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On the words "ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה' אליו מאהל מועד לאמר" - And the L-rd called to Moshe, and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying (Vayikra 1:1), the Baal Shem Tov writes that all healing is derived from this posuk (my own understanding):

אמר מרן הריב"ש טוב שכל הרפואות למד מפסוק ויקרא אל משה, עיין לקוטי תורה פ' וירא ותבין

היכל הברכה ר"פ ויקרא

What does this teaching mean? What is the Baal Shem Tov telling us? I am, besides an clear translation of this Baal Shem Tov, looking for an explanation of the whole concept that the Baal Shem Tov teaches us in his commentary to the above-mentioned posuk. Is it really true that all healing can be derived from this posuk and what does that mean?

In sefer היכל הבעש"ט, this statement of the Baal Shem Tov is quoted.


Edit: Thank you for those who shared the teachings of the shvilei pinchas. However, after reading it for many times now, I still find it hard to understand. The shvilei pinchas brings up the fifty gates of understanding. But I do not see what that has to do with the teaching of the Baal Shem Tov in general. Everyone gets sick, does that mean that a person is lacking in the gates of understanding?

Are there other explanations given for this Baal Shem Tov?

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2 Answers 2

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As per my comment above where I placed the link (see my comment above) I would like to translate, summarize and explain some ideas in order to make sense of this deep teaching of the Bal Shem Tov (sorry if its too long, I tried my best to shorten it as much as possible):

The word וַיִּקְרָ֖א has a small aleph, why? The Bal Haturim explains, “the א of ויקרא is written as a small letter because Moshe wanted to write ויקר (and it happened), the way it is written regarding Bilaam, which implies God appeared to him only as a chance occurrence. God, however, told him to write the א which indicates His love, but Moshe made it small.” However why in Shemot 19:20 does the Torah use a regular aleph? In Shaar Hakavanot Inyan Mizmor Shir Shel Yom Hashabba page 66 it says that on Matan Torah Moshe merited to get 1000 lights (crowns) that's why in Shemot 19:20 there is a regular aleph (to show this idea), but when Bnei Yisrael sinned Hashem told Bnei Yisrael in Parshat Vayikra 1:1 to write Vayikra with an aleph and the interpretation will be that Moshe still has one light/crown with him, but Moshe in his humbleness wanted to diminish the letter in a sense to say that it was his fault because he accepted the Erev Rav which in effect caused the Cheit Haegel.

In Rosh Hashana 21b it says, “The aforementioned verse states: “The words of the Lord are pure words…purified seven times [shivatayim].” Rav and Shmuel disagreed about a matter relating to this verse: One of them said: Fifty gates of understanding were created in the world, and all of them were given to Moses, except for one gate, for it is stated: “The words of the Lord are purified shivatayim,” which he understands to mean seven times seven, i.e., forty-nine, and it is stated: “And You have made him a little less than God” (Psalms 8:6). God created fifty gates of understanding, but He made man a little lower than God, giving him only forty-nine of them.”

Why does the Gemera say 50 minus one and not just 49? In Lekutei Torah in Vaetchanan the Arizal explains that at Matan Torah Moshe Rabbeinu received the 50 gates of understanding and when the Cheit Haegel happened he told him לך רד, go down, and he lost only the 50th level (and Gematria of לך רד equals 50, meaning go down from the 50th level). We are told in the Gemera in Avodah Zara 5a it says, “Rabbi Yosei says: The Jewish people accepted the Torah only in order that the Angel of Death would not rule over them, as it is stated: “I said: You are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High” (Psalms 82:6), i.e., they had become immortal like angels. Then, God states: After you ruined your deeds, “yet you shall die like a man, and fall like one of the princes” (Psalms 82:7).” So when Moshe Rabbeinu received the 50 gates of understanding at Matan Torah, that 50th level was able to defeat the Malach Hamavet and cause no sickness or death to come to the world, however after Cheit Haegel when Moshe lost the 50th gate, sickness and death returned to the world.

From within the 1000 lights within the 50th gate Moshe was left with one light where he was able to bring down healing to Bnei Yisrael. Now that Moshe is not with us how do we get healing? We know based on various sources mentioned in the link that whoever learns Torah which Moshe Rabbeinu gave over to us gets the one light of healing within the 50th gate that was with Moshe, and that brings all the healings that Bal Shem Tov spoke about.

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  • Wonderful. Deep kabbalah but I get it now I think. One last thing. Do you have any sources for the last line? > "We know based on various sources mentioned in the link that whoever learns Torah which Moshe Rabbeinu gave over to us gets the one light of healing within the 50th gate that was with Moshe, and that brings all the healings that Bal Shem Tov spoke about."?
    – Shmuel
    Commented Oct 17, 2023 at 9:44
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It's difficult to answer this mystical question, but I once saw in a sefer that the source of this Bal Shem Tov is a Gemara in Sanhedrin 101a (from sefaria),

והלוחש על המכה וכו': אמר ר' יוחנן וברוקק בה לפי שאין מזכירין שם שמים על הרקיקה איתמר רב אמר אפילו נגע צרעת ר' חנינא אמר אפילו ויקרא אל משה

The mishna teaches: And among those who have no share in the World-to-Come is one who whispers invocations over a wound. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: And that is the case only where he spits into the wound while he whispers, as one does not mention the name of Heaven over spittle, and doing so is an act of contempt for God. It was stated that Rav says: Even the verse: “When a leprous mark is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest” (Leviticus 13:9), in which there is no mention of the name of God, may not be whispered as an invocation. Rabbi Chanina says: Even a verse that is unrelated to the specific illness in question, for example: “And He called to Moses” (Leviticus 1:1), may not be whispered as an invocationץ

The Gemara seems to say clearly not like the Bal Shem Tov, and that this Passuk has no connection to רפואה. However the holy Bal Shem saw in his great wisdom that the Gemara was hinting that there is major source of healing power here, and who better to say that other then Rav Chanina himself which on whom the Gemara in Yoma 49a writes that he was a very big doctor (from sefaria)...

וּמַאי שְׁנָא רַבִּי חֲנִינָא? מִשּׁוּם דְּבָקִי בִּרְפוּאוֹת הוּא. דְּאָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא: מֵעוֹלָם לֹא שְׁאָלַנִי אָדָם עַל מַכַּת פִּרְדָּה לְבָנָה וְחָיָה.

The Gemara asks: And if this was not a halakhic question but a medical one, what is different about this question that led him to ask it specifically of Rabbi Chanina? The Gemara explains: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked Rabbi Chanina because he is an expert in medicines, as Rabbi Chanina said: No man ever consulted me about a wound inflicted by a white mule and recovered. This shows that people came to Rabbi Chanina for medical advice.

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  • Incredible, do you remember which sefer you saw the connection? Also tangentially thematically similar to the question about Maharsha and Rav Pappa
    – Rabbi Kaii
    Commented Mar 23, 2023 at 22:47
  • Thanks Rabbi Kaii! Unfortunately I don't remember, if I recall I'll let you know iyh Commented Mar 23, 2023 at 23:18
  • Thanks. So even "Vayikra El Moshe" cannot be said over a wound, that I understand and I have read the Maharsha on this. However, I find it difficult to understand what the relation between this gemora and the Baal Shem Tov is. Could you maybe elaborate on that?
    – Shmuel
    Commented Mar 24, 2023 at 11:34

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