ה' בחסדיו שלח לנו גואל ישראל הבעש"ט זי"ע, להורות סודות התורה לפני קהלת יעקב, שיוכלו להשיגם עד גבול תפיסת אדם. ופתח שער הזוה"ק וכתבי אר"י. ולימד דעת את העם, והעמיד תלמידים קדושי ה'. Rabbi Yisrael - The Baal Shem Tov
The author now arrives at the next, important stage in the unfolding of Kabbalistic wisdom: the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement, and spiritual forefather of Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza. According to R. Gershon Henokh, the Baal Shem Tov may not have been intrinsically greater than any of the previous patriarchs, prophets, and sages presented above; yet his relevance is indeed greater, in that he had the ability to strip previous Kabbalistic teachings of their abstruseness, and make make the deepest teachings of Torah accessible to every person. He explained the words of the Zohar in clear and unambiguous language; thus opening the gate to the study of supernal mysteries to all. From his time onward, gate to the garden of esoteric wisdom was opened, and all were invited to enter.135Rav Tvi Hirsch of Zhidichov, who lived between the lives of the Baal Shem Tov and Rav Mordechai Yosef, provided a great parable to explain the significance of the Baal Shem Tov’s teachings: There was once a traveler who came to a land and told them a tale about a wonderful creature with the head of a man, the wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. The people of this land were enthralled by the story, but no one had ever seen it and they were dying to know more about this fantastic creature. Then one bold explorer took a trip to the land that the creature was reputed to live in. He returned and told his countrymen that he had in fact seen the creature, and described it in all of its wonderful detail. Later, another explorer made a similar trip to find the creature. Many months later, he returned, but not alone. He had succeeded in bringing the wondrous creature back to his country for all to see for themselves. The first traveler was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who had described the mystery of God to the people of Israel. The second was the Arizal, who unveiled the mystery to a greater extent. But it was only the Baal Shem Tov and his students who actually removed the veil and brought the mysteries to the people.
והנה בחסדי אל שהעמיד לנו בכל דור ודור חכמים ודורשי ה', ופותח להם שערי תורה כפי צורך הדור וכדאיתא בזוה"ק (שמות ב:) שהובא לעיל, שגם נבואת יחזקאל היתה אז צורך לפי הדור. ושלח לנו גואל ישראל והדרו קדוש ישראל ופארו הוא מורנו ורבינו שמו נאה לו והוא נאה לשמו רבי ישראל בעל השם טוב זללה"ה ופתח לו שערי החכמה והתבונה והדעת. הוא החל לדרוש תורת ה' התמימה, והכין לבבו ולדרוש ולבאר תעלומות חכמה, לקרבם אל גבול השגת האדם ותפיסתו בימים האלו. והוא לימד דעת את העם להבין ולהורות שכל דברי התורה נתנו לישראל, לקרבם אל דעת כל נפש מישראל. כי לא נתנה תורה למלאכי השרת אלא לזרע יעקב אשר בם בחר, ואין דבר בכל התורה שלא יצטרך לכל נפש מישראל להגיע אליו להשיגו בגבול תפיסת שכלו ודעתו. ואף לדורותינו שפלי הערך וקצרי הדעת, האיר לו הש"י לשון למודים להורות ולהבין לקרב סודות התורה עד לתכלית המדרגות. ופתח שער ה' הפנימי אשר היה סגור עד ימיו, והוא פתחו לפני כל קהלת יעקב, כי לכולם התורה מורשה ומאורשה ולא בשמים היא. וכל הבא לדרוש את ה' בלב שלם, ימצא בדבריו דרך תבונה ואורח ישרים סלולה, להבין ולהשכיל לשמוע וללמוד וללמד לשמור ולעשות ולקיים את כל דברי התורה. שכל המדות והספירות הנזכרים והנעלמים, הם סדר הנהגת השי"ת מרום המעלות עד שפל המדרגות, ויוכל להשיגם האדם עד שיגיעו לגבול תפיסת האדם. וכל המאורעות הכתובים בתורה, הם עוברים על ישראל בכלל ובפרט בכל דור ודור, והתורה תורהו לכלכל דבריו בכל עניניו במשפט. ופתח השער בזהר הרקיע הוא זהר הקדוש ובכתבי האר"י זללה"ה, לפרש דבריהם בלשון למודים ושפתי ישרים, לפרשם בלשון חכמים, איך יטיפו בלב בן אדם אשר מבשרו יחזה אלוה. ומני אז נפתח השער לכנוס בגן ה' ופרדס החכמה, ומעין היוצא מבית ה' החל להתגבר, והוא העמיד תלמידים הרבה גאונים קדושי ה': In God’s great mercies, He established Torah scholars in every generation to seek the knowledge of God, and open the gates of Torah knowledge according to the needs of the times. The Zohar (Bo, 2b) quoted above makes mention of this idea, how the prophecy