Among Jews, the observance of the Sabbath, the day of the Lord, was originally a
thing of joy but too many Rabbis kept issuing one injunction after another on how
exactly it was to be observed, what sort of activity was allowed, until some
people fell they could hardly move during the Sabbath for fear that some
regulation or other might be transgressed.
The Baal Shem, son of Eliezer, gave much thought to this matter. One night he had
a dream. An angel took him up to heaven and showed him two thrones placed far
above all others.
“For whom are these reserved?” he asked.
“For you,” was the answer, “if you make use of your intelligence; and for a man
whose name and address is now being written down and given to you.”
He was then taken to the deepest spot in hell and shown two vacant seats. “For
whom are these prepared?” he asked.
“For you,” the answer came, “if you do not make use of your intelligence; and for
the man whose name and address are being written down for you.”
In his dream Baal Shem visited the man who was to be his companion in paradise. He
found him living among Gentiles, quite ignorant of Jewish customs and, on the
Sabbath, he would give a banquet at which there was a lot of merrymaking and to
which all his Gentile neighbours were invited. When Baal Shem asked him why he
held this banquet, the man replied, “I recall that in my childhood my parents
taught me that the Sabbath was a day for rest and for rejoicing; so on Saturdays
my mother made the most succulent meals at which we sang and danced and made
merry. I do the same today.”
Baal Shem attempted to instruct the man in the ways of his religion for he had
been born a Jew but was evidently quite ignorant of all the rabbinical prescrip-
tions. But he was struck dumb when he realised that the man’s joy in the Sabbath
would be marred if he was made aware of his short-comings.
Baal Shem, still in his dream, then went to the home of his companion in hell. He
found the man to be a strict observer of the Law, always apprehensive lest his
conduct should not be correct. The poor man spent each Sabbath day in a scrupulous
tension as if he were-sitting on hoi coals. When Baal Shem attempted to upbraid
him for his slavery to the Law, the power of speech was taken from him as he
realised that the man would never understand that he could do wrong by fulfilling
religious injunctions.
Thanks to this revelation given him in the form of a dream, the Baal Shem Tov
evolved a new system of observance whereby God is worshipped in joy that comes
from the heart.
When people are joyful they are always good; whereas when they are good they are
seldom joyful.
🙂
Among Jews, the observance of the Sabbath, the day of the Lord, was originally a
thing of joy but too many Rabbis kept issuing one injunction after another on how
exactly it was to be observed, what sort of activity was allowed, until some
people fell they could hardly move during the Sabbath for fear that some
regulation or other might be transgressed.
The Baal Shem, son of Eliezer, gave much thought to this matter. One night he had
a dream. An angel took him up to heaven and showed him two thrones placed far
above all others.
“For whom are these reserved?” he asked.
“For you,” was the answer, “if you make use of your intelligence; and for a man
whose name and address is now being written down and given to you.”
He was then taken to the deepest spot in hell and shown two vacant seats. “For
whom are these prepared?” he asked.
“For you,” the answer came, “if you do not make use of your intelligence; and for
the man whose name and address are being written down for you.”
In his dream Baal Shem visited the man who was to be his companion in paradise. He
found him living among Gentiles, quite ignorant of Jewish customs and, on the
Sabbath, he would give a banquet at which there was a lot of merrymaking and to
which all his Gentile neighbours were invited. When Baal Shem asked him why he
held this banquet, the man replied, “I recall that in my childhood my parents
taught me that the Sabbath was a day for rest and for rejoicing; so on Saturdays
my mother made the most succulent meals at which we sang and danced and made
merry. I do the same today.”
Baal Shem attempted to instruct the man in the ways of his religion for he had
been born a Jew but was evidently quite ignorant of all the rabbinical prescrip-
tions. But he was struck dumb when he realised that the man’s joy in the Sabbath
would be marred if he was made aware of his short-comings.
Baal Shem, still in his dream, then went to the home of his companion in hell. He
found the man to be a strict observer of the Law, always apprehensive lest his
conduct should not be correct. The poor man spent each Sabbath day in a scrupulous
tension as if he were-sitting on hoi coals. When Baal Shem attempted to upbraid
him for his slavery to the Law, the power of speech was taken from him as he
realised that the man would never understand that he could do wrong by fulfilling
religious injunctions.
Thanks to this revelation given him in the form of a dream, the Baal Shem Tov
evolved a new system of observance whereby God is worshipped in joy that comes
from the heart.
When people are joyful they are always good; whereas when they are good they are
seldom joyful.
🙂