Customer Reviews

Why the Baal Shem Tov Laughed: Fifty-two Stories about Our Great Chasidic Rabbis (v. 3)

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Why did the Ball Shem Tov laugh? Out of sheer delight in the way G-d had chosen to make His point: In the village of Koznitz, a tragedy has occurred. Reb Shabsai has earned no money whatever this week, and hence there is nothing with which to buy candles or even food for the Sabbath. Dispirited, he goes to the shul to welcome the Sabbath anyway. At home, his wife decides she could at least clean the house -- there may be no food, but the Sabbath Queen could hardly be welcomed in a dirty house! And what happens? While cleaning, she finds a packet of jewelry and money she had hidden away and then lost many years prior. The Sabbath was welcomed that week with both fish and chicken, and everyone shares the joy, including the Baal Shem Tov, who joins the laughter three separate times with Reb Shabsai and his wife. Once again, G-d has provided whatever His people needed.

This first of the 52 stories is typical of the others -- take simple people, in impoverished shtetl conditions, add sizeable doses of great faith, seasoned with joy, and what do you get? Moral lessons for today, well told in 2-3 page stories, together with a biographical note on the storyteller himself -- one of the Chassidic Rebbes who were the original followers of the Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760). The stories are perhaps intended for children -- one a week, perhaps? But Mrs. Citron has done her research -- most of these stories were new to me, even though I've been a fan of Chassidic stories for many years. Some of them will bring tears to your eyes -- we think WE have problems!

The book would have benefited from the inclusion of more information about the Rebbes whose favorite tales she retells -- maybe even some incident from their own persecuted lives and troubled times. Giving us their geneology -- who is whose son, grandson, father-in-law, etc -- is probably of limited interest to a general readership.

Nonetheless, this is a delightful book -- great Bar-Bat Mitzvah gift, too!