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The Epistle of Redemption (Igeres HaGeulah)

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Title page of the book Ben Porat Yosef by R' Yaakov Yosef HaKohen of Polnoye, in which the epistle was first printed

The Epistle of Redemption (Hebrew: Igeres HaGeulah), also widely known as the Baal Shem Tov's Epistle or the Epistle of the Soul Ascent,[1] is a letter written by Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov — known by the acronym Besht (בעש"ט), the founder of the Chassidic movement — to his brother-in-law Rabbi Avraham Gershon of Kitov, who was living in the Land of Israel at the time.

The epistle describes remarkable visions from a aliyat neshamah — a mystical ascent of the soul — that the Baal Shem Tov performed on Rosh Hashanah of the year 5507 (1746), during which he ascended to the chamber of Mashiach (the Messiah) and asked, "Eimasai atei Mar" (when will the Master come?).[2] The Mashiach's response was that the redemption would come "b'fartzeich ma'ayenosecha chutzah" — when his teachings would spread outward into the world.[3]

The epistle holds a foundational place in Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidus, serving as a cornerstone of its approach — which regards the dissemination of Chassidic teachings as the preparation for the ultimate redemption.[4]

History of the epistle[edit | edit source]

This letter is unique as the only document in which the Baal Shem Tov describes at length a vision from a soul ascent — a remarkable departure from the way most of his teachings were transmitted, which was not in writing but only in abbreviated oral form by his disciples.[5]

The epistle was written twice. The first version was sent via the Besht's disciple Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib, known as the Preacher of Polnoye, but it never reached its destination. The second version was sent via his disciple Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Katz of Polnoye — yet it, too, failed to arrive. In the end, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef (the author of the Toldos Yaakov Yosef) printed the second version in his book Ben Porat Yosef in the year 5541 (1781), which gave the epistle its lasting standing and importance.[6] The second version includes additions, among them an account of a soul ascent from the year 5510 (1750).

The versions of the epistle[edit | edit source]

Three principal versions of the text exist:

  1. The Ben Porat Yosef text (5541 / 1781) — the first printed version, published by the author of the Toldos Yaakov Yosef.
  2. The 5683 (1923) text — published in the volume Mikhtavim MeHaBesht ZL U'Mitalmedav by Rabbi David Frenkel in Lvov, with certain additions and omissions; it has been a subject of scholarly debate.[7]
  3. The 5496 (1736) text — a manuscript discovered at a later date, containing a description of an additional soul ascent.

Rabbi Yehoshua Mondshine compares the versions in his work Shivchei HaBesht and suggests that the two epistles originally sent by the Baal Shem Tov may have been combined into the text that appears in Ben Porat Yosef.[8]

Significance of the epistle and the encounter with the Mashiach[edit | edit source]

Main article: Spreading the Wellsprings Outward

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The epistle is a central document in Chassidus generally, and in Chabad Chassidus in particular, on account of its account of the Baal Shem Tov's soul ascent on Rosh Hashanah 5507 (1746), during which he arrived at the chamber of the Mashiach.[9] There he saw the Mashiach teaching Torah together with the Tannaim (the early Mishnaic sages), the tzaddikim (righteous ones), and the seven shepherds, and he witnessed tremendous joy whose cause was not made clear to him.[10]

The Besht asked the Mashiach, "Eimasai atei Mar" — when will the Master come — and the Mashiach replied: "By this shall you know: when your teachings become publicized and revealed in the world, and your wellsprings spread outward — all that I have taught you and that you have attained — and others will likewise be able to perform yichudim (mystical unifications) and aliyos (soul ascents) as you do. Then all the forces of impurity will be consumed, and it will be a time of favor and salvation." The Besht expressed great sorrow over the length of time this would require, but he learned three segulos (remedies or spiritual means) and three holy Divine Names — which he was not permitted to reveal.[11]

The Baal Shem Tov and his disciples regarded the epistle as supremely important. The Besht invested great effort in writing and sending it twice, and expressed anguish over the loss of the first version.[12] It was published in 5541 (1781) in the book Ben Porat Yosef by the author of the Toldos Yaakov Yosef, and spread widely through Jewish communities.[13] The Besht's grandson Rabbi Moshe Ephraim of Sudilkov referred to it in his work Degel Machaneh Ephraim.[14] Rabbi Uri of Strelisk studied it daily and saw in it an allusion to the time of the redemption.[15] In Chabad Chassidus, the epistle is understood as a foundational text emphasizing the role of Chassidic teachings as preparation for the redemption.[16]

Text of the epistle[17][edit | edit source]

"I ascended from level to level until I entered the chamber of the Mashiach, where the Mashiach studies Torah with all the Tannaim and tzaddikim and also with the seven shepherds. And there I saw tremendous joy, and I did not know what this joy was about. I thought that, Heaven forbid, this joy was on account of my departure from this world, and I was subsequently informed that I was not yet to depart — for it is a delight to them above when I perform yichudim below through their holy teachings — but the nature of the joy I do not know to this day.

And I asked the Mashiach, eimasai atei Mar — when will the Master come — and he replied to me: By this shall you know: when your teachings become publicized and revealed in the world, and your wellsprings spread outward — all that I have taught you and that you have attained — and others will likewise be able to perform yichudim and aliyos as you do. Then all the klippos (forces of spiritual impurity) will be consumed, and it will be a time of favor and salvation.