of Yehezkel was suited to the needs of his generation. In the same way God sent a redeemer to Israel, whose splendor was as the Holy One of Israel,136This is a play on words, the Baal Shem Tov, whose name was Israel, was a redeemer for the nation of Israel. our master and teacher, whose name pleasant and whose pleasantness fit his name, Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov. God opened the gates of wisdom, understanding, and consciousness for the Baal Shem Tov. He sought out the knowledge of God’s perfect Torah, and prepared his heart to explicate and discourse on the hidden realms of wisdom. In his days, he managed to bring the sublime secrets of wisdom down into the boundaries of human understanding. He succeeded in making the Torah accessible to the masses of Israel. For the Torah was not given to God’s holy angels, but to the seed of Yaakov whom God had chosen,137This is referring to the famous story in the Talmud that relates and angel’s complaint, when God gave the Torah to Israel. In defence of God’s decision, Moshe asked the angels, “What is written in the Torah? ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt.’ Did you go down to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Do you worship idols, kill or steal? Why then should the Torah be yours?” From here, concludes the Midrash, we see that the Torah is meant for man, not for angels. In R. Gershon Henokh use of the image, he means to say that even the highest realms of Torah – the secrets of Kabbalah – is meant for the masses, and not merely elite scholars. and it is essential for every soul of Israel to reach everything that is written in the Torah and bring it within the boundaries of his mind’s grasp and knowledge. And even for our generation, a generation of lowly status and little knowledge, did God send him with the perfect language necessary to teach, understand, and come close to even the most sublime of the Torah’s mysteries. The Baal Shem Tov opened up an inner gate that had been closed until his days. He opened it before the entire community of Yaakov, for the Torah is not in Heaven,138See Devarim 30:12. BT Bava Meziah 29b. but the birthright and fiancée139See BT Berachot, 57a: “If one dreams he has intercourse with a betrothed maiden, he may expect to obtain knowledge of Torah, since it says (Devarim 33:4): “Moses commanded us a law [Torah], an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. Read not morashah [inheritance], but me’orasah [betrothed].” of every Jew. Everyone who seeks God with a full heart will find in the Baal Shem Tov’s words the way of understanding and clear path for the upright in order to understand, discern, hear, learn, teach, guard, perform, and uphold all the words of the Torah.140Weekday morning liturgy, blessing preceding the recitation of the Shema Yisrael. All of the Divine attributes and Sefirot, whether mentioned or hidden, contain the whole order of God’s governance of everything, from the highest heights of the spiritual world down to lowliest of levels, and man is capable of receiving them within the limits of his mind. And all of the events recounted in the Torah are experienced by every one of Israel in every generation, in general and in particular. The Torah is the essential teaching for every Jew to enable him to conduct all his affairs justly.141See Tehillim 112:5. The Baal Shem Tov opened a gate in the brilliant light of the firmament, the holy teachings of the Zohar and the writings of the Arizal, explaining all their words in clear and straightforward language, the language of wisdom. In this way the Divine abundance of the mysteries may drip into the heart of man, so that he may behold God from his very flesh.142See Iyov 19:26. From the days of the Baal Shem Tov and onward, the gate to the garden of God and the paradise of wisdom had been opened, inviting man to enter. From his days, the spring has begun to flow from the House of God,143See Yoel 4:18. and with the passage of time, it only grows stronger and stronger. The Baal Shem Tov established many students, all geniuses and holy servants of God.