29 Jul MYSTICAL VISION

I recently received a clip featuring Rabbi
Moshe Weinberger, who shared a story of
the Baal Shem Tov’s childhood.
The Baal Shem, whose given name was
Yisroel, was tragically orphaned at the
young age of 5, first losing his father, and
shortly afterward his mother. He was left
alone, and the community cared for him.
Eventually, he was taken in by a rebbi and
his wife, but young Yisroel’s life was full of
hardship. His host family lived in abject
poverty. It was a struggle to put food on the
table, and Yisroel didn’t even have shoes to
put on his feet. The rebbi didn’t have much
to give the Baal Shem, and his wife was
always short-tempered.
The Baal Shem Tov, then a young child with
a sensitive soul, took it all very hard. One
day, he couldn’t bring himself to go to
cheder and instead went into the forest in
search of peace and quiet. He sat himself
down, leaning against a tree, and fell asleep.
When he awoke, he was startled to find a
saintly man with a long white beard standing
over him.
The holy man called him Srulik, a name of
endearment that only his parents had used.
“Srulik, don’t despair. I came to give you a
bracha, a bracha for seeing eyes. Come with
me, take my hand, and together we will
walk to cheder.”
Seeing eyes. The ability to see others with
increased kindness and understanding. The
broken-hearted boy’s vision of the world
suddenly changed. He was blessed with
eyes that perceived people’s inner pain. He
was able to look at the rebbi in a different
light. He was no longer a distant man, but
someone who was struggling to provide for
his family. A man who was in pain, because
he lost his parents to a pogrom. The wife
was no longer a short-tempered woman, but
one who was burdened , living with
disappointment, and had difficulty handling
her life challenges. A woman trying to do
her best with what life dealt her.
In later years, Rav Yisroel Baal Shem Tov
said that he was certain that the holy man
who blessed him was Eliyahu HaNavi, and
how fortunate he was to have received the
best bracha ever, the bracha of seeing eyes.

The Baal Shem Tov’s eyes saw
through people. He understood that
an angry person could be a hurting
person. That a sad person could be a
terribly disappointed one.
This story changed the way I say
Birchas HaShachar, the morning
blessings. Baruch Atah HaShem…..
pokei’ach ivrim, Blessed are you
HaShem….. who opens the eyes of
the blind.” HaShem, please don’t let
me be blind to others’ difficulties.
Help me understand the world
around me. Guide me to discern
another’s challenges and pain. Bless
me with greater insight and
compassion for my fellow man.
This Motzoei Shabbos and Sunday is Tisha
B’Av. A day of bechiya l’doros, a cry for
generations. It was on Tisha B’Av that the
meraglim, the scouts returned from the Holy
Land with a discouraging report. Bnei
Yisroel accepted their words, and with a
lack of emuna, and a spirit of ingratitude,
they cried all night, saying “if only we had
died in the land of Egypt.” (Bamidbar 14:2)
A cry for generations. It was on Tisha B’Av
that both Batei Mikdash were destroyed.
On Tisha B’Av the Romans captured the
city of Beitar, pillaged its possessions,
with marauding gangs murdering
thousands of innocent inhabitants. The list
of tragedies that occurred on Tisha B’Av
continues. The Jews were expelled from
England in 1290. In 1492, King Ferdinand
and Queen Isabella expelled the Jews from
Spain. Tisha B’Av marked the start of
World War I. And, the deportation from the
Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka
concentration camp began on July 23,
1942, also Tisha B’Av. Tisha B’Av is a day
on which we recollect all of these – and
many other tragedies that befell our people.
The second Beis HaMikdash was destroyed
because of sinas chinam, baseless hatred.
The Talmud Yerushalmi teaches that “Any
generation in whose day the Beis
HaMikdash is not rebuilt, is considered as
if that generation destroyed it”.
Powerful, harsh words. Not that others had
destroyed it, but we – ourselves – had a
hand in the destruction.
Our generation has not merited to see the
building of the third and final Beis
HaMikdash, nor have we merited to see
peace in Eretz Yisroel. Is it because of a
lacking within us? Is it because we are
guilty of the same sinas chinam?
Rav Kook teaches that because the Beis
HaMikdash was destroyed with sinas
chinam, the only way to rebuild it is with

ahavas chinam, unconditional love. To look
at every Jew and see the tzelem Elokim
within each neshama. To appreciate and
value one another.
Rav Kook was once asked why he befriends
those who oppose him and battle against the
religious values he stands for. He responded
that he’d rather be accused of ahavas chinam
than sinas chinam.
It’s time to take a lesson from the Baal Shem
Tov. To truly open our eyes, and deepen our
perception. Not just to see with our eyes, but
with our heart. To be accepting and
understanding of others. To judge less and
value more. To take a lesson from Rav Kook
and stop the inner fighting amongst us. And
to even take it a step further and stop the
attitude of “it’s not my worry, it’s not my
problem”. Instead, we should be sensitive as
to who needs a helping hand, a kind word, a
friendly smile. To do our part in eliminating
sinas chinam, thereby bringing shalom to
the world.
The Shabbos before Tisha B’Av is called
Shabbos Chazon, after the opening words of
the haftorah, Chazon Yeshayahu, The Vision
of Yeshayahu. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of
Barditchev teaches that on Tisha B’Av, each
and every one of us is given a vision of the
Third Beis HaMikdash. A vision that we
don’t see with our physical eyes, but with
the eyes of our souls. While we may not
realize it, that image touches our neshama
and leaves its mark there. The Beis
HaMikdash is waiting in the heavens above
to descend to our world. We only have to
merit it. Tisha B’Av is not only about what
we lost, but also about the power we have to
restore it.
May this be the year that the vision of the
Beis HaMikdash becomes a reality. May it
be a year of ahavas chinam. May we see the
realization of the closing word of the
haftora,” Tzion will be redeemed with
justice, and her returnees with
righteousness.” (Yeshayahu 1:27)