Atonement Experience

On top of all that, we have another important and relevant source, which seems to follow suit with the Rosh ha’Shana ascent.

This one is a story of an ecstatic experience of the Besht, while praying, on Yom ha’Kippurim, the day of atonement. (from the “Shivchei ha’Besht” - In Praise of the Ba’al Shem Tov, compilation, so - not the autobiographical kind of letter above)

It tells us that the Besht was praying, as was his custom, on the day of atonement, instead of reading from the prayer book, someone else would read loud and clear, and he, the Besht, would repeat after him - but yelling out the prayers, taking forever…

Paranormal Verily

And then he says, “Vaye, for they wish to take Torah from our hands, how will we continue to exist among the nations even half of a day…” 

He is angry at the “other” rabbis, apparently because he blamed them, the institutional rabbis… THEY are at fault for the Frankist conversion to Christianity - which was right at that time of the Besht, and not very far away. In the same ecosystem of Eastern Europe, former areas of the Council of the Four Lands.

As the prayers of the service went on, later, the Besht began “to do terrible movements, folding backwards until his head almost reached his knees, and those around feared he would fall, they wanted to hold him and support him and they were afraid… and his eyes were bulging and his voice was making noises and movements of a slaughtered bull, and so he was for estimated two hours”.

And then he woke, and his body straightened suddenly, and he completed the prayers quickly. 

As the holy day ended, they asked him what happened, and he told them that he prayed, “and went from world to world, without delay… until I came to one  hall, and had another gate to enter before the LORD…” and there he found prayers that were not prayed for 50 years.

But the prayers were locked at one gate, opened previously by one angel… so he complained before his rabbi, Achiya the Shiloite, who is by tradition the rabbi of Elijah the Prophet and also the Ari, and was instructed: “You and I will go to the chamber of the Messiah perhaps there will be salvation from there”.

So they went. And the Righteous Messiah saw him and gave him letters to open the lock of the gate to reach those prayers. It goes on and hear of his shock in regards to the cult of “Shabbtai Zvi - may his name be blotted out…”

And in regards to an incident where Talmud books were burned, and the Bishop responsible died because of this.

And in regards to another incident, in the area, where they converted and shaved one sidelock and half of the beard. 

The redactor of this story says that he heard that that gate that was opened was the Bird’s Nest, that “no one ever entered except the Messiah”, and the voice of G-d was heard saying “what will I do with you, for I must do your will”. (in other words, the will of the Besht, his prayers)

Attempt to Reflect

What in the world did we just encounter? Another tradition of the Besht, quite similar to the autobiographical one, as far as it is on a holiday, an adjacent holiday actually, he is praying, and experiences a crazy mystical journey and vision, both have to do with Messiah, both include outerbody experience and somewhat of a trance, entirely kabbalistic… 

What we see is that at the foundation of his teaching and thought and spiritual activity, is messianic redemption and countering the Sabbatian apostasy and false messianism. 

If there was nothing else in the life and teaching of the Ba’al Shem Tov but these 2 sources, these 2 experiences - I would feel quite confident in seeing him as a messianist of sorts.

He is also continuing traditions of the likes of messianic harbingers, the Elijahs, like Nathan of Gaza, Isaac Luria, Shlomo Molkho, Shimon bar Yochai…

There is nothing about himself being some sort of Messiah.