{"id":42342,"date":"2018-04-20T16:05:48","date_gmt":"2018-04-20T22:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=42342"},"modified":"2018-04-20T16:05:48","modified_gmt":"2018-04-20T22:05:48","slug":"besht-the-baal-shem-tovs-midnight-visitor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/besht-the-baal-shem-tovs-midnight-visitor\/","title":{"rendered":"Besht: The Baal Shem Tov’s midnight visitor"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TED ROBERTS, THE<\/em> SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF<\/em><\/p>\n

The followers of the Baal Shem Tov love to tell of his courage in facing up to his opponents. The holy man, they used to say, could walk among wolves without drawing a deep breath. But the most epic confrontation of his life is rarely told. And never when children are near. And never after nightfall. It is a fearful story unless one has pulled the cloak of faith tightly around one\u2019s body and even then it\u2019s best to first recite the Shema under your breath.<\/p>\n

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His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling of the curtain, which framed his open window. The wind? No, there was definitely something concealed by the folds of the drape. Like a human, but shorter with a grotesque back. Still half hidden by the drape, it spoke:<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael Baal Shem Tov, my master, the adversary, has sent me to make a bargain with you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel knew with whom he was dealing, but he gazed without fear at the deformity hidden behind the drape and went right to the point. \u201cA bargain? Your master has no power and no home in the human heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

The drape rustled wildly. \u201cYou\u2019re a fool,\u201d croaked the devil\u2019s minion. \u201cWho do you think enticed Joseph’s brothers to sell him into bondage and made David lust for Bathsheva and tells the gentle milkmaid who brings you the cool milk to skim off just enough cream so you won\u2019t notice?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, tell me the bargain,\u201d said the Besht.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a simple one; your heart\u2019s desire in exchange for your allegiance to my master.  He recognized your wisdom even if HE, whose name I am not allowed to speak, and some of the district rabbis don\u2019t. Why slave in the forest or run a tavern? Your hands should hold rings of gold and bracelets of emeralds, not wood saws; and your mind should dwell on the world\u2019s mysteries, not barroom accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Besht thought of Elijah facing the priests of Baal, the prophet Nathan striding into a vengeful king\u2019s throne room, shouting accusations; Daniel among the snarling lions; and he was not afraid.<\/p>\n

\u201cRiches will be yours,\u201d cooed the seducer in the drapes. \u201cAnd all the pleasures of love, which remember come from our creator. I\u2019ve seen your wife,\u201d added the evil spirit, \u201ca fine helpmate for carrying those clods of clay from the forest, but no Bathsheva. Why eat boiled cabbage, when a roasted chicken is in the oven? Knowledge you shall have also. You shall unlock the secrets of the Kabala like a child unwraps a honey cake. Your brilliance shall eclipse both the Tsar and the chief Rabbi of  Moscow. They shall both kneel down to you; together if you wish.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe, thought the Besht, with all this promised wealth and power he could make justice – tame the wild heart of his fellow man.<\/p>\n

He looked away from the shape beside the window and stared out at the hillside made silver by the moon and melodious by the wind that played it like a lyre. He was silent for many minutes and then he spoke calmly to the minion from the world\u2019s underside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat must I do for you and your master?\u201d<\/p>\n

The drape rustled with a sudden excitement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne deed,\u201d said Satan\u2019s servant. \u201cA single imperfect act that will allow my master to boast for generations to come that the Besht of Meziboz served two masters –  The Prince of Darkness as well as the G-d of light.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYour neighbor, the old man who spends most of his day in bed complaining about his ills and eating porridge, which leaks all over the bedclothes – he will die in two days, says my master who owns him. He is of no value.  Press a pillow over his face. Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d said the Besht. \u201cI have observed that in the morning when his daughter goes to the river to wash clothes and gather firewood, he watches her child and amuses her with stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right – all right. Then go slay the goat in the backyard who kills the trees by eating their bark; and frightens the children with his horns.  Take a rock and break his head.  He is of no use.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who will supply the children\u2019s milk?\u201d responded the holy man.<\/p>\n

The drape was rustling with anger. The bounty of the devil could not be purchased by swatting a mosquito. Some substantial evil must be committed.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s my final offer,\u201d stated the messenger.  \u201cThat scruffy cat with the maimed ear who\u2019s been curling around your leg our entire conversation – squeeze his neck until the light in his yellow eyes dies. He\u2019s only a carrier of fleas and vermin; and besides, I don\u2019t like the way he\u2019s been glaring at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Besht answered softly. \u201cBut he kills the mice who hide in the dark corners of the house.  He has a place in the universe.  AND YOU DON\u2019T,\u201d he shouted as he rushed to the drape and grabbed the shape enclosed in its folds.  With a pitiful whimper, it shrunk under his hands into a small, struggling thing like a toad. It fell to the floor.<\/p>\n

The cat was on it in a single bound. And devoured the residue of evil even before our teacher could examine it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly evil is not crowned with a purpose,\u201d said the Besht as he stroked his cat with the mangled ear.<\/p>\n

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