AI: you have to use the yetzer’s own sword to kill it

Long-time readers have probably been noticing I’ve been going through a lot of ‘stuff’ the last couple of months.

This is probably a natural reaction to all the ‘stuff’ all of us have been going through the last few years, plus all the ‘stage of life’ stuff I’ve also had mixed in with that, where I’m now a granny-empty-nester, trying to figure out what I do for the next 30 years of myself.

So, I am part way through a content creating course, and I have to say, I am really enjoying myself, learning new things.

And also, thinking about how I can apply the new things I’m learning to ‘sharing content’ in a totally different way, that will be more fun and engaging for a lot more people who can’t sit and read 9 page blog posts about Jewish history (kol hakavod to all of us, really, that are still doing that) – and perhaps more importantly, more ‘fun’ for me, too.

Because stuff has been feeling so heavy for so long, doing things the ‘old way’.

And I am really getting the push to come off the fence, and to start to content create some good, holy stuff, just in a very different way that before now, has been totally beyond my budget.

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Take this for example:

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Because our storytelling, especially our ‘chassidic storytelling’ got hijacked a longggg time ago, most of the ‘Jewish stories’ told are basically Artscoll sanitised pap, or kiddie stories set in the holocaust.

Personally, I’ve been so, so sick of Jewish media for years, I haven’t been engaging with it. But when you’re a creator of ‘Jewish media’, that’s kinda limiting, especially when the Artscrollers and Mishpacha Magaziners have a total monopoly on controlling who can reach the frum audience.

I’ve been yearning for ages, to have more creative ways open up to bypass them, and reach out directly.

But up until now, that’s meant having to spend fortunes I just don’t have, or using smartphones that I just don’t want, to try to do that.

Now…

Other options are starting to swim into focus.

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Take this, as an example:

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I had so much fun putting this together, it took me half an hour, and it cost me literally $3.

I don’t have to put my face anywhere, I maintain my privacy – and this guy is totally, 100% AI generated, even before the flowers show up.

Genius!

I am literally starting to feel like the cage has opened, and there is something very exciting to aim at, and walk towards, in terms of putting out interesting, useful, holy stuff for religious Jews and others, and not all the ‘fake perfect’ externally-pious pap that is standard fare in the frum community.

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I am still playing around with this, and still lots to learn, in terms of the tools.

But people, work with me here.

What sort of stuff would uplift you?

Help you?

Inspire you?

What sort of stuff would you want your kids to be engaging with?

The sky is the limit, but I’d really appreciate some feedback, about how we can use AI to play the yetzer at its own game, and start to put GOOD stuff out there… in a fun way.

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I know, we all got started here on the blog from an obsession with bad news and woe-filled predictions.

But personally, I can’t live like that any more.

And I see all these headlines come and go for year after year – and what difference does it really make, honestly?

How does it help us?

What really helps us is ‘real stuff’ about working on our bad middot, hearing stories that inspire us, or give us koach, sharing things that are meaningful, with others, in a meaningful way.

That’s what I want to spend more of my time doing, bezrat Hashem.

And I’d love if you’d give me your ideas, suggestions and input, and come along for the ride.

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UPDATE:

I just spent an hour learning how to do stuff like this, based on that static image above (there is no sound yet, working on that next…):

This is literally game-changing how I think about connecting with readers, and putting out more ‘Breslev’ content…

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Imagining the good

While my brain is still half-mush, I’ve been messing around with some content creation tools.

Here is a first attempt at Rabbenu and the Rav hanging out, while the UFO-looking Beit HaMikdash crash lands:

(Doing a real looking Beit HaMikdash is proving kinda tricky…)

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This is what happened when I took the portrait of Rebbe Nachman, and put it together with the words:

There is no despair in the world!

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And this is probably going to be a new screensaver:

(Feel free to download and share it, if you like it too.)

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Point is: why do we have to keep on ‘imagining’ the future so bleak and dark?

Things have a habit of ‘following’ our train of thought, which is why the Evils spend so much time trying to make us all feel so depressed, demoralised and despairing all the time.

15 minute seconds are never going to happen – the masses will rise up long, long before that.

AI is a great tool for some things – but it totally lacks a human soul and creativity, and it will just free humans up to be more creative and authenticallly ‘human’, while the robotic soul-destroying jobs can be done by… robots.

The Evils are on a bad losing streak, and any day now, God is going to take them out for good.

