Believing Everything Said About Him:
The Tiferes Shmuel zy”a once asked the Divrei Chaim zy”a if all the famous stories said about the Baal Shem Tov zy”a are true. The Sanzer Rov replied, “I don’t know. But I do know that the Besht Hakadosh was capable of much greater wonders than are said of him and that he even could bring the dead back to life.”
Rav Shalom Mordechai of Berzhan zy”a writes in a letter: “I heard from the mouth of Rav Chanoch Henich of Alesk zt”l that he heard from the mouth of his father-in-law, the Sar Shalom of Belz zy”a that he heard the Chozeh of Lublin zy”a say, ‘If someone would tell me that he saw that the Besht made a ladder that he used to ascend to Shomayim while still alive, in his body and while wearing his clothes, I would believe it because everything that is said about the Besht Hakadosh is believable.”
Sustaining the World:
Sefer Divrei Shaul (Klalei Ohraysa, page 32) writes in the name of Rav Yechezkel of Kuzhmir zy”a that the Besht said that through his bitachon, he could feed and sustain the entire world. He added, “The only problem is that I don’t have a big enough pot.”
A Poor Man’s Closeness to Hashem:
Sefer Rav Yaivi (Tehillim 13) quotes the Besht as saying that a poor person has a tremendous zechus. Since he needs money every day, he needs to speak to Hashem every day. A rich man, on the other hand, has enough money to live on for a while, so he doesn’t speak to Hashem as often. Thus, the poor man has the zechus of having a closer relationship with Hashem.
However, if the rich man is a big tzadik, he will be smart enough to realize that even though he has money put away, he still needs Hashem to provide him with life and health every day. He will know that without Him, his money will be of no use. Therefore, he also will daven to Hashem and ask him to allow him to remain alive and healthy so that he can benefit from his wealth.
Asking for Parnassah:
The Bais Aharon of Karlin zy”a says that one need not be ashamed to ask Hashem for help with parnssah. While the Tikkunei Zohar (22A) does say that one should not daven for parnassah on Yom Kippur, the Besht says that this was only in earlier generations when people were stronger and wealthier. In our times, however, we may always ask Hashem for parnassah.
His Neshama’s Descent to This World:
Sefer Maamar Mordechai relates that for 500 years, tzadikim stormed the Heavens, begging for the neshama of the Besht to descend to this world. However, it did not want to go until it finally was forced to. The story is as follows:
There once was a big commotion in Shomayim. The neshamos of many tzadikim firmly claimed that it was time for the geulah. Others disagreed and argued that it was not yet the right time as many neshamos still needed a tikkun but those in favor of immediately bringing the redemption retorted that all of Klal Yisroel should not have to suffer because of these souls.
They ultimately agreed that since there was a great neshama amongst them, they would consult with it and ask it who was correct. They went to the neshama of the Baal Shem Tov with this question, and it replied that the answer is found in an explicit pasuk (2 Shmuel 14:14): “He devises means that he that is banished be not cast from Him.” (Meaning that the souls in need of tikkun may not be abandoned.)
They asked him, “Klal Yisroel is suffering for so long because of these souls. How much longer must they suffer?”
Therefore, they asked this holy neshama to descend to the world to provide the tikkun for those souls. This led to the birth of the Baal Shem Tov.
When the Besht once was beseeching Hashem to bring the geulah, he received a response from Heaven: “Aren’t you the one who delayed the redemption until every soul has its tikkun? What do you want now?”
