Chillul Shabbos

Rav Friedman cites the Bnei Yissoschor (Tishrei 4:2:6) who recounts the well-known story of the Baal Shem Tov who once observed a Jew desecrating Shabbos in public. The Baal Shem Tov was shocked; he realized that if he had seen this chillul Shabbos, it must mean that he was guilty of the same aveiroh in some way. Upon introspection, he remembered that he had once observed someone defaming a Torah scholar in public. Since the Zohar (III 29a) calls Torah scholars by the appellation “Shabbos,” the Baal Shem Tov realized that by failing to defend the scholar he too was guilty of some form of chillul Shabbos.