I prefer to be thinking this way, ‘imagining’ things this way, as one thing I can tell you for sure:

YOU CAN BELIEVE NOTHING YOUR EYES ARE SHOWING YOU THESE DAYS, VIA A SCREEN.

Absolutely nothing.

So, you may as well make up your own script while waiting for the inner clarity to reveal itself, and start to enjoy your life again.

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Imagine what happens when the Moshiach actually shows up

This was so funny, I laughed out loud for two minutes and got a stomachache…

Enjoy!

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PS: I am really starting to think that I need to lighten up, waY, wAY, WAY up.

We all do.

There is still a life to be lived here, and I am thinking about how to do that better, and more beautifully, whilst still serving Hashem the way He wants me to.

I’ll keep you posted.

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Elitzur, BESHT dad story jpegs and Zot Chanuka

I have so much info piling up on my plate again…

While I’m sorting it out, here’s a few things for you, dear reader.

  1. Screenshots of the original story of the BESHT’s dad I translated from the Hebrew – because it’s good to have the source info out there and floating around, as much as possible.

  2. Zot Chanuka segula from the Rav’s Kollel Chatzot – and the timing of ‘Comet Atlas’
  3. Elitzur’s new song ‘Sold Out’ – the plot thickens, who he is referring to.

Let’s start with the screenshots:

(I’m keeping these big, as finally understanding most people are reading this off their phones)

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NEXT UP: ZOT CHANUKA SEGULA from the Rav’s Kollel Chatzot:

There is a special ‘segula’ to pray on Zot Chanuka, which this year falls out on December 22, 2025.

My contact sent me the following, quoting none other than R Israel of Ruzhin, who said:

“מה שצדיקים יכולים לפעול מה’ יתברך בראש השנה ויום הכיפורים, יכול כל יהודי לפעול בזאת חנוכה”

Translation:

“What the tzaddikim can work with Hashem Yitbarach on Rosh Hashana and on Yom Kippur, every Jew can work these things on Zot Chanuka.”

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Then, my contact sent me this quote from the Bnei Yissachar about Zot Chanuka:

בעל בני יששכר (כסלו מאמר ב’) כותב: “בחנוכה יש מקום לעורר פקודת עקרים ועקרות כעין ראש השנה, הנה לדעתי עיקר העניין עיקר הסגולה ביום האחרון הנקרא בפי כל ‘זאת חנוכה'”.

כמו כן יום זה הוא עת רצון לקבלת תפילותינו לפרנסה בכבוד. כן כותב בעל ‘אמרי נועם’ מדזיקוב (חנוכה ח”א): “ידוע מה שהצדיקים אומרים אשר עת מוכשר להמשיך פרנסה טובה לישראל הוא ‘זאת חנוכה’, וכמו כן בשמיני עצרת שהוא שמיני של חג, מברכים הגשם הרומז על גשמיות ופרנסה, כי ‘זאת חנוכה’ (שהוא גם יום שמיני) הוא במלכות”.

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Translation:

It’s known that the tzaddikim say about an auspicious time to pursue good parnassa for the nation of Israel is ‘Zot Chanuka’, as also on Sheminei Atzeret, which is the eighth day of the chag. The brachot on the rain hint to material needs and parnassa, because ‘Zot Chanuka’ (is also the holiday of the 8th day) is in [the sefira?] of malchut.

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Then, she told me verbally on the phone in fast Hebrew that the Kollel has a segula connected to the number 77 for Zot Chanuka.

I don’t remember the explanation, sorry! (still a bit under the weather)

But, here’s the Hebrew and then I’ll sum up the bottom line:

קודם כל כל שם לתפילה כמו שדיברנו הוא 77 ש”ח כמניין ניסים

הרב אמר לנו שאנחנו יכולים להבטיח בשמו ישועות למי שתורם הוראת קבע

בזאת חנוכה יהיה מעמד תפילה גדול…

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Bottom line:

The Kollel Chatzot will pray for any name for 77 shekels on Zot Chanuka.

And they also have the Rav’s promise, in his name, that anyone who signs a monthly standing order to support the Kollel will have some very ‘big’ prayers being said for them.

If having sincerely pious Jews pray for you on Zot Chanuka sounds interesting to you, go HERE to their form to donate the 77 NIS a name.

Here’s the link spelled out:

https://www.matara.pro/nedarimplus/online/?mosad=7014431

You can pick the 77 nis Zot Chanuka option of the list of donation options.

