Rabbi’s Corner – Parshat Mishpatim
The Baal Shem Tov Lights a Fire!
When Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, saw that the Jewish people were threatened by tragedy, he would go to a particular place in the forest where he lit a fire, recited a particular prayer, and asked for a miracle to save the Jews from the threat. Because of the Holy Fire and faithfulness of the prayer, the miracle was accomplished, averting the tragedy.
Later, when the Baal Shem Tov’s disciple, the Maggid of Mezerich, had to intervene with heaven for the same reason, he went to the same place in the forest where he told the Master of the Universe that while he did not know how to light the fire, he could still recite the prayer, and again, the miracle was accomplished.
Later still, Rabbi Moshe Leib of Sasov, in turn a disciple of a disciple of the Maggid of Mezerich (via Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg) , went into the forest to save his people. “I do not know how to light the fire,” he pleaded with God, “and I do not know the prayer, but I can find the place and this must be sufficient.” Once again, the miracle was accomplished.
When it was the turn of Rabbi Israel of Rizhyn, the great grandson of the Maggid of Mezerich who was named after the Baal Shem Tov, to avert the threat, he sat in his armchair, holding his head in his hands, and said to God: “I am unable to light the fire, I do not know the prayer, and I cannot even find the place in the forest. All I can do is to tell the story. That must be enough.” And it was enough.
An enigmatic story. One of the great traditions of Chassidic thought is the telling of stories.
The truth is that stories are rooted in our Torah and spiritual traditions. The Midrash (post biblical commentary) and Aggadata (the none legal sections of the Talmud) are replete with stories.
These stories can be read and understood, felt and analysed on many levels. There is the historical context of the story, the allegorical meaning that informs us of emotional, intellectual and spiritual concepts. There is a teaching that “the majority of the secrets of the Torah are contained in the Midrash and Aggadata”.
The Torah though is the ultimate source of stories as it is the story that Hashem tells us about ourselves. Every good story ultimately touches on at least one of the fundamentals of our existence, Who we are? Why we are here? and How we are to live.
You may wonder why I share a quaint Chassidic story on Parshat Mishpatim. Mishpatim after all is the first Parshah dedicated to the laws pf the Torah. There are in fact 23 positive Mitzvot and 30 negative commandments in our Parshah (out of the total 613)!
They touch on many areas of human life which is fraught with problems and tensions.
For example there are laws relating to damages and lost property, laws of compassion such “Not to afflict the orphan or widow” or the obligation “not to verbally oppress a convert to Judaism because you too were foreigners in Egypt” or the laws of lost objects or “that a sinner should not give testimony”.
There is a tendency to view the laws of the Torah as dry and lacking vitality. But that is the story we tell ourselves and so we become trapped by our limited vision of what the Torah is. I call this narrow scoping.
Now of course on a basic level the Mishpatim – Laws, are about creating a just society built on righteousness and compassion. This was always the vision of the Jewish people since the days of entering the covenant with God at Mt Sinai. And even before this since the days of patriarchs who began to forge a new path away from the brutality of paganism and the cultish worship of self to a world that pursues righteous and justice. They had a vision that sees the image of God imprinted even engraved on every human being.
And therefore EVERY single detail of Jewish law, ritual, custom, obligation is a concretisation of this vision thus literally creates a bridge between heaven and earth.
What if every law in the Torah was more than a rule or ritual? What if every halacha or even custom on a deeper level spoke to our deepest core and revealed new layers of connection with the Divine core of our being?
Take for example the opening laws in Mishpatim which govern the rules of the Hebrew servant who works for his master 6 years to go free in the 7th.
If though the servant wishes to stay with his master – EG he was given a Canaanite wife whom he loves- after the 6th year he goes through a ritual where his ear is pierced on the doorpost (Mezuza). Rashi (1040-1105) cites the Midrash that teaches us the meaning behind this seemingly bizarre ritual. He explains “The ear that heard at Mt Sinai that you are My (God’s) servant went and took another master!
What could I possibly learn from this legal text is the frequently asked question. We understandably look aghast at the concept of slavery or even strictly regulated servitude which is what the Torah allowed at that time (Eg here are just a few halachot: a servant must be given to eat first, must not be given undignified work, if only one pillow it must be given to the servant).
But if we look beyond the laws to the concepts behind the Mitzva we see a story emerge. At the heart of human existence are two opposing forces. On the one hand the desire to be free. to be ones own master. Self determination is surely at the heart of liberal democracies today and likely the key reason the UK left the EU! But equally powerful is the desire to settle for what is comfortable. This may “feel the right thing” but may very well be curtailing our true potential. Is this not also a form of self imprisonment.
Is this not a story we can relate to? The Torah is telling us that we each have a divine mission which we “heard at Sinai” which if we sacrifice we may live but it will be a diminished existence.
Now we can come back to our enigmatic Chassidic story. It leads to many questions. What happened to the fire? Why could the Maggid not ignite it? Was his soul deficient? Each disciple is struggling to connect to that authenticity, that passion that enlivened the Baal Shem Tov. Life on this level is true life. At that level everything is experienced as a miracle. If the disciples can’t connect to the original fire then is there a point in trying? I think the story speaks to us all about the need for us to strive for authenticity on our own level.
However far away and alienated we are from our authentic selves we can still begin the journey as long as we are open, honest and sincere.
For the Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhyn he was unable to light the fire, recite the prayer, or even find the place in the forest. All he could do was tell the story. That must be enough.” And it was enough.
Stories are at the core of our existence.We are constantly telling ourselves stories about ourselves and others. This is how we perceive the world.We create frameworks for understanding our complex world. Its vital though that we stop to check we are listening and telling ourselves the right stories as this shapes our very existence, our relationships and our emotional life.
Shabbat Shalom.
PS a related point I learnt this week from Rabbi YY Jacobson NY: “We all experience pain at some points in our lives. It is not so much the painful experience that is difficult to overcome. It is the stories we tell ourselves about the pain that are the true challenge in life”.
Biographical Notes:
Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760 Rabbi Yisrael Ben Eliezer founder of the Chassidic movement. An itinerant preacher, healer, Kabbalist)
Maggid of Mezerich (Rabbi Dov Ber d1772) – disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and successor to head of the Chasidic movement. Under the Maggid the inspirational “revolutionary” spirit of the Baal Shem Tov was given structure with different disciples being sent to different places each developing the “way of the Baal Shem tov”.
Rabbi Moshe Leib (Erblich) Sassov 1745–1807 – a disciple of the Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg who was one of the greatest disciples of Maggid of Mezeritch – He exemplified the teaches of Chassidut which emphasise the three great loves: love of G-d, love of Israel, and love of Torah
Rabbi Yisrael of Rizhyn or Israel Friedman of Ruzhyn (1796-1850 Ukraine and Austria)- established a Chassidic dynasty that sort to emphasis the majesty of Hashem in this world and by parallel the uplifted majestic true identity of the human soul. This was reflected in the regal pomp surrounding his Chassidic court.