Yitzhak Buxbaum

The peasants were by this time a little drunk and had begun to curse the Jews.

In spite of his great efforts, the skies remained overcast with dark clouds, and it seemed unlikely there would be a moon that night.

"If I don’t open my eyes after the operation’s over, don’t disturb me. I may lie on the operating table for a few more hours. But promise me that you won’t disturb me.”

They brought him paper from the neighbors, so much that there was a mountainous pile on the table, reaching almost to the ceiling. And he still wasn't satisfied.

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

The Baal Shem Tov saw Rabbi Yaakov Koppel dancing in ecstasy before his Shabbat table, which was laden with good food . . .

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 . . .

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 . . .

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 . . .