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Meanwhile, a reader has been sending me stuff about ‘Comet Atlas’ for a few weeks, including weird footage of it appearing shaped somewhat like a rotating ‘Beit HaMikdash’…

In this age of AI fakery and fake alien invasions, I have no idea what’s real and what isn’t – do your own research, come to your own conclusions.

But ‘Comet Atlas’ is meant to be here December 19th, apparently.

Bang, slap on ‘Shabbos Chanuka’.

That’s kinda interesting.

(Also, another friend in Jerusalem told me her building is shaking all night, and the whole neighbourhood suspects more bunkers are being built, or readied for a dear ‘leaders’. Remember what the autistics said about bunkers and the Kochav Yaakov?)

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Lastly, Elitzur just put out a new song called SOLD OUT:

It’s exactly 3. 33 mins long.

I don’t know who he’s referring to, but giving the whole discussion we had on the blog a while back about how the ‘Badd keep muscling in each time there is non-Badd talent to subvert it to their cause… just found it kind of interesting.

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TBC

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Astounding siyatta di shmeya – the Rav identifies ‘Adam Baal Shem’

Well, this is kind of incredible.

After a whole day of going up and down the Baal Shem Tov’s family tree, trying to figure things out more about his father, Eliezer, (and more on that in the next post, because a lot of that story of him being a Minister of War is not as impossible as it sounds) – the Ravberland.com site just put this post up, from last Monday:

https://ravberland.com/en/blog/the-story-of-the-revelation-of-the-baal-shem-tov-daily-chizzuk-by-rabbi-eliezer-berland-shlit-a

Go read the whole thing, but the part that stands out a mile is that the Rav has apparently now ‘revealed’ who the hidden tzaddik who gave the Baal Shem Tov the practical kabbalah magic writings was:

Namely, his father-in-law, who is known to us as R Ephraim Fischel of Kitov / Brody.

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This is how the Rav phrased it:

At age five, the Baal Shem Tov’s father passed away, but one thing he knew – do not fear! He suddenly saw a bear in his town of Okop; the bear had come from the zoo. The Baal Shem Tov was a melamed (teacher). He would help children. They were walking in the street and suddenly a bear came along. The Baal Shem Tov made the bear flee, struck it, and killed it. Then everyone understood that he was a holy man. People who had a dispute would come to him and he would make peace between them.

The public didn’t know that he knew how to learn. He pretended like he didn’t know how to learn, didn’t understand books, didn’t know anything — didn’t even know how to say Tehillim.

Until Rabbi Adam (Rabbi Adam Baal Shem) arrived – the one who created a golem.

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There was a Din Torah (a case in Torah law) there, and the Baal Shem Tov succeeded in resolving it, and then Rabbi Adam understood that this was a very great man, a hidden Tzaddik. He said, “Reveal to me who you are.” He revealed himself to him, and then Rabbi Adam wrote a document that he would give him his daughter.

His daughter was the sister of Gershon Kitover, who was the Av Beit Din in Brody.

Suddenly, they brought before Rabbi Gershon of Kitov the bundle, the whole sack, and took out from it the documents. In the sack, they saw a document on which was written that Rabbi Adam gave his daughter to someone by the name of Rabbi Yisrael of Okop…

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Now, let’s recall what we learnt from the ‘magick book’ auction, of the spells and incantations used by Baalei Shems in the BESHT’s time, including the incantation to make a golem:

The most important source quoted in the present manuscript is undoubtedly the Baal Shem Tov. Kabbalistic Secrets Transmitted by R. Adam Baal Shem to the Baal Shem Tov.

And this:

Prof. Shmeruk later discovered an earlier source than Shivchei HaBaal Shem Tov mentioning R. Adam Baal Shem – a booklet in Yiddish featuring stories about R. Adam Baal Shem. According to Shmeruk, this booklet was printed in Prague in the 17th century. The booklet indicates that R. Adam Baal Shem lived in Prague, and describes his meeting with Emperor Maximillian II. This emperor reigned in 1564-1576, during the Maharal’s tenure as rabbi of Prague.

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So, either ‘Adam Baal Shem’ was really old by the time he’d turned into ‘Ephraim Fischel [Hakohen] Kitover’ of Brody, or there is yet another mystery here.

Here’s another snippet from that post on the sale of the ‘magick book’:

[T]his manuscript documents an interesting chain of transmission of practical kabbalah: “From the writings of R. Yisrael Baal Shem [=the Baal Shem Tov], transmitted to him by R. Adam Baal Shem, who received from Gur Aryeh [=the Maharal of Prague].

