I would like to share a story because we are not simply thinking about ourselves, we are also thinking about the world. The story is about two great kabbalists. As they were getting older, they made a pact. They said, if one of us passes away before the other, he will come back and tell the other what is happening in the next world.

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(recent lecture)

Today is the death anniversary of The Bal Shem Tov. Rav Ashlag speaks about the great kabbalists that have lived. Although their source was the Zohar, they had different ways to pick people up. Rav Ashlag compares it to people drowning in the river. When they are drowning, you grab whatever you can get, the hair or the arm. For each kabbalist, they used the tool of the Zohar to grab people at the level they were at. In our generation, we have to use all the tools because everybody is at a different level of drowning.

This story is about the Bal Shem Tov, as he was about to leave this world. Of course, the students were upset and gathered around him. He told every student what their job would be and how to make their correction. When he came to his closest student, the person who literally took care of him, he said, your job is to travel the world and tell stories you have seen with me. This is how you will achieve your correction.

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This is from a lecture I gave to the teachers at the Kabbalah Centre.

(from a speech I gave this weekend)

On one of the nights in Miami, we had people from all over the world in the Rav and Karen’s room. There is a story often told by students of the Bal Shem Tov that helps us to put things in perspective. It’s a powerful story and I think it can open our eyes in many ways.

On the last day of Pesach, all the students would have what is called the meal of the Bal Shem Tov. This meal occurred during Pesach. One of the grandsons of the Bal Shem Tov should tell this story every year.

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