One day as his disciples were all gathered around him, the Baal Shem Tov said to them, "I have decided that I will allow you to have a great revelation -- something which you have never merited to experience before. The only thing I ask of you is not, under any circumstances to laugh at what you are about to see.
They were very excited about the prospect and all gladly promised to abide by their Rebbe's injunction.
The following Shabbat the Baal Shem Tov and his disciples were together in the shul praying the service to welcome the Shabbat Queen. The Besht made a special point of indicating one certain worshipper, by all appearances a pauper, who was praying with an unusual intensity and devotion.
When the service had ended, the Baal Shem Tov and his Chasidim followed the man to his tiny cottage and hid themselves outside the door where they could peek into the window without being seen.
The man entered the room and addressed his wife with unbounded joy, "Good Shabbat to you, my dear helpmate."
"Good Shabbat to you, my beloved husband," replied the wife.
Although she was dressed in tatters, she seemed to be in exceptionally good spirits.
The Shabbat proceeded with the man singing a joyful version of Shalom Aleichem, welcoming the two angels who accompany every Jewish man home from the synagogue on Friday night.
The disciples of the Besht watched every movement carefully.
Next, the man turned to his smiling wife and said, "Please bring the wine, so that I may fulfill the commandment of 'Remember the Shabbat to keep it holy.'"
She rose and placed before her husband two small rolls. "Tonight, perhaps you will please recite the Kiddush over these rolls instead of wine."
And he replied in just as pleasant tones, "Of course, and I have no doubt that these rolls will be just as pleasing as the special wine that G-d is reserving for the righteous in Gan Eden to serve with the feast of the Leviathan when we will celebrate with Moshiach."
And the man said Kiddush over the two small loaves.
After the loving pair had washed for the bread and eaten from it, the husband again said to his wife, "Please serve the fish so that we can experience the joy of the Shabbat."
She brought to the table a plate full of beans, and served her husband a spoonful, taking the same amount for herself. "May it be G-d's will that a spoonful of these beans be as pleasing to you as the most succulent of pickled fishes," said the woman as she placed the beans on her husband's plate.
The man and his wife ate the beans with the greatest pleasure, as if they were enjoying the finest salmon.
The man sat at the head of the table, singing with a deep and musical voice, and in between tunes, he thanked the Creator of the Universe for bestowing upon them all that they needed to honor the Shabbat Queen. And the disciples looked on with growing wonder.
Next the man turned to his dutiful wife and said, "Now, please bring out the soup. Ah, your soup has the flavor of the sweetest and most delicate meats and greens." And with that remark he lifted another spoon of beans to his lips and ate them as if in ecstasy.
The scenario repeated itself as the man requested the meat course and the dessert. Each course was marked by the festive consumption of another spoonful of beans, accompanied by fervent thanks to the Al-mighty for having furnished the pair with all their needs for a joyous Shabbat.
When they couple had finished eating, and all the Shabbat songs had been sung, the husband rose and said to his wife, "Now, let us dance together to celebrate the honor of the Shabbat Queen so that we will merit the reward spoken of by our Sages for those who properly honor the Shabbat."
And the man began a little dance, while his wife devised a merry dance of her own, in a pure and wordless expression of their great joy.
The disciples who had been watching this amazing scene burst into a spontaneous, silent laughter. When he saw this the Baal Shem Tov cried out, "Didn't I warn you not to laugh! Now you have forfeited the right to the revelation, the marvelous gift I wanted to grant you!"
The disciples were crushed by disappointed. "Please," they begged, "please tell us what it was that you would have revealed to us."
The Besht acceded to their curiosity and told them: "I had wanted to grant you the power of enjoying the Shabbat to the same level experienced by this poor man and his wife.
For know that they did not taste the earthly delicacies; what they tasted was the Divine Shabbat itself. But since you were unable to restrain yourselves, you have lost the opportunity to attain this level of holiness.