Point is:

Ephraim Fischel [Hakohen] Kitover does link us back to Prague, and the Maharal of Prague.

Here’s how.

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He apparently marries Etel Toba Cohen Chayut – the granddaughter of the SHACH, and also the granddaughter of R YITZHAK CHAYUT of PRAGUE.

R Yitzhak Chayut had a ‘political rivalry’ going with the Maharal of Prague, and apparently was also related in marriage (more on that in a moment).

Here’s a snippet on him with an alternative spelling of his last name, from the Jewish Encylcopadia site HERE:

CHAJES, ISAAC BEN ABRAHAM (1538–c. 1615), rabbi of Prague. Chajes was appointed to this position in 1584 after having been rabbi of Prossnitz… His grandson Jehiel Hillel Altschuler, author of Metzudat David…He followed the pilpulistic method of Jacob *Pollak and was severely criticized by Jair Chayyim *Bacharach, who in his ?avvat Ya’ir wrote of Chajes that “anyone who reads what this person has written in the introduction to his works will testify and see how he has blundered, may the Lord save us.”

The precise date of his death is unknown; the exact date given by some, 18 Elul 1613, cannot be substantiated. All that is known is that in 1615 he was no longer alive. His sons were Monish, av bet din of Vilna, Abraham, author of Holekh Tammim (Cracow, 1634), and Eliezer of Prague.

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On Yivo, HERE, we are told:

According to David Gans (Tsemaḥ David; 1592), Chajes remained in Prague until 1584, later moving to Poland.

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This fits with the detail from the ‘magick book’ description, above, that:

The booklet indicates that R. Adam Baal Shem lived in Prague, and describes his meeting with Emperor Maximillian II. This emperor reigned in 1564-1576, during the Maharal’s tenure as rabbi of Prague.

Yitzhak Chayut is in the right place, at the right time, for this description of ‘Adam Baal Shem’ from that 17th century yiddish pamphlet.

And then, he moves to Poland – more exactly, to Brody.

This description comes from the Pinkas Hakehillah page for Turobin on Jewish Gen, HERE:

R. Menachem Monish Chayut (rabbi of Turobin in the 1670s), son of the prominent R. Yitzhak Chayut of Brody.

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R. Menachem Monish Chayut is married to none other than the SHACH’s daughter, Esther HaTzaddikah.

(I did a whole post on this very improbable story, maybe I’ll dig it out again.)

And ‘EPHRAIM FISCHEL HAKOHEN KITOVER’ of BRODY apparently marries their daughter, ETA TOBA – who are the parents of the BESHT’s wife.

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On GENI, the whole family tree for EPHRAIM FISCHEL is more than a mess than usual.

They have his son R AVRAHAM GERSHON KITOVER of BRODY moonlighting as his father, too.

In other words, EPHRAIM FISCHEL aka ‘ADAM BAAL SHEM” seems to spring from the head of Zeus.

Let’s see if we can figure it out a little more, by going through more of R YITZHAK CHAYUT’s descendants, to see if we can make any more possible links.

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Let’s start with ELIEZER of PRAGUE CHAYUT/ CHAJES.

His son appears to be YAAKOV YITZHAK CHAJES, Dayan and Moreh Tzedek of Prague, who dies in 1687. He marries EDEL ASHKENAZI KATZENELLENBOGEN,

A footnote on her geni page taken from the Unbroken Chain Third Edition states:

Abraham Aschkenasi Katzenellenbogen [Edel’s father] died in Iyar 1637 and was son-in-law of the Isaac Chajes darschan who was author of Pne Jitschak and Pakad Jitschak {i.e. the Isaac Chajes who had d. 1615].

I.e. YAAKOV YITZHAK and EDEL ASHKENAZI (died 1687) were first cousins, and both descendants of YITZHAK CHAYUT of PRAGUE.

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Here’s a different geni family tree for ELIEZER of PRAGUE CHAYUT/ CHAJES, that shows he also had a daughter, SARAH HOROWITZ.

She married Rabbi Yaakov ha-Levi Horowitz (Horowitz), of Cracow (1595 – 1642), grandson of the SHLAH HaKADOSH.

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Then, there is an unnamed daughter of YITZHAK CHAYUT who is meant to have married none other than the MAHARAL OF PRAGUE…

(Remember, there are 23 discussions on the MAHARAL’s profile, and his family tree is a huge, huge mess.)

The current version has the MAHARAL marrying Chayut’s sister, as his first wife.

