I am shocked that the mods allowed DaMoshe’s last post – a terrible and utterly false bizayon of the holy Baal Shem Tov ztz”l.
Edited
Baba Sali, the Gaon of Vilna and the Baal Shem Tov
When Baba Sali first moved to Israel, in 1964, he lived in Yavneh.
Baba Sali, the Gaon of Vilna and the Baal Shem Tov
When Baba Sali moved to Eretz Yisrael, in 1964, he first lived in Yavneh, where his son-in-law, Avraham Abuchatzira, was a rabbi. One day, he suddenly moved away. This is the astonishing reason.
In Yavne there was a kolel of young married men who sat and studied every day. The head of this group was an accomplished Torah scholar who had become friends with Baba Sali. He would often visit the holy man and discuss many aspects of his group of students. He also shared with him the problems that faced his people. Once, during the course of a conversation, he mentioned that there was a marked difference in the level of study between the Gaon of Vilna and the Baal Shem Tov.
“As seen from their decisions handed down and their writings, the Gaon of Vilna plumbed the depths of every subject, and touched on every single aspect of the Talmud, while the Baal Shem Tov did not delve deeply into halacha and the decisions of other masters.”
Baba Sali was shocked and dismayed to hear the head of the kolel speak thus. He did not say anything because of that Rabbi’s position. However, when the man left, Baba Sali said, “In a city where things like this are said about the great luminary, our teacher and guide, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov — it is forbidden to live.”
On that very day, he arranged for his possessions to be packed, and he left the city. He refused to listen to the tear-filled pleadings of his son-in-law, Rabbi Avraham. “In a place where one speaks in tones of disrespect about so holy and great a man, it is forbidden to live,” repeated Baba Sali.
He moved for a brief period to Ashkelon, where one of his children lived, and then in 1970 to Nativot, which has a large Moroccan community. There he passed away in 1984 at the age of 94.
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Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from Baba Sali, Our Holy Teacher by Rabbi Eliyahu Alfasi, the attendant of Baba Sali for many years.