Baal Shem Tov
Full name	ישראל בן אליעזר Yisroel ben Eliezer
Signature
Main work	Keter Shem Tov Shivchei HaBesht Tzavaat HaRivash
Born	Okopy Świętej Trójcy, Podolian Voivodeship, Kingdom of Poland
Died	6 Sivan 5520 (1760) Medzhybizh, Podolian Voivodeship, Kingdom of Poland
Buried	Medzhybizh
Successor	Dov Ber of Mezritsh (1704-1772)
Father	Eliezer
Mother	Sara
Wife	Chana
Children	Tsvi of Pinsk (1729-1779) Udel (1720-1787)

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Rabbi Yisroel (Israel) ben Eliezer (6 Sivan 5520 (1760, CE), (Hebrew: רבי ישראל בן אליעזר‎) often called Baal Shem Tov (/ˌbɑːl ˈʃɛm ˌtʊv/ or /ˌtʊf/) or Besht, was aJewish mystical rabbi. He is considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism (see also Mezhbizh Hasidic dynasty).

The Besht is better known to many religious Jews as “the holy Baal Shem” (der heyliger baal shem in Yiddish), or most commonly, the Baal Shem Tov (בעל שם טוב). The title Baal Shem Tov is usually translated into English as “Master of the Good Name,” but at least two other translations are possible:^[1]

• "Good Master of the Name," taking "Baal Shem" as a unit, meaning one who "owns the [holy] name" therefore has the power or uses Divine names to cure illnesses and perform miracles. I.e., an effective baal shem.
• "One who has a good reputation in the community," since in Hebrew idiom, "Baal" can mean "one characterized by" and "Shem" can mean "reputation," thus "one characterized by a good reputation."

The name Besht (בעש"ט) — the acronym from the words comprising that name, bet ayin shin tet—is typically used in print rather than speech. The appellation “Baal Shem” was not unique to Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer; however, it is Rabbi Yisroel ben Eliezer who is most closely identified as "The Baal Shem Tov", as he was the founder of the spiritual movement of Hasidic Judaism.

The little biographical information that is known about Besht is so interwoven with legends of miracles that in many cases it is hard to arrive at the historical facts. The attitude of the Chassidim themselves towards these legends is an unusual blend of suspicion on one hand, and childlike, almost naïve belief on the other. The Rebbe Shlomo of Rodomsk pithily declared, "Whoever believes all the miracle stories about the Baal Shem Tov in Shivhei HaBaal Shem Tov is a fool, but whoever denies that he could have done them is an apikoros [a heretic]." Similarly, the Rebbe Mordechai of Neshkiz explains, "Even if a story about him never actually occurred, and there was no such miracle, it was in the power of the Baal Shem Tov, may his memory be a blessing for the life of the World-to-Come, to perform everything."^[2]

Nevertheless, from the numerous legends connected with his birth it appears that his parents were poor, upright, and pious. When he was orphaned, his community cared for him. At school, he distinguished himself only by his frequent disappearances, being always found in the lonely woods surrounding the place, rapturously enjoying the beauties of nature. Many of his disciples believed that he came from the Davidic line tracing its lineage to the royal house of King David, and by extension with the institution of the Jewish Messiah.

Early life and marriage[edit]

Yisroel (Israel) was born on August 25, 1698 (known as "Chail Ellul" in the Hebrew calendar, or the 18th day of Ellul) to poor and not very young parents Eliezer and Sarah in a settlement near Okopy Świętej Trójcy, a newly built fortress close to Kameniec in the West Ukraine, where Zbruch connects with Dniester. The fortress was built as the new border post between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Ottoman Empire. Located in a historic land of Podolia, most of the territory at that time was part of the Ottoman Empire for a short period. Today, Okopy is a village located in the Borschiv Raion (district) of the Ternopil Oblast).