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Then, we have another unnamed daughter who marries ISSACHAR BEER THEIN, and they end up with the AUSTERLITZ family, which already gets us into the heartland of what becomes the Prague Frankist nexus.

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Another son is the ‘big kabbalist’ AVRAHAM CHAYES.

He’s the author of

  • Zera Holech Tamim (זרע הולך תמים)

And this is what it says about him on the geni notes page, including his tomb epitaph:

About Avraham Chajes

‘From the stock of Provencal Hassidim”: This phrase on the epitaph appears already on the title page of a 1589 sermon of Yitzhak Chajes, Avraham’s father. Later also cited by members of the related Altschuler family.

אי לא
חזיתן לארי′ חזיתן
למרבעתי קרנא דתורה
בי′ קבירא צדיק הולך תמים
מפענח נעלמי′ איש חי′ משי′
לילות כימים הגאון הגדול
המפורסם רב פעלי′ עמוד
התווך יחיד בדורו המקובל
החסיד האלקי מהי′ אברהם
חיות בעה”מ ספר הולך תמים
בן לאותו צדיק הגאון הגדול
המקובל החסיד האלקי רבן
של כל בני הגולה המפורסם
יחיד בדורו מה”ו יצחק חיות
אב”ד דק”ק פראג בעה”מ אפי
רברבי ופחד יצחק ופני
יצחק וקרית ארבע מגזע
חסידי פרוביניצא ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.

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What’s curious about this, is that this ‘חסידי פרוביניצא, provincial ‘chassidim’ reference is not only predating the BESHT by many decades, it’s also predating the SHABTAI TZVI ‘chassidim’ by many decades, too.

But notice how this family ties up with the ALTSHULERS – the ancestors of SHALOM SHACHNE ALTSHULER, and the TZEMACH TZEDEK #3.

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There’s another son with no details, SHMUEL CHAYES.

And the last one of YITZHAK CHAYES’ sons is that MENACHEM MANISH CHAJES, ABD of VILNA, who marries the SHACH’s daughter, and becomes the F-I-L of ‘EPHRAIM FISCHEL KITOVER’.

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Tov.

My head is also spinning.

We’ll shove the geni back in its bottle for now, but I had to share this amazing bit of siyatta di shmeya, even though I don’t know how I get to the next ‘breakthrough’, discovering the real ancestry of ‘EPHRAIM FISHEL [HAKOHEN] KITOVER’ – who is also having that same Kohen / not a Kohen issue we identified was happening on the ‘Rebbe Tree’.

See HERE.

Snippet:

Efraim Kitover could not be the son of the Shach who was a Kohen. Efraim;s son Avraham Gershon is buried on Har hazeitim and his original tombstone is still there. If he was a Kohen it would have been mentioned on the tombstone.

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And there are more ‘problems’ with his family tree, too, from HERE:

Snippets of the discussion:

Can anybody explain me how come Rabbi Ephraim was born in 1720 and his daughter was born in 1717?

And his son was born in 1701.

I have looked at this before, but don’t have edit access to the profile, and never did anything about it.

As I recall, R’ Ephraim died c.1720, rather than was born in 1720. He died shortly before his daughter married the Besht. So she was born earlier than 1717. Probably more like 1700.

If he is really the son of the Shach then his sister was born around 1649 so I would assume he was born between 1650 to 1680. But since he is not mentioned anywhere as being a Cohen my theory is that the Shach was not his father but rather the father of his wife!

Then it switches to Hebrew, to say no ‘Ephraim Kitover’ has been mentioned as being a son of the SHACH previously:

על פי ספר כתר כהונה (תודות רבנו הש”ך) לשבתי הכהן כץ היו 2 בנים ו-2 בנות. בעמוד 27 לספר נאמר כי שמות 2 חתניו היו מנחם (התחתן עם אסתר) ואהרון (שהתחתן עם טויבה).שמות בניו היו: הבכור משה והקטן מאיר.
בכל מקרה לא היה לו בן או חתן בשם אפרים ובכל הספר לא מוזכר השם הרב אפרים מברודי, כך שאפשר למחוק את השם הזה מתולדות הרב ש”ך.

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There’s a lot more interesting discussion at that link, go take a look.

Long story short… it’s a whole, hot mess.

It’s touching directly on so much of what we’ve been talking about here for years, re: the SHACH – SHABTAI TZVI connection (where you could have more kids from the SHACH, but be unable to ‘attribute them’ correctly, if they were born while he’d already gone bonkers and become ‘SHABTAI TZVI’, the false messiah).

