Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer – the Baal Shem Tov

In the Siddur belonging to one of the sons of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polonne, author of "Toldot Yaakov Yosef" and the closest disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, it was written by hand that the tzadik departed this world on the first day of Shavuot. After the revelation of the Baal Shem Tov on July 18, 1734, at the age of 36, as a great Jewish leader and mystic, many Jewish communities in Poland, Galicia, and Podolia became followers of the Chassidic path of Judaism. Twenty-six years later, the Baal Shem Tov departed this world. On Pesach of 1760, Rabbi Pinchas of Korets came to visit his teacher, the Baal Shem Tov. On the eve of the holiday, the seventh day of Pesach, Rabbi Pinchas felt weak and decided not to go to the mikveh, as was customary. The next day, during the morning prayers, he had a premonition that the Baal Shem Tov would soon pass away. Rabbi Pinchas began to pray more intensely, asking that the Heavenly decree against his teacher be annulled. But he realized he could not affect the decree, and he began to deeply regret that he had not gone to the mikveh before the holiday. After the morning prayer, the Baal Shem Tov asked Rabbi Pinchas whether he had gone to the mikveh the previous afternoon. When he answered that he had not, the Baal Shem Tov replied: "It is now too late to correct this." After Pesach, the Baal Shem Tov fell ill. However, he said nothing to his followers and continued to pray before the Ark. All the disciples who might, through their prayers, have been able to change his fate, he sent off on missions to other communities. Rabbi Pinchas, knowing of the Heavenly decree against the Baal Shem Tov, did not return home but remained in Medzhibozh. On the eve of Shabbat HaGadol, the Shabbat before Pesach, the Baal Shem Tov sat down to write his last will and testament, addressed to his disciples. He concluded with the words: "I am writing this today because last night my [heavenly] teacher [Achiya HaShiloni] revealed to me that this is my last eve of Shabbat HaGadol." Seven and a half weeks later, on the eve of Shavuot, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov called his personal scribe, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch, and dictated to him the final changes and amendments to his will, stating that all his books and manuscripts would be given to: "my disciple and peer, a prince of Torah, Rabbi Dov Ber [the Maggid of Mezeritch], son of Rabbi Avraham, with the exception of all the Yiddish books, which belong to my G-d-fearing daughter – Adel. At the same time, my marginal notes and annotations are to be given to my disciple, dear to me as a son, the Pillar of Fire, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef HaKohen [of Polonne]." On Tuesday evening, the [first] night of Shavuot, all the followers of the Baal Shem Tov gathered together with him to spend the night studying Torah, as is customary. The Baal Shem Tov explained the weekly Torah portion and the significance of Shavuot. In the morning he sent for his closest followers to gather in his room. He asked Rabbi Leib Kessler and others to arrange for his burial. Since they were members of the Chevra Kadisha and were well acquainted with the signs of illness, he showed After the prayer, Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka went to the study hall to pray for his teacher. Later the Baal Shem Tov said: "He is petitioning in vain. Perhaps if he could enter the Heavenly Gates that I am accustomed to, his prayers would help." When the Baal Shem Tov's shamash entered his master's room, he heard the Baal Shem Tov say: "I am giving you these two hours. Do not torment me." He asked: "Rebbe, to whom are you speaking?" The Baal Shem Tov answered: "Don't you see the Angel of Death? Before, he always fled from me. Now that he has gained control over me, he stands upright and laughs at me." Later, during the festive meal, he asked his attendant to put honey in a large glass. Instead, the shamash put it in a small glass. The Baal Shem Tov remarked: "A person has no power on the day of his death; even my attendant does not obey me." After the meal, many townspeople who did not know of the Baal Shem Tov's condition came to see him. As always, he revealed Torah to them. All his close disciples sat in the Baal Shem Tov's room while he lay in his bed. He gave them a sign: "My friends, when I depart this world, the clock in this room will stop." He asked for a large cup of water and a basin to be brought to him. While he washed his hands, his disciples saw the hands of the large clock stop. They shielded the clock with their bodies so that the Baal Shem Tov would not see that it had stopped. He said to them: "My friends, I am not worried for myself, because I know that as soon as I go out through the door of this world, I will immediately enter the door of the World to Come." Then the Baal Shem Tov sat up in his bed and told them to gather around him. He spoke words of Torah, explaining the part about how a person ascends from the Lower Garden of Eden to the Upper, and how this happens in each of the Four Worlds. He then described the World of Souls and explained the order of worship. He instructed his disciples to say together with him: "Vihi no'am Ad-nay Eloheinu aleinu." (Tehillim 90:17) He lay down and sat up several times. Meanwhile, he concentrated on mystical kavanot. Finally, he lay down and asked to be covered with a sheet. Then he began to tremble, as he did when praying the Amidah. Gradually he grew still. The disciples saw that the small clock had also stopped. They waited a long time, but he did not move. They then held a feather to his nose to check his breathing, after which they finally had to accept that he had passed away. Rabbi Yaakov of Medzhibozh reported that Rabbi Leib Kessler of the Chevra Kadisha saw his soul, in the form of a blue flame, leave his body and rise upward. The resting place of the Baal Shem Tov is well known to all. But it is also known that the Besht, who lived for a long time in a town called Kuty, would regularly retreat to a cave in the nearby Carpathian Mountains to pray, study Torah, and meditate alone. Rabbi Yisrael Meir Gabbai, a Breslover chassid, founded an organization called "Ohalei Tzadikim," which located this very cave. "Ohalei Tzadikim" restores the graves of well-known tzadikim in Eastern Europe. Pictured is the Besht's cave.