The Timing of the Baal Shem Tov
In the general context of Jewish history, the time of Exile is analogous to a state of sleep.72 In parallel to the lack of awareness of one’s self and environment that characterizes sleep, the Exile causes a lapse of spiritual consciousness. The status of the Jewish people between the nations is demoted, and it is often a struggle to maintain Jewish identity and dedication to G‑d.73
In the glorious days of Divine revelation, when G‑d’s presence was clearly manifest in the Temple, it was readily apparent to the world that the Jews were G‑d’s beloved nation. Additionally, the Jewish People benefited from a heightened awareness of the soul’s intrinsic bond with G‑d, and the natural pursuit was to engage in Divine service.74
However, when the Jewish people entered Exile, their Divine consciousness began to fade, and the world no longer saw them as G‑d’s protected people. Although G‑d has certainly not forsaken His people,75 His loving protection is often not apparent. Just as sleep jumbles reality into self-contradictory dreams, the Jew’s place in the world of Exile is simply paradoxical.76
As the lengthy Exile progressed, the Jewish people became more dispersed and divided, and the acute sense of their unified identity was also weakened. Over time, the state of sleep deepened, soon becoming a heavy slumber.
The hardships of the time before the Baal Shem Tov, along with the despair and division that resulted, further worsened the Jewish People’s spiritual health. Their lives were devoid of the proper joy of Divine service, the masses were out of touch with their Torah leaders,77 and the first winds of assimilation began to blow.78 This lack of consciousness of the Jewish people was compared to a deep faint.79
It was into this milieu that G‑d sent the soul of the Baal Shem Tov. He brought healing, strength, and rejuvenation to the Jewish people and introduced Chassidus as a novel path of Divine service. It was the revolutionary guidance and leadership of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov that aroused the Jewish world from its faint.80
Unconventional Healing
The imperative necessity of Chassidus was explained by means of a parable:81
Once there was a king who had a son, and this prince contracted an illness which left him critically ill. The king summoned all the physicians of the land, but none could revive the prince.
Finally, one doctor said that the only cure for the prince was to take the crown jewel that was the centerpiece of the king’s crown, grind it into powder, mix it with water, and then give the prince to drink from the elixir. The king was asked if he was willing to allow the crown jewel to be taken for this purpose, and without hesitation, the king agreed. It was clear that the life of his son surpassed the significance of the gem.
The crown jewel was taken, ground into dust, mixed with water and a few drops were placed on the prince’s lips. Slowly, but surely, the life-saving elixir worked and the prince was revived and restored to health.
Similarly, in the days of the Baal Shem Tov, when the Jewish People’s spiritual state of health was quite dire, a powerful elixir was needed to revive them. The “crown jewel” of the supernal King’s crown is the innermost dimension of the Torah, the most sublime teachings of pnimiyus haTorah.
Although its unique holiness caused these deepest teachings of Chassidus to be especially treasured and thus concealed,82 it was in His kindness that G‑d allowed for it to be revealed.83 It was not the virtues of the times that deserved such unparalleled revelation, instead, it was the urgent necessity that Chassidus be shared to revive the Jewish People.84 The revelation of Chassidus would bring them healing and enable them to endure the last generations of Exile.85
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