And then, you have this question of transmission of ‘secret writings’ that seem to be mamash what was also in the possession of the Sabbateans and ‘practical kabbalists’ to the Baal Shem Tov – who tried to break the chain of transmission, tried to hide the book for future generations, and tried to create a ‘new path’ to avoid the problem from occurring again.

Except… it failed. Jacob Frank showed up at exactly this time, the Frankists converted out causing the BESHT to die from a ‘hole in the heart’, as described by none other than Rebbe Nachman in Likutey Moharan.

And the battle passed down to the next generation, where it was taken up by Rebbe Nachman, against the latest incarnation of ‘false messiahs’ and black magick working spiritual charlatans in the Jewish community.

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But thanks to the Rav, at least now we have the real identity of ADAM BAAL SHEM.

(Or possibly, the son of Adam Baal Shem, who was said to have died as soon as he passed on the teachings to the BESHT – exactly as Ephraim Fishel passed away after making his ‘shidduch’.)

We just don’t have a real identify for EPHRAIM FISHEL HAKOHEN KITOVER of Brody.

At least, not yet.

 

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The story of the Baal Shem Tov’s father, R Eliezer

This is a mind-blowing post…

A few months ago, I was going through old missionary papers from 200 years ago, and I found a curious story introducing the readers to the ‘chassidim’.

It included a fantastic story of how the Baal Shem Tov’s father, R’ Eliezer, became the Minister of War for a far away country, and all sorts of stuff like that.

Where are these missionaries getting this stuff?! I wondered to myself.

After all, I’m a chassid, and I had never heard anything like this.

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Last week, while I was looking back at that family tree for ‘Bustenai’ – which is turning into more and more of a rabbit hole, as apparently Bustenai was also the ancestor of the Prophet Mohammed, and his descendants also began the Bah’ai faith – I saw that someone had put other strange ‘snippets’ up on the notes page.

The same page where I found the same information linking Jacob Frank to the ‘Badd Rebbes, and everyone back to the Maharal of Prague.

This time, it was about the Baal Shem Tov, R’ Israel ben Eliezer.

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First, it said this:

section 13.5: another-line

(102c) Mendel Lieb, father of

(103) Haim, father of

(104) Eliezer, general, father of

(105) Yisrael, a.k.a. Baal Shem Tov (d1760), father of

(106) Dov Ber [Dover] (d1772), father of

(107) Schneur, father of

(108) Nachman (d1811), father of

(109) Israel “of Rushin” (d1850)

(110) issue

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Let’s be clear, I don’t know how factual this stuff is, at all.

There has been so much deliberate distortion in the family trees of certain people, at this stage everything is just educated guesses, and trying to slot more pieces of the puzzle in, as they become available.

So with the caveat in mind, let’s explore further.

This surprising family tree says that ‘Israel of Ruzhin’ was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov.

It gives the Baal Shem Tov another son in addition to Adel and Tzvi – and suggests that son is none other than the Maggid of Mezeritch, Dov Ber, who dies in 1772.

While this doesn’t sound like ANYTHING I’ve been taught about chassidic genealogy, and could just be rubbish – the sad fact is that there is very little extant information about the Maggid of Mezeritch’s genealogy.

He apparently just appeared out of the mist, like so many of our leaders did:

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The Maggid of Mezeritch is meant to be the great-grandfather of Israel of Ruzhin in ‘official history’, but via the Maggid’s son ‘Avraham HaMalach’, and then R’ Shalom Shachne of Probisht, who did exist, as Rebbe Nachman writes about him, and R Natan Sternhartz went to him before he discovered Rabbenu.

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That said, we’ve also established here on more than one occasion that the story of ‘Moshe Tzvi of Savran’ overlaps to an enormous degree with that of ‘Israel of Ruzhin’.

The main difference being that ‘Moshe Tzvi of Savran’ is said to have died in Russian prison the exact same year that ‘Israel of Ruzhin’ managed to bribe his way out of prison, and over the border to Moldova. Where he popped up with a brand new identify, aka ‘Israel of Ruzhin’.

So, who really knows.

