Sometimes a mystery...

Sometimes it's enough just to believe that there is a secret. You don't have to know what the secret is.

It's told about Reb Yisrael ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, that his soul was a certain piece of the Messiah (Nefesh David d'Atzilut, whatever that means).

Rav Chaim ibn Attar, the Ohr haChaim haKodesh, lived at the same time. It's told that his soul was another piece of the Messiah (Ruach David d'Atzilut) and that if the two ever met, they would bring the Messiah himself (Neshamah and Hiat David d'Atzilut) to the world.

Whereas the Baal Shem Tov lived in Poland, the Ohr haChaim lived in the holy land. The Baal Shem Tov's brother-in-law, Reb Gershon Kitover, was learning in the Yeshiva of the Ohr haChaim in Jerusalem. He expressed to the Ohr haChaim that the Baal Shem Tov was very anxious to meet him. The Ohr haChaim told him to pass along the following message to the Baal Shem Tov:

When you see yourself in heaven, see if your whole body is in heaven.

The Baal Shem Tov recieved the message, and the next time he ascended to the celestial spheres, he examined himself. Sure enough, he saw that his feet were not in Heaven (some say it was just his heel.) He advised the Ohr haChaim of this.

When the Ohr haChaim heard, he immediately told him not to attempt the journey to the Holy Land, that it surely would not be succesful. It seems that the Baal Shem Tov was driven by deeper forces to attempt the journey anyway. As we all know, his attempts to come up to the Holy Land were not succesful.


Yesterday (Shavuot) was the Yahrtzeit of King David and the Baal Shem Tov.