Baal Shem Tov Tales – Must They Be Believed?
Note: This is not a question for Misnagdim. Of course, for them, the answer is no. The question is for Chasidim.
Recently an interesting talk was given by Rabbi Daniel Glatstein, a young and talented Rabbi in the NYC area, on the topic “The Adventures of the Ba’al Shem Tov & Must You Believe Them”.
He went through a spectrum of opinion on the matter, ranging from Breslov (people must believe them totally) to the חידושי הרי”ם (first Gerrer Rebbe), who, as reported in the sefer אור פני יצחק in the name of his Rebbe, said that the stories are not true.
Interestingly, even a Breslover source mentioned by the speaker (ספר כוכבי אור) that says that people must believe all the stories in the work שבחי הבעש”ט, says about other Beshtian tales that most of them were related when the speaker was between his third and fourth cup of wine, and the listener was even further along in his משתה יין, in the עולם הדמיונות, and are overwhelmingly false.
More details available in the talk.
May we merit to avoid שקר and serve הקב”ה באמת.
From Musings of a Litvishe Yid, here.