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Next, back on the Bustenai notes, it says this:

article: another miscellaneous descent-line

(101) “The Maharal of Prague” (above)

(102c) Mendel Lieb, whose brothers were Betzalel Loewe, and Shmuel Zvi

(103) Haim

(104) Eliezer, a general

Sarah [his 2nd =]

(105) Yisroel, aka Baal Shem Tov

2 Channah [Anne]

(106b) Adil (dau), sister of (106a) Zvi

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It was the bit that said ‘Eliezer, a general’ about the Baal Shem Tov’s dad, that really got me wondering whether after all, there might not be some truth in this otherwise apparently ‘wrong’ family tree, as well as some truth in that fantastic missionary account of the Baal Shem Tov’s parentage.

This is where I got to, by Friday last.

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On Shabbat, my husband randomly opened the Baal Shem Tov stories book we bought two trips ago, on that crazy excursion to Medzhibozh that made us almost miss our plane.

To my utter shock, he starts reading me something about the Baal Shem Tov’s dad being a Minister of War for some king…

Hold up, wait a minute! What are you reading?!

It turns out, the book has a section about the Baal Shem Tov’s parentage, that we just didn’t even know about.

It’s in Hebrew, so let me give you my extremely free, and precis’d translation of what it says entitled Toldot Chai Ha Baal Shem Tov, beginning page 387.

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The Baal Shem Tov was born in a small house in the city of Okup, next to the border of the State of Valhaii.

The BESHT’s father, R Eliezer, was kadosh, and one of the 36 hidden tzaddikim, and used to entertain a lot of guests. In his old age, bandits fell upon the city, and they kidnapped R’ Eiiezer. His wife fled to another city, and supported herself by becoming a midwife.

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R Eliezer was sold by the bandits to a distant land, where there were no Jews.

It was forbidden for Jews to live there, and in order not to endanger himself, R Eliezer hid the fact that he was Jewish.

He served his master faithfully, and obtained great favour in his eyes. He gave him the job of overseeing his house. In return for his faithful work, R Eliezer asked his master to free him from doing melacha on Shabbat, and he let him conduct himself according to halacha.

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As the days of his captivity lengthened, R Eliezer wanted to escape from there, but they told him in a dream that he shouldn’t force the moment, and he still needed to wait in this country.

One day, his master had dealings with the Vice-regent and advisor to the king, and he gave him R Eliezer as a present, to advise him, and praised his servant very highly to him.

Also in the Vice-regent’s eyes, R Eliezer found especial favour, and he gave him his own room, and didn’t ‘work him’ at all. All that he requested of him was that when he returned from the king, R Eliezer should bring a pitcher of water and wash his feet, in the manner of honored nobles.

The rest of the time, he was free to stay busy with Torah and tefillah in his room.

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One day, the king decided to go to war.

He summoned the Vice-regent to him, in order to plan war tactics with him, but the war was becoming too complicated, and the Vice-regent didn’t know what to say to him. The king became angry with the Vice-regent that he didn’t have good advice for him, and the Vice-regent left his presence troubled and morose.

When he got to his house, R Eliezer came out to greet him with the pitcher of water in his hands. But this time, the Vice-regent was irritable and didn’t stay with him, instead going immediately to bed. R Eliezer saw this, and from concern for him, he went to ask him to tell him why his face was fallen, and looked so low.

The Vice-regent tried to deter him, but R Eliezer insisted, until the Vice-regent told him. R Eliezer said:

Doesn’t God have the solutions? Hashem is a Man of War! I will fast, and then ask the Heavens what should be done, in order to successfully prosecute the war. R Eliezer undertook a ‘dream-fast’ and from heaven, they revealed to him all the war strategies required.

The following day, R Eliezer explained to the Vice-regent what had to be done. The Vice-regent became very happy, and the next day set out of the King’s castle, to tell him R Eliezer’s words. The king was amazed, and said to the Vice-regent:

This displays wisdom that is un-human! Either, you are a Godly man, who angels reveal themselves to you, or you got hold of these ideas using the forces of tumah. And after all, I know that you are not a ‘Godly man’… So, are you a sorcerer?

[In these times, people accused of sorcery were usually put to death.]

The Vice-regent became flustered and rushed to explain to the king where this advice had come from.

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The king set sail with his soldiers in a ship, to wage war against a mighty fortress.

To the eye, the fortress appeared quite easy to conquer. So the king decided to spend the night at a distance, and then the next morning, he would conquer it with a small force.

R Eliezer had also been brought along in the minister’s ship. That night, they revealed to him in a dream that the king should not send a small force to conquer the fortress, as the route towards it contained hidden iron rods that would gouge and then sink any vessel that approached it. It was also revealed to him a secure path for the king to take through the sea.

The king awoke at dawn, and got ready to start his assault.

