Tell Your Children - One Hundred Questions

In honor of Chai Elul (18th of Elul), the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov and Alter Rebbe, we present the following story:

Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua, the renowned Rabbi of Lvov and author of the book Pnei Yehoshua, was in the middle of de-livering a Torah class when a man sudden-ly entered and whispered in his ear, "there is a Jew waiting for you outside. He wants to tell you a very important secret."

The great Rabbi, who was not accustomed to allowing interruptions during his clas-ses, dismissed the man. "Tell him to come to me after the class," he said.

A moment later, the man returned and told the Rabbi, "he says the matter is extremely urgent."

The Rabbi frowned at being forced to in-terrupt his lesson and leave the room. "You should know," said the mysterious man, "that the new butcher who recently joined the Lvov slaughterhouse is feeding the public a large quantity of non-kosher meat." The man then went on his way.

That same day, the Rabbi of Lvov con-ducted an investigation that confirmed the disturbing warning he had heard that morning. He wanted to discover the iden-tity of the man who had delivered the warning, but the man had disappeared.

Several months passed, and the strange incident with the butcher was forgotten.

A Close Friend

The Rabbi had a close friend named Rabbi Dov Ber, a tremendous Torah scholar who was renowned for his mastery of both the revealed and hidden dimensions of Torah and who lived in Mezrich. In addition to their love of Torah and exceptional schol-arship, the two were united by their oppo-sition to Chassidism, which was still in its early stages. Yet, Rabbi Dov Ber's oppo-sition was even stronger than his friend. Once, he told him that he had one hundred questions against the Chassidic approach.

One day, as Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua was leaving the study hall, the mysterious man appeared. "The next time you meet your friend Rabbi Dov Ber, tell him in my name that if he comes to me, he will merit a complete recovery." Before the Rabbi could get a word out, the man disap-peared. A suspicion arose in the Rabbi's heart: perhaps this man was none other than the Baal Shem Tov himself.

A Desire to Travel

At around that time, his friend Rabbi Dov Ber began suffering from severe pain in his legs, to the point he needed crutches. The doctors were unable to find a cure and his suffering was great. His family, who had heard about the Baal Shem Tov and his miraculous deeds, urged him to travel to see him. But Rabbi Dov Ber refused.

When Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua came to visit his friend, he told him about his strange encounters with the mysterious man and conveyed the message. He urged his friend to travel to the Baal Shem Tov. "When it comes to healing one must do everything possible according to Torah." But Rabbi Dov Ber refused.

"What will I do with the hundred ques-tions I have against him?" he argued. "And what about the Torah learning that my journey will cause me to neglect?"

Time passed. The Baal Shem Tov's name became famous throughout the world as a holy and extraordinary man. One day, Rabbi Dov Ber felt a powerful desire to travel to him - to challenge him and pre-sent his ques-tions. He even-tually arrived in Mezhibuzh, where the Baal Shem Tov lived. He stayed there for several days, hoping to hear remarkable To-rah insights from the Baal Shem Tov.

To his great disappointment, each time they met, the Baal Shem Tov dis-missed him with nothing more than a nice story or a simple saying. On the final night of his stay in Mezhibuzh, the Baal Shem Tov's attendant came to him. "The Rebbe would like to see you."

The Meeting

Rabbi Dov Ber, who was busy packing, went to the Baal Shem Tov's home.

"I have heard that you are a scholar," the Baal Shem Tov said to Rabbi Dov Ber, "and that you are knowledgeable in the wisdom of Kabbalah as well. Is that true?"

"Yes," Rabbi Dov Ber replied.

The Baal Shem Tov opened the book Etz Chaim that was lying before him and pointed to a particular passage. "Explain this passage to me," he requested. Rabbi Dov Ber took the book, studied the pas-sage, and began explaining it.

When he finished, the Baal Shem Tov said, "indeed, your explanation of the peshat-the straightforward mean-ing-is correct. But your learning is like a body without a soul."

The Baal Shem Tov then instructed him, "stand on your feet." He proceed-ed to explain the passage, presenting profound and wondrous insights that continued for a long time. Rabbi Dov Ber was captivated by the magic of his words. He realized that nowhere in the world would he be able to hear Torah explanations like these.

He sent his wagon back home and re-mained with the Baal Shem Tov for a long time. From that point on, he be-came one of his devoted disciples.

All the Questions Dissolved

News of Rabbi Dov Ber's joining the circle of the Baal Shem Tov's students reached the ears of Rabbi Yaakov Ye-hoshua. He found it difficult to under-stand how such a sharp opponent of Chassidism had suddenly become a Chassid. He was particularly curious about what had happened to the one hundred questions his friend had re-garding Chassidism. He set out for Mezrich and went to visit his friend.

"Just explain one thing to me," he asked. "Did you find answers to all your many questions?"

Rabbi Dov Ber then related what had happened on the night when he had intended to leave Mezhibuzh in disap-pointment. "You have to understand," he said, "that when the Baal Shem Tov began speaking, the room became filled with a blazing fire. It was as though all the angels and all the spiritu-al levels about which he was speaking were present in the room. I did not see a human being before me-only what seemed to be an angel of G-d. And suddenly I felt all my questions were simply dissolving on their own..."

Rabbi Dov Ber later became famous as the Maggid of Mezrich. He was the successor of the Baal Shem Tov and the Rebbe and teacher of the Alter Reb-be, the founder of Chabad Chassidus.