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#464 (s5767-03 / 19 Tishrei 5767) The Kabbalah of Tobacco On Hoshana Rabba, the Baal Shem Tov would tell what had been decreed for the coming year. The Kabbalah of TobaccoOne Rosh Hashana, when the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov were praying together, one of them dropped a snuff-box. When he bent down in the middle of this prayers to retrieve it, another of the disciples noticed and severely berated him for interrupting his prayers just to take a whiff of tobacco. The Baal Shem Tov, with his spiritual insight, realized that the rebuke of his holy disciple had brought a heavenly judgment upon his friend, to die within the coming year. The Baal Shem Tov made a "soul ascension," and argued fiercely before the Heavenly Court, to no avail. He continued trying, and on the night of Hoshana Rabba [the seventh and final day of the Sukkot festival and, according to Kabbalah, the last opportunity to influence the Divine Judgment for the year before it is dispatched] his soul ascended one last time, and he argued and cried out in prayer. Finally, it was agreed that if the accuser himself would judge his friend favorably, the latter would be delivered from the verdict. The Baal Shem Tov entered the study hall and found the disciple who had chastised his friend engaged in the Hoshana Rabba night custom of reciting the entire book of Deuteronomy [before midnight, followed by the entire Book of Psalms after midnight]. The Baal Shem Tov took away his ability to maintain a high level of spiritual consciousness, making it impossible for him to recite the verses with the appropriate attachment to G-d. The student began to pace the study hall, contemplating on the Greatness of G-d, His Oneness, and other matters (in order to regain his focus). Suddenly, a thought entered his mind. "Why is it that the tobacco plant has only been discovered in the past century or two, making it possible now for people to snuff or smoke it? Perhaps there are souls in our generation too sublime to be clothed in the physical world, and the only way to rectify them is through something equally refined, like the sense of smell." This led him to feelings of regret over the anger he had showed his friend; for who knows which souls he raised up by snuffing tobacco with the appropriate mystical intentions? On the day of Hoshana Rabba, it was the Baal Shem Tov's custom to answer all questions about what had been decreed above and below, and about what would happen throughout the world in the coming year, for with his divinely inspired knowledge, he could see from one end of the earth to the other. On that day, he was in especially good spirits. Each of his students prepared a different question, some in areas of Torah discourse, and some with questions on the Talmud, or other matters. The Baal Shem Tov would answer them all. That disciple, who had berated his friend, chose to ask his question about the discovery of tobacco. When he presented his question, the Baal Shem Tov said to him, "Tell me what you think!" He gave his reason, and the Baal Shem Tov said, "But say no more! Tell me all the thoughts that you had last night." The student remembered what he had thought, and told the Baal Shem Tov how he had judged his friend favorably. At that moment, the heavenly decree was annulled. The Baal Shem Tov was then able to tell him the whole story about what he had brought upon his friend. He warned him always to judge G-d fearing people favorably, so as not to bring supernal judgments upon them, that it should always be good for them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Biographical
note:
Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed,
and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org
websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit. |
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