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    The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic: A Sabbatean Tale
    The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic: A Sabbatean Tale
    The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic: A Sabbatean Tale
    Ebook102 pages2 hours

    The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic: A Sabbatean Tale

    By Barak Bassman

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    In 1757, in Poland, followers of the false Jewish Messiah Jacob Frank have publicly denounced the Talmud and convinced the authorities to let them burn thousands of copies of the holiest Jewish texts. One such disciple of the new movement undertakes a journey to confront his former teacher, the famed mystic and kabbalist Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the holy Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism in Eastern Europe. In the course of a long day, this follower of the false Messiah, Jacob Frank, lays out his life story and the revelations and supernatural wonders that have led him to a new and twisted form of Judaism that rejects and destroys the most sacred texts of the Jewish tradition. The Baal Shem Tov, in turn, must decide how to confront such a radical new evil.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBarak Bassman
    Release dateDec 2, 2022
    ISBN9781956867527
    The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic: A Sabbatean Tale
    Author

    Barak Bassman

    Barak A. Bassman received a B.A. in Classics from Grinnell College and a law degree from the New York University School of Law. He practices law in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife and two children. He is the author of Elegy of the Minotaur and Repentance: A Tale of Demons in Old Jewish Poland.

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      Book preview

      The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic - Barak Bassman

      The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic:

      A Sabbatean Tale

      By

      Barak A. Bassman

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

      The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic:

      A Sabbatean Tale

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you’re reading this eBook and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

      Copyright © 2022 BARAK A. BASSMAN. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author and publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

      The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

      Cover designed by Telemachus Press, LLC

      Cover art:

      Image of Jakub Frank in public domain

      Publishing services by Telemachus Press, LLC at Smashwords

      7652 Sawmill Road

      Suite 304

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      http://www.telemachuspress.com

      ISBN: 978-1-956867-52-7 (eBook)

      ISBN: 978-1-956867-53-4 (Paperback)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2022950990

      Version 2022.12.02

      Table of Contents

      I. An Unwelcome Guest

      II. The Torments of the Young Kabbalist

      III. In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov

      IV. Crossroads

      V. The Messiah Is Revealed

      VI. Redemption through Sin

      VII. The Bonfire of the Vanities

      VIII. The Joy of an Old Man

      Other Books by Barak Bassman

      About the Author

      The Baal Shem Tov and the Heretic:

      A Sabbatean Tale

      I. An Unwelcome Guest

      Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, the holy Baal Shem Tov, had been feeling uncomfortable that day—he was too cold, then he was too hot; his skin itched here and then there and then in yet another spot; and there was something stale and heavy about the taste of his food. But even though he tried hard to discern why he was so ill at ease—had he accidentally sinned in some way? Was there a threat to the Jewish people brewing somewhere? He could not focus his thoughts and prayers sufficiently to find out the answers to his questions.

      Still, he reminded himself, every unpleasant day has an end. Feeling thus reassured, he retired early to his bed, wrapped his blankets tightly around his body, and waited for sleep to carry him away. Perhaps, he mused, everything would be made clear in a dream—maybe Elijah the Prophet, may his merit protect us, would appear to him in a dream to explain the hidden meaning of his irritating day.

      But sleep evaded him. He would shut his eyes and they would pop right open again. Rather than relax, he felt his heart race faster, as if something terrible were about to come to pass in that very instant. But what could it be?

      Eventually feeling resigned to sleeplessness, he left his bed and went outside to the porch of his fine house in the shtetl of Mezhbizh. It was a cool late summer night, and Rosh Hashanah—the time when all Israel would be judged—was fast approaching. Maybe, the Baal Shem Tov thought, my soul is ill at ease because I will need to muster all my spiritual strength to ascend to Heaven to plead with the Throne of Glory on behalf of the Jews who had strayed with their many sins. This was always his hardest task: to beg the Holy One, Blessed be He, to be a merciful Father to His children Israel even when they had scorned the commandments of His Torah.

      His wife Chana and his scribe, Rabbi Alexander, both followed him out to the veranda and urged him to go back inside and rest. They said they were worried he would catch a chill from the evening air.

      But the Baal Shem Tov sighed and shook his head and told them that his body would be fine so long as that was the will of HaShem. With the breeze lapping against his face, and the fragrance of ripening apples tickling his nostrils, the Baal Shem Tov finally began to relax. He softly hummed a prayer of thanksgiving to the Holy One, Blessed be He, for creating the beautiful fruit trees and making them blossom so sweetly.

      However, his reverie was then interrupted by a man shouting at him in the darkness: Is that you, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov? Standing and swaying, eh? Have you gotten smaller? I remember you as a giant of the Torah, such a mighty saint; but now you look to me like an overgrown cellar rat—are you spreading your little rat droppings about your porch tonight? Does that fine daughter of Israel standing next to you—your Chana, right? Does she clean them up? She is certainly no pretty young bride anymore. Those bony old hands of hers must ache miserably when she bends down to gather the little round pellets going plop-plop from your tuches.

      The Baal Shem Tov was stunned. No one spoke to him this way—not his most fierce rabbinical opponent, not the most arrogant Polish lord. He was at a loss as to what to do or say in response.

      Fortunately, Rabbi Alexander spoke up and told whoever this was to go away, sleep off his drunkenness, and then in the morning beg the Holy One to forgive him for daring to speak such insults to a sage of the Torah. Words like these, spoken in haste, Rabbi Alexander warned, could imperil one’s share in the World to Come.

      But the man would not desist: I have not tasted a drop of wine or brandy today, he said, although now that you suggest it, my good friend Reb Alexander the Scribe, why don’t you send the dried-up crone inside to fetch me something to slake my thirst? And spare me your silly boasts and threats. I am not some fool village Jew impressed by the amulets and parlor tricks of this so-called tzaddik. I come to you as an emissary of the true Messiah, who walks amongst us and is bringing forth the Redemption, now, speedily, and in our days, as we stand here and speak. And my Lord Messiah is not pleased with the Baal Shem Tov’s lack of faith and his lies. I am here to offer him an opportunity to repent, so that he may preserve his dwindling, puny share in the World to Come.

      Don’t you recognize me? After all, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov is supposed to be blessed with the ability to penetrate into hidden matters, to see into the

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