He died in Medzhybizh, (Ukrainian: Меджибіж, Polish: Międzybórz, Międzyborz or Międzybóż, Yiddish: מעזשביזש), which was part of Poland and today is situated in theKhmelnytskyi Oblast (Ukraine) (not to be confused with other cities of the same name).^[3]

At the age of 5 and 1/2, the Besht's father gave his son his last words before passing on. They were "fear absolutely no one or no thing but God, and love every single Jew no matter who he/she is and no matter what he/she is doing". In 1703, Israel became an orphan, and the Jewish community of Tloste adopted him, providing him with his basic needs. Often, after the conclusion of his studies at the local cheder (Jewish elementary school), he would wander into the fields and forests that surrounded the village to meditate and recognize the wonders of God's creation. In 1710, he finished cheder and became an assistant to a melamed (instructor in cheder). On his sixteenth birthday, Elijah the Prophet appeared to him and described to him the great effects the prayers of simple folk had in heaven. Sometime in 1712 Israel became a shammash (sexton) of the local synagogue.

He was periodically hired as a teacher's assistant in the cheders of the small villages through which they passed. He would later relate that he took great pleasure in accompanying the children to and from school, using this opportunity to recite prayers with them and tell them Torah stories. The children's innocence and the purity with which they prayed, the Baal Shem Tov explained, caused the Almighty great satisfaction. The Mezritcher Maggid, the Baal Shem Tov's successor, would later say, "If only we kissed a Torah scroll with the same love that my master [the Baal Shem Tov] kissed the children when he took them to cheder as a teacher's assistant!"^[4]

The Baal Shem Tov would have visions in which the prophet Achiya Hashiloni would appear to him.^[5] In 1716 the Baal Shem Tov married, but soon his wife died and he went on traveling throughout theEastern Galicia. After serving for a long time as helper in various small communities of the West Ukraine, he settled as a melamed at Tluste near Zalischyky.

The Besht was introduced to the secret Machaneh Israel group of Tzadikim Nistarim by Rabbi Adam Baal Shem of Ropczyce (Yiddish: ראָפּשיץ) who was a disciple of Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem (I) of Zamość(Yiddish: זאמושטש), the successor of Rabbi Eliyahu Baal Shem of Worms (Yiddish: ורמיזא, ורמישא).^[6]

The Besht became the leader of this movement at the age of 18.^[7] Caring for the Jewish poor, the group of Tzadikim encouraged Jews to move to agrarian lifestyles as alternatives to the chronic poverty which was the lot of city Jews. In continuation of this policy they decided that they needed to look after the educational needs of the children living in small farm communities. If a suitable teacher could not be sourced they themselves would do so until an alternative arrangement emerged. As such — and in keeping with Jewish doctrine "the letter bearer should fulfill its contents" — the Baal Shem Tov became a teacher’s assistant — and with unconditional love he tried to instill in these children honor for their parents and a love of God and fellow beings. He later commented "The most joyous time in my life was teaching the small children how to say Modeh Ani, Shema Yisrael and Kametz Alef Ah".^[8]

Due to his recognized honesty and his knowledge of human nature, he was chosen^{[by whom?]} to act as arbitrator and mediator for people conducting suits against each other; and his services were brought into frequent requisition because 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 The Besht his daughter Chana in marriage. The man died, however, without telling his daughter of her betrothal; but when she heard of her father's wishes, she did not hesitate to comply with them.

A well just outside of Medzhybizhthought to be hand-dug by the Baal Shem Tov himself. It still produces fresh water.

The courtship was characteristic. In the shabby clothes of a peasant he presented himself at Brody before Avraham Gershon of Kitov (Kuty), brother of the girl, head of a rabbinical court in Brody, and a recognized authority in the Kabbalah and the Talmud. Avraham Gershon was about to give him alms, when The Besht produced a letter from his pocket, showing that he was the designated bridegroom. Avraham Gershon tried in vain to dissuade his sister Chana from shaming their family by marrying him, but she regarded her father's will alone as authoritative.

After his marriage Israel ben Eliezer did not remain long 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 earthly possessions 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 the wagonload to the surrounding villages, and from this they derived their entire support. 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.

Israel ben Eliezer and Chana had two children: Udl (born in 1720) and Zvi Hersh.