And I was astonished at this, and it caused me great sorrow[18] at how long it would take — when could this possibly come to be? Yet from what I learned while I was there — three segulos and three holy Divine Names — which are straightforward to learn and to transmit — my mind was calmed, and I thought: perhaps through this, people of my generation will also be able to reach the level and state that I have reached; namely, that they too be capable of soul ascents, and will study and answer as I do. Yet I was not granted permission during my lifetime to reveal this. I asked on your behalf to teach it to you, but I was not permitted at all, and I stand bound and sworn upon this."

In certain versions, the phrase "and let your goodness be known in the world" appears, which in Chabad has been understood as a directive to spread knowledge of the Besht's teachings and the path of the Chabad Rebbes as part of preparing the world for the redemption.[19]

The debate over interpreting the epistle[edit | edit source]

Some have argued that the term yichudim in the Mashiach's response points toward the study of Kabbalistic works — such as the writings of the Ramchal or the Vilna Gaon — rather than Chabad Chassidus specifically.[20] The Lubavitcher Rebbe responded to these arguments on several grounds: (a) spreading the wellsprings and performing yichudim are two distinct matters; (b) yichudim are achieved through segulos, while spreading the wellsprings requires tangible action in the world; (c) Kabbalistic texts are not included in "your wellsprings" — the wellsprings that are specifically the Baal Shem Tov's own.[21]

The melody "Eimasai ka'as Mar"[edit | edit source]

Main article: Nigun Eimasai Ka'as Mar

The Chabad melody Nigun Eimasai Ka'as Mar (When will the Master come?) is based on the dialogue between the Baal Shem Tov and the Mashiach as recorded in this epistle.[22]

External links[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ It is also referred to as Igeres HaBesht HaYeduah ("The Famous Epistle of the Besht") and Igeres Aliyat Neshamah LaBesht ("The Epistle of the Soul Ascent of the Besht").
  2. ↑ That is the precise wording in the epistle. It is commonly quoted as "Eimasai ka'as Mar" — a slight variation that has become the more familiar rendering.
  3. ↑ This echoes Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi's question to the Mashiach in Sanhedrin 98a. The language derives from Mishlei 5:16: "Yafutzu ma'ayenosecha chutzah" — "Let your springs spread outward."
  4. ↑ The epistle makes explicit that the very purpose of Chassidic teachings being revealed to the world is to bring the redemption; and it is the Chabad Rebbes who have most fully implemented this path in practice, as elaborated below.
  5. ↑ As the Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya, Igeres HaKodesh §25: "They are only the gleanings of his pure sayings, gathered as gleanings and gleanings of gleanings, and they did not know how to capture his precise language — yet the intent is true in every respect."
  6. ↑ The Baal Shem Tov expressed sorrow over the loss of the first epistle, noting that it had contained additional details which he had since forgotten.
  7. ↑ Avraham Chaim Rubinstein argued that this version is a forgery (Sinai, vol. 67, pp. 120–139). Mordechai Shraga Bauminger maintained that it represents an authentic manuscript, reasoning that a forger would have no motivation to add and remove passages from the known original and that it must therefore reflect a separate copy in the Besht's hand (Sinai, vol. 71, pp. 248–269).
  8. ↑ See also Mondshine's article in Heichal HaBesht, issue 20. In some editions of Kesser Shem Tov, the epistle was printed with certain omissions.
  9. ↑ The Besht wrote: "And I literally gave over my soul, and asked of my teacher and master [Achiyah HaShiloni] that he come with me, for there was great danger in ascending to the upper worlds."
  10. ↑ The Baal Shem Tov initially feared the rejoicing was connected to his own passing from this world, but was reassured that it stemmed from the yichudim — mystical unifications — that he performed below.
  11. ↑ Yichudim — a term in Kabbalistic and Chassidic literature referring to meditative practices that unify higher spiritual forces. The term aliyos here refers to soul ascents of the type the Besht himself experienced.
  12. ↑ The Besht noted that the first epistle had contained additional details which he had since forgotten.
  13. ↑ The introduction states: "And it remained in his possession in order to bring merit to our brethren the Jewish people."
  14. ↑ In the section on parashas Beshalach.
  15. ↑ Imrei Kodesh HaShalem — the conduct and teachings of Rabbi Uri of Strelisk.
  16. ↑ As elaborated in the article Spreading the Wellsprings Outward, including the teachings of the Chabad Rebbes on implementing the Mashiach's instruction.
  17. ↑ Based on the Ben Porat Yosef version.
  18. ↑ The Baal Shem Tov's weeping and sorrow — "and it caused me great sorrow" — is itself one of the points at the heart of the differences between Rabbi Boruch of Mezhibuzh and the Alter Rebbe, and is bound up with the divergence between Chabad Chassidus and Polish Chassidus.
  19. ↑ See also Spreading the Wellsprings Outward.
  20. ↑ See Likkutei Torah, Shlach 43b; Hearos U'Biurim Yud-Tes Kislev 5762, p. 33.
  21. ↑ See the Rebbe's letter, 5 Tammuz 5718, printed as an addendum to the pamphlet L'Hak for Rosh Hashanah 5771.
  22. ↑ The precise wording in the epistle is "eimasai atei Mar".
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