Chassidic Stories

The three emissaries from the court of death entered the room, dressed in their uniforms of red and black, rifles in hand, their belts filled with bullets and hung with a pair of revolvers and another pair of Cossack knives, with helmets of brass and their faces aflame

One Friday, the famed "Seer of Lublin" was traveling with some of his disciples when they arrived at a crossroads. The wagon driver asked which way to turn. Surprisingly, the Seer didn't seem to know what to answer. Shrugging, he said, "Loosen the reins. Let the horses go in whichever direction they will"

To each of his disciples Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov revealed his task in life, and one, who is the hero of our story, he instructed to become a wandering storyteller. “You will know when your mission is achieved,” the Besht added.

In the end, the chassid he decided that he just could not meet the Karliner Rebbe’s demand. He respectfully took leave of the Rebbe and departed for home, but in his heart he felt resentful: how could a tzaddik request so much money for a blessing?

The answer was fast in coming. Less than an hour later the Rebbes secretary stood facing her with good news. "The Rebbe says that you should travel to Warsaw." She was overjoyed! But her smile faded as she realized that there was no more to the message. "But where in Warsaw? What should I do there?"

The Chassid noticed that the young "Rebbe's Son" was all too aware of his own achievements.

The Jews of Vitebsk, if you want to know the truth, were never known to be generous givers of money to charitable causes. But they could always be counted on to provide food for the hungry.

“He has such a high opinion of himself,” the rebbe was told, “and has assumed all sorts of pious customs and practices. But it’s all superficial: on the inside, his character is as coarse and unrefined as ever.”

One year, someone in Likova came up with a novel idea: what if they all refused to buy the Jew's vodka before Passover? In that case he would have to get rid of it... and they could have it all!

"Rebbe" said the businessman, "it's a different world here, in America. The neighborhood I live in... our friends... it just won't be right..."

One day, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov arrived in Tarnow. This was before the chassidic master had revealed himself to the world, and he appeared as a simple itinerant, but with a gift for telling stories . . .

Dressed in the clothes of a simple wayfarer, the Baal Shem Tov would travel from town to town and from hamlet to hamlet, asking questions

Late one night, there was a knock on his door. On his threshold stood an old man with a long white beard and a countenance as radiant as the heavens

Reb Yaakov tried not to remember, but suddenly the scene was there in his memory, clear as day. He didn’t want that bum to get too close. He looked disgusting. Besides, he was in the middle of a conversation with his friends . . .

"The one," said the Baal Shem Tov, "who knows the answer to the question, 'How can one overcome the pride in one's heart?' -- he is the man who can guide you in your service of the Almighty"

"What can I do?" replied the innkeeper. "This is my livelihood. There is nothing for me to do in the city."
"How many Jewish households are there in the city?" I asked

One Friday afternoon, a man knocked on the door of Rabbi Yizchak Aizik, rabbi of Vitebsk. “I have a din Torah (a matter of litigation),” he said. “I request that you hear my case . . .”

They opened a skylight in the study hall and dropped a snare; when someone walked into the study hall, they would yank on the rope so that the snare fastened itself around him, and pull him up to the roof...

The children had leaned a tall pole against a building and were competing with each other as to who could climb the highest...

“Have you ever noticed,” remarked the Rebbe, “how a horse paws angrily at the water with his hooves when it’s led to a stream to drink? Why do you think he does this?”

“Rebbe! We’ve been toiling all morning, polishing our buttons in your honor. Now it’s your turn to work hard: polish our souls, which have been dulled and coarsened . . .”

"He's qualified to pass judgement," said the Chassidic master. "He has a personal interest in the matter. He is preaching only because he is in need of funds to marry off his daughter..."

“Reb Yosef is risking his very life for our sake,” said the innkeeper’s daughter. “But there is no other way. We have no time to lose . . .”

The Baal Shem Tov did not tell them where to go, nor did they ask; they allowed divine providence to direct their wagon where it may, confident that the purpose of their trip would be revealed in due time.

The Baal Shem Tov loved light. So his disciples always made sure to have many candles burning whenever they expected their master...

"Always remember," said my teacher, "that it is better to be on the outside looking in, than on the inside looking out..."

After many long minutes, the Rebbe finally lifted his head from his arms and said solemnly: "You can go home. Your wife just gave birth to a baby boy..."

"Doesn't a living man need a sip of brandy once in a while?” said Reb Leib. But the Rushiner interrupted. “I'm sure you realize that he's just joking," said the chassidic master. "I'll tell you the secret of l'chayim..."

As might be expected, Hershel the Hilarious was the most popular guy in Mosayov among the idle, the crude, the silly and the drinkers . . .

Suddenly the Rebbe turned to the melamed: "If you wish, I will tell you three words of advice. But for each you must pay me in full. For the first, you must give me three hundred rubles..."

The rebbe’s youngest son, Shmuel, who was seven years old at the time, wandered around the room, talking to the men who sat tearfully reading Tehillim as they waited to be received by his father . . .

“Fools!” cried the coachman. “Do you think that I gave you to drink so that the hay you devour should be more tasty?”

“Hundreds of mitzvot were about to be performed in Shchedrin! Never mind the eighteen rubles that will be raised—considering the sums of money that the yetzer hara deals with, this is a mere pittance. But the mitzvot . . . !”

“Every act of charity is a victory over our selfish nature,” explained the chassid. “I just can’t resist the opportunity to score two victories for the price of one . . .”

Disguised as simple beggars, the holy brothers journeyed from village to village, refining their souls with the travails of exile and inspiring their brethren with words of wisdom and encouragement...

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once saw a man running in the market place. "Why do you hurry so?" he asked him

A Rebbe's choice: three words or 50,000 followers

It was the first book, and at that time the only one, that contained the teachings of the holy Baal Shem Tov, and now the opponents of Chassidism were plotting to destroy it . . .

“Being conscious of a poor student’s torn shoes is an expression of the oneness of G‑d.”

“I suggest you approach your captain with an alternative route for the journey,” said the rebbe. “Explain that the route he has planned has many disadvantages . . .”

“It is true,” announced R. Leib, “that according to the law the plaintiff must take his suit to the defendant’s locale; but since in this case ‘there is no place devoid of His presence,’ we will try the case here in Shpoli . . .”

The Baal Shem Tov was once shown from heaven that a certain simple man called Moshe the Shepherd served G‑d, blessed be He, better than he did . . .

Following the Baal Shem Tov’s directions, Rabbi Chaim led Moshe Meshel and the coach driver to a clearing among the trees that seemed to be a ruin of some sort, with the remnants of a number of buildings . . .

A chassid went to the Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibuzh. “Rebbe,” he said, “I want to see Elijah the Prophet . . .”

In the days that followed, the chassidim hotly debated the significance of their rebbe’s final words. Various theories were offered on the Kabbalistic meanings of “wool,” “summer” and “handsome profit.”

I suddenly had an extremely rich and inspiring thought... I imagine that this is because a Jew once prayed minchah at that spot