See also: Baal Shem Tov family tree

Sefer Hasidim

Date and Authorship
Sefer Hasidim ("Book of the Pious") is one of our most important sources for the religion, history, and culture of medieval German Jewry. This Hebrew book originated between the late 12th and early 13th centuries in the Rhineland, shortly after the Second Crusade. Thereafter, it circulated widely, influencing the distinctive religious practices and Hebrew literary style of Jews in Ashkenaz but also shaping the discourse about Jewish ethics in medieval Europe and beyond.

Tradition attributes the authorship of Sefer Hasidim to Judah the Pious (d. 1217), one of the major figures associated with a circle or movement of German-Jewish pietists (Haside Ashkenaz) characterized by their distinctive combination of ethical and mystical concerns. Although most scholars grant Judah some role in the composition of Sefer Hasidim, it is clear from the extant manuscript evidence that the book is not simply the product of a single author's creative endeavors. Not only do the manuscripts preserve different forms of the text, which vary widely in shape and scope, but some of the quotations from this book in medieval Jewish literature find no counterpart in any of the versions which have survived into modern times.

Insofar as Sefer Hasidim was shaped by a relatively prolonged process of composition, collection, and redaction, it reflects a stance of collective authorship more akin to classical rabbinic literature than to the straightforward authorship of those works composed by contemporaneous Jewish scholars like Rashi and Maimonides. It is likely, for instance, thatSefer Hasidim integrates earlier oral and written sources (e.g., from smaller notebooks), such as material by Judah's father, Samuel b. Kalonymus (12th century). As with many medieval Jewish texts, however, the literary activity that shaped this book does not seem to have stopped with the initial act of composition and compilation. Rather, the material in Sefer Hasidim continued to be edited, rearranged, and supplemented by medieval tradents and redactors, possibly including Judah's most famous student, Eleazar of Worms (d. 1230).

Importance of Sefer Hasidim  
For the historian, Sefer Hasidim offers a treasure trove of information about the daily lives of medieval Jews under Christian rule. This compendium of traditions includes ethical, halakhic, midrashic, mystical, and even philosophical material. Presented as a guidebook for the practice of Jewish piety, it consists mostly of parables, homilies, and exempla that appeal to the everyday experiences of its author(s) and audience. As a result, the text teems with realia about the religious and cultural landscape of Europe in the Middle Ages.

Not least significant are its detailed descriptions of the encounters between Jews and Christians. Although written in the wake of the Crusades, Sefer Hasidim attests to a surprising range of contacts between Jews and Christians, spanning the continuum from their common participation in a shared cultural context to their interpersonal interactions, both polemical and routine. In effect, this book preserves a poignant snapshot of a pivotal stage in the history of Jewish-Christian relations in Europe, before the progressive imposition of social and political isolation on the Jewish people that eventually culminated in the Holocaust.

In addition, Sefer Hasidim has had an enduring influence on Jewish culture, due to its articulation of a radically new approach to ethical theory and practice. Although the conceptualization of lived piety in Sefer Hasidimhas deep roots in ancient and late antique Judaism, the requirements for righteousness are here conceived as transcending the bounds of the Written and Oral Torah; the pietist is enjoined to find and fulfil the will of God in innovative ways, self-consciously surpassing the requirements laid upon the righteous in the Bible and Talmud. The book is thus peppered with precepts not found in earlier tradition, and it served to introduce (or to reintroduce, as the case may be) a host of new concerns into the discourse about Jewish ethics, such as a renewed interest in ascetical practices, a system of penitence for sin, and a focus on the individual's quest for self-perfection, even in the face of conflicts with the community at large.

Goals and History of the Project 
Despite the significance of this source for modern scholars and its popularity among medieval Jews, there is presently no edition that integrates all of the available Hebrew manuscripts. This task proves particularly crucial insofar as Sefer Hasidim circulated in multiple versions, which varied in shape, scope, and content. Insofar as a thorough analysis of the entirety of the known manuscript evidence is long overdue, the production of such an edition has the potential to answer many key questions about the authorship(s), redactional history, literary structure, and transmission of this important text. At the same time, Sefer Hasidimshall become accessible to a broader range of scholars, students, and other readers with interests in Jewish history, literature, and culture, as well as medieval European society and the history of Jewish-Christian relations.