives.” They were called licentious, indifferent, and contemptuous of tradition—epithets and accusations that were wild exaggerations, to say the least.

      An understanding of the Beshṭ's view of the coming of the messiah depends to a great extent on the interpretation of a letter attributed to, but not signed by, the Beshṭ. It affirms that the author made “the ascent of the soul,” met the Messiah in heaven, and asked him when he would come. The answer he received was: “when your well-springs shall overflow far and wide”—meaning that the Beshṭ had first to disseminate the teaching of Ḥasidism. According to one view, the story indicates that the messianic advent was central in the Beshṭ's belief; according to another, it effectively removes messianic redemption from central spiritual concern in the life that must be lived here and now.

Influence
      During his lifetime, the Beshṭ brought about a great social and religious upheaval and permanently altered many traditional values. In an atmosphere marked by joy, new rituals, and ecstasy, he created a new religious climate in small houses of prayer outside the synagogues. The changes that had occurred were further emphasized by the wearing of distinctive garb and the telling of stories. Though the Beshṭ never did visit Israel and left no writings, by the time he died, he had given to Judaism a new religious dimension in Ḥasidism that continues to flourish to this day.

      Among the Beshṭ's most outstanding pupils was Rabbi Jacob Joseph of Polonnoye, whose books preserve many of the master's teachings. He speaks with holy awe of his religious teacher in tones that were echoed by other disciples, such as Dov Baer of Mezrechye, Rabbi Nahum of Chernobyl, Aryeh Leib of Polonnoye, and a second grandson, Rabbi Ephraim of Sydoluvka, who was but one of many to embellish the image of his grandfather with numerous legends.

Rivka Schatz-Uffenheimer Sid Z. Leiman

Additional Reading
Dov Baer, Shivḥé ha-Beshṭ (1814), is the earliest collection of legends (in Hebrew) about the Baʿal Shem Ṭov. Dan Ben-Amos and Jerome R. Mintz (eds. and trans.), In Praise of Baal Shem Tov (1970), offers an English translation of Dov Baer's legends, based upon the 1814 edition. Meyer Levin, The Golden Mountain (1932); and Martin Buber, Die Legende des Baalschem (1932; The Legend of the Baal-Shem, 1955), retell with literary flair the legends of the Baʿal Shem Ṭov. Salomo Birnbaum, Leben und Worte des Baalschem (1920; The Life and Sayings of the Baal Shem, 1933), contains excerpts from the writings and teachings of the Baʿal Shem Ṭov.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Shem Tov Ben Joseph Falaquera — Shem Tov Shem Tov est un nom hébraïque, signifiant le Bon Nom, c est à dire la bonne renommée. On dit que certains d entre eux sont d ascendance davidique. Les guérisseurs sont souvent désignés comme porteurs de bonne renommée (Baal Shem Tov), d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov — (c. 1390 ndash; c. 1440) (Hebrew: שם טוב אבן שם טוב) was a Spanish kabbalist and fierce opponent of rationalistic philosophy.BiographyShem Tov was president of a yeshivah in Spain. He lived about 1390 1440 (Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya, Shalshelet ha… …   Wikipedia

  • SHEM-TOV, VICTOR — (1915– ), Israeli politician, member of the Fifth, Sixth, Tenth, and Eleventh Knessets. Shem Tov was born in the town of Samokov, Bulgaria. As a youth he was a member of the Maccabi ha Ẓa ir youth movement. He attended high school in Sofia, and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon — (1283 ca. 1330) (Hebrew: שם טוב בן אברהם אבן גאון) was a Spanish Talmudist and kabbalist. Biography Shem Ṭob was born at Soria, Spain. From his genealogy given in the preface to his Keter Shem Ṭob, Azulai ( Shem ha Gedolim, ii., s.v. Keter Shem… …   Wikipedia

  • Shem-Tov ibn Falaquera — Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, also spelled Palquera (1225 ndash; c. 1290) (Hebrew: שם טוב בן יוסף אבן פלקירה) was a Spanish philosopher and poet. He was well versed in Arabic and Greek philosophy, and had a fine critical sense. Falaquera… …   Wikipedia

  • Shem Tov — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Shem Tov (hébreu : שם טוב, grec : Καλονυμος Kalonymos « Bon (re)nom ») est une expression hébraïque, utilisée comme prénom, patronyme… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Shem Tov — (Rabbi Shem Tov ben Yitzhak Ardutiel, Sem Tob, Santo, Santob de Carrión) (ca. 1290–ca. 1369)    Shem Tov (“Good Name” in Hebrew) was a 14thcentury Castilian Jew who composed poetry in both Spanish and Hebrew during the reigns of Alfonso XI… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Shem Tov ben Shem Tov — Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meïr (* 1286 in Arles (?); † nach 1328) war ein provencalischer jüdischer Autor und Übersetzer. Der Name ist die Gräzisierung des hebräischen Namens Shem Tov ben Shem Tov ben Meïr. Der vermutlich in Arles geborene… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Shem Tov ben Shem Tov ben Meir — Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meïr (* 1286 in Arles (?); † nach 1328) war ein provencalischer jüdischer Autor und Übersetzer. Der Name ist die Gräzisierung des hebräischen Namens Shem Tov ben Shem Tov ben Meïr. Der vermutlich in Arles geborene… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Shem Tov ben Shem Tov ben Meïr — Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meïr (* 1286 in Arles (?); † nach 1328) war ein provencalischer jüdischer Autor und Übersetzer. Der Name ist die Gräzisierung des hebräischen Namens Shem Tov ben Shem Tov ben Meïr. Der vermutlich in Arles geborene… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • La famille Shem Tov — Shem Tov Shem Tov est un nom hébraïque, signifiant le Bon Nom, c est à dire la bonne renommée. On dit que certains d entre eux sont d ascendance davidique. Les guérisseurs sont souvent désignés comme porteurs de bonne renommée (Baal Shem Tov), d… …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”