The others were excited for the battle, but R Eliezer tried to approach the king, and then requested permission to reveal hidden things to the king. They immediately cut his hair, and gave him different clothes, and then he came to the king in a small boat.

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R Eliezer told the king what he’d been shown from heaven, and added that if the king didn’t believe him, he should send a small boat manned by those who had already been condemned to death along the proposed route, and see for himself what happened to them. When that ship got to the place where the rods were emplaced, it was ripped to pieces and each person sunk to the depths.

The king turned to R Eliezer and asked advice about what to do. R Eliezer advised him according to the ‘signs’ he’d received in the dream, to take a safe route through the ocean. The King followed R Eliezer’s words, and he successfully conquered the fortress.

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After these things, the king raised R Eliezer up to become his Minister of War.

The king trusted him, as he could see that God was with him, and that he achieved great success in every place where the king sent him. At this stage, more yearnings arose in R Eliezer’s heart, and concerns about what his end would be. Maybe, the time had finally arrived for him to escape?

But from Shemayim, they told him again that he still had to wait it out in that place.

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One day, the Vice-regent died.

The king elevated R Eliezer to become his second-in-command, and gave him the Vice-regent’s daughter, as his wife. For some years, R Eliezer battled to keep separated from this non-Jewish woman, and tried many different things to avoid being in the same house as her, alone. Those times when he had no choice but to be in the same house, he didn’t touch her at all.

After some time, the daughter of the Vice-regent asked him:

Tell me, what blemish did you find in me, that you distance yourself from me so very much?

He answered her: If you swear to me that you won’t reveal it to any person, what I’m about to say, then I will tell you the truth.

She swore to him, and R Eliezer revealed to her: I am a Jew.

In that place, they had completely forbidden Jews to live there for any reason. If a Jew was found there, they would sentence him to death.

When the woman heard this, she immediately sent him to his own country, together with a great fortune, gold and silver. But on the way back, bandits fell upon him and took all of the treasure.

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On his way home, Eliyahu HaNavi revealed himself to R Eliezer, and said to him:

In the merit of this [that he didn’t touch the non-Jewish woman for many years] a son will be born to you that will illuminate the eyes of Israel. And about him will the verse be fulfilled:

“You are My servant Israel, in whom I take glory.” (Isaiah 49:3).

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Ad kan, this awesome story of the Baal Shem Tov’s father.

Notice the main themes:

  • white slavery and kidnapping;
  • countries that forbid Jewish residents on pain of death;
  • regular ‘communication’ with Shemayim;
  • suspected sorcery vs being a ‘man of God’ who converses with angels, and last but certainly not least,
  • overcoming the biggest test of all, namely avoiding pgam habrit.

All these themes are so familiar, both from Rebbe Nachman’s own writings (and concerns that he himself would be kidnapped during his trip to Eretz Yisrael), and also from Rav Berland’s remarks (like, in Conversations III).

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You know why we’ve never heard this story before?

The answer is to be found on page 391 of the Baal Shem Tov book, where they bring an ‘alternative version’ of the story, as told by the ‘Badd.

In that version, all the stuff mentioned above is totally missing, and all that is left is the idea that ‘R Eliezer of Okup’ has a lot of guests.

And one day, Eliyahu HaNavi appears to him as a shabbos-breaking guest, and R’ Eliezer doesn’t get angry at him, nor throw him out the house, or even reprove him for breaking Shabbos….

And in the ‘merit’ of this, he is told he’s going to have the Baal Shem Tov as a son.

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As I’m typing this up, it’s becoming obvious how much of the original spirit of chassidut got reverse-engineered by the ‘Badd to fit its own agenda.

In this ‘alternative’ story, there is no white slave trade, no details of royals outlawing Jews, no big struggle to maintain the purity of the brit, and to stay close to God in the midst of terrible tribulations.

All that is out the window, and instead, we are given an asinine, flat tale where R Eliezer is running a proto-Chabad house, and where turning a blind eye to Jews breaking shabbos is extolled as the most amazing, wonderful, holy thing a person could do.

It’s so amazing, in fact, that you get the Baal Shem Tov as a present, if you stop caring that other Jews are mechalel Shabbat. (Remember, 200 years ago this was still pretty shocking, even the ‘maskilim’ still wore tzitzit at this point.)

Puhleeze.

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In the next post, I will take a look at the historical accuracy of the original story about the Baal Shem Tov’s father, to see if it matches up with anything we’re told about the actual history of this period of time.

The answers are actually very surprising.

Until then.

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