Editing The Baal Shem Tov (section)

==== [[Hashgacha Pratis - Divine Providence|Hashgacha Pratis]] ====
The Baal Shem Tov's approach to Hashgacha Pratis is summarized in the famous statement "in every movement, there is the Alufo Shel Olam." The Baal Shem Tov explains that even in what appears to be the greatest concealment - the five alefs in Pharaoh's boastful words "The enemy said: I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil" - even there are five alefs to show that behind these words of kelipah stands the One and Only - Alufo Shel Olam.

A famous mashal of the Baal Shem Tov is brought in his grandson's book Degel Machaneh Ephraim about a king who surrounded himself with seven fearsome walls, each more fortified and enclosed than the previous one. Many climbed and tried to break the walls but did not succeed. Only the king's son, who knew that his father surely had not abandoned him, sacrificed himself to pass through all the walls, and finally, after sacrificing himself to climb the walls, he discovered that everything was an illusion; there were no walls and nothing preventing approach to the king. The nimshal is that if a Jew truly believes that Hashem is close to him - all concealments will be nullified for him.

A famous statement of the Baal Shem Tov is that even the concealment itself is from Hashem, as it is said "And I will surely hide My face," and therefore the punishment is that this reality itself will be concealed - that the concealment is a concealment.

According to the Baal Shem Tov's approach, even a leaf falling from a tree must involve Hashgacha Pratis. Since there is no reality that doesn't contain G-dly reality, therefore it's impossible for even a single action to occur from the beginning of creation until the end of its seven thousand years of existence - that doesn't involve Hashgacha Pratis.
[[File:אוהל הבעל שם טוב.jpg|thumb|The Ohel of the Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibuzh]]