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Baal Shem Tov Quotes

Baal Shem Tov (August 27, 1698, May 22, 1760) was a Jewish mystical rabbi. He is considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism.

According to enlightened mystic Osho "He (Baal Shem) was a peculiar kind of devotee -- in his prayers he generally quarreled with God. Only lovers can quarrel. If something he didn't like happened, he used to make a lot of fuss. His prayers were worth hearing because they were direct conversations with God."

Similar type of devotion we see in the life of Hindu Mystic Ramakrishna Paramhansa for the goddess kali. Ramakrishna and Baal Shem are both mystics and their quotes should be read from a spiritual angle.

Selected Quotes of Baal Shem Tov:

Before you can find God, you must lose yourself.
"G-d is your shadow." Just as a person's shadow entirely mimics his actions, so does G-d, as it were, entirely reciprocate our deeds.
The three loves - the love of G‑d, love of Torah, and the love of one's fellow - are indeed truly one.
Love of the Jewish people is love of G-d. "You are children of G-d, your L-rd;" when one loves the father, one loves the children.
Everything is by Divine Providence. If a leaf is turned over by a breeze, it is only because this has been specifically ordained by G‑d to serve a particular function within the purpose of creation.
The world is new to us every morning - this is God's gift; and every man should believe he is reborn each day.
G‑d's love of each and every Jew is infinitely greater than the love of elderly parents to their only child born to them in their later years.
"G-d, remember what has happened to us; observe and behold our shame." "Enable us to behold our shame," by removing our blinders of self-love and conceit that prevent us from seeing ourselves as we truly are.
One must have total self-sacrifice and dedication for love of one's fellow, even towards a Jew whom one has never seen.
Your fellow is your mirror. If your own face is clean, the image you perceive will also be flawless. But should you look upon your fellow man and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering -- you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself.
A soul may descend to earth and live seventy or eighty years for the sole purpose of doing a favor for another -- a spiritual favor, or even a material favor.
"Seek peace and pursue it" - One must seek and pursue means of making peace and establishing harmony between materialism and the G-dly life-force that vitalizes it.
The Baal Shem Tov was orphaned from his father, the hidden tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer, at the age of five. The last words spoken to him by his holy father before his passing were: "Yisrolik, fear nothing but G‑d alone. Love every single Jew, without exception, with the full depth of your heart and with the fire of your soul, no matter who he is or how he behaves."
The wholesome simplicity of the simple Jew touches on the utterly simple essence of G‑d.
There are two levels in the study of Torah, Torah of the mind and Torah of the heart. The mind cogitates, comprehends and understands; the heart feels. I have come to reveal Torah as it extends to the heart as well.
The simple true faith of a Jewish man or woman that finds expression in their recitation of Psalms is the highest level of attachment to G‑d. It arouses G‑d's Divine mercies and provides succor to the one who recites these holy words in a spirit of oneness with G‑d.
"You must aid it" - Purify the body, refine it, but do not break it by mortification.
The love G‑d has for every Jew extends not only to the Jew's soul but also to his body. G‑d loves all Jews without distinction; the greatest Torah genius and scholar and the most simple Jew are loved equally by G‑d.