xxx/ellauri157.html on line 210: Baal Shem Tov was the stage name of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, a Polish rabbi and mystical healer known as the . His teachings imbued the esoteric usage of practical Kabbalah of Baalei Shem into a spiritual movement, Hasidic Judaism. While a few other people received the title of Baal Shem among Eastern and Central European Ashkenazi Jewry, the designation is most well known in reference to the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Baal Shem Tov, born in the 17th century Kingdom of Poland, started public life as a traditional Baal Shem, but introduced new interpretations of mystical thought and practice that eventually became the core teachings of Hasidism. In his time, he was given the title of Baal Shem Tov, and later, by followers of Hasidism, referred to by the acronym BeShiT. He disavowed traditional Jewish practice and theology by encouraging mixing with non-Jews and asserting the sacredness of everyday corporal existence.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 226: The founder of Hasidism, the Baal Shem Tov, opposed the ethical practices of admonishment that could interpret fear of God as fear of punishment. In Hasidism such fear is seen as superficial, egotistical and misrepresentative of the Divine love for Creation. Hasidism sought to replace Jewish observance based on self-awareness with an overriding perception and joy of the omnipresent Divine (see Divine immanence).
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 233: Across all Hasidism the continual mystical joy and vittul-humility "between man and God", is ideally reflected likewise in belfies to help another person "between man and man". In Hasidism, mesiras nefesh means devoted sacrifice of God for another person. Lubavitch and Breslav have become the two schools involved in the Baal Teshuva movement where talented young men and women devote themselves to going on Shlichus (outings), rather than the traditional and commendable devotion to Torah study and personal spiritual advancement.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 237: Hasidism, initially, rejected the focus on personal reward, or ultimately also the ideal of material self-advancement, as too self-centred. Before the magnificent awareness of Divine majesty, through the mystical path, the automatic response is sincerity and a desire to nullify oneself (nollata polla) in the Divine presence. It is more worthwhile to reject even refined levels of self-centred spiritual advancement from advanced Yeshiva study to help another male person in their spiritual and even physical needs. This attitude has also spread in recent times to non-Hasidic Lithuanian Jewish Orthodoxy, as part of the spiritual campaign of the Baal Teshuvah movement.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 248: Hasidism adopts the different Kabbalistic forms of love, and the mystical fear of dogs. The classic Hasidic love manual the Tanya by aforementioned Schneur Zalman of Liadi describes many types of love and fear. It is a systematically structured guide to daily Hasidic life. In all Hasidism, as in Kabbalah, love and fear are awakened by studying hot and scary texts.
xxx/ellauri157.html on line 250: The strategic advantage of Hasidism over Kabbalah is its ability to get by without the esoteric terms of Kabbalah. This is brought out most in the anecdotes told about the beloved Masters of Hasidism, as well as in the funny parables they told to illustrate ideas. One such parable differentiates between superficial forms of love of God and spiritual reward, with true forms of selfless love:
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