Baal Shem Quotes & Sayings

Forgetfulness leads to exile while remembrance is the secret of redemption. — Baal Shem Tov

Telling the proper stories is as if you were approaching the throne of Heaven in a fiery chariot. — Baal Shem Tov

I am going out one door, and shall go through another. — Baal Shem Tov

To pull a friend out of the mire, don't hesitate to get dirty. — Baal Shem Tov

Unless we believe that God renews creation every day, our prayers grow habitual and tedious. — Baal Shem Tov

When a father complains that his son has taken to evil ways, what should he do? Love him more than ever. — Baal Shem Tov

A broom sweeps clean, and itself becomes soiled; cleanse yourself of those offenses of which you may feel guilty. — Baal Shem Tov

People should allow themselves the opportunity to really know what the unity of God means. To grasp a part of the nondivisible union is to grasp the whole. — Baal Shem Tov

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Why? Because every human being has a root in the Unity, and to reject the minutest particle of the Unity is to reject it all. — Baal Shem Tov

Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember, "For my sake, the entire world was created." — Baal Shem Tov

Pleasures are manifestations of God's name. — Baal Shem Tov

Everything above and below is one unity. — Baal Shem Tov

The world is new to us every morning - and every man should believe he is reborn each day — Baal Shem Tov

Fear builds walls to bar the light. — Baal Shem Tov

Mind is the foundation of man. — Baal Shem Tov

If the Bible didn't show us the weaknesses, the vulnerabilities , the sins of our heroes, we might have deep questions about their true virtue. — Baal Shem Tov

The ideal of man is to be a revelation himself, clearly to recognize himself as a manifestation of God. — Baal Shem Tov

Before you can find God, you must lose yourself. — Baal Shem Tov

The central aspect of worship is the feeling of being at one with God. — Baal Shem Tov

The individual is not a cog in a monstrous machine; it is within his power to modify the very laws which imprison him and the very relationship maintained by the Judge with the accused and witnesses. If it is true, as the Baal Shem says, that it is possible for man to hide the light of dawn emanating from the forest simply by shielding his eyes with his hands, still it is no less true that he can rediscover it by merely moving his hands. — Elie Wiesel

Replete is the world with a spiritual radiance, replete with sublime and marvelous secrets. But a small hand held against the eye hides it all," said the Baal Shem. — Abraham Joshua Heschel

We should not laugh at the person who becoming caught up in his prayer bends his body or moves about in strange ways. Perhaps he moves in this manner to wave off unwelcome thoughts that would interrupt the prayer. Would we find it funny if we saw a person drowning going through strange motions doing whatever was necessary to save his life? — Baal Shem Tov

Your fellow man is your mirror. If your own face is clean, the image you perceive will also be flawless. But should you look upon your fellow man and see a blemish, it is your own imperfection that you are encountering - you are being shown what it is that you must correct within yourself. — Baal Shem Tov

He who is full of joy is full of love. — Baal Shem Tov

There is no room for God in the man who is filled with himself. — Baal Shem Tov

From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven, and when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, the streams of light flow together and a single brighter light goes forth from that united being. — Baal Shem Tov

And how shall we be able to tell whether he is a true zaddik?" The Baal Shem replied. "Ask him to advise you what to do to keep unholy thoughts from disturbing you in your prayers and studies. If he gives you advice, then you will know that he belongs to those who are of no account. For this is the service of men in the world to the very hour of their death; to struggle time after time with the extraneous, and time after time to uplift and fit it into the nature of the Divine Name. — Martin Buber

Everybody is unique. Compare not yourself with anybody else lest you spoil God's curriculum. — Baal Shem Tov

It used to be said that when the Baal Shem Tov came into a town, his impact was so strong, he didn't have to speak. His disciples had to dance or to sing or to preach to have the same effect. I think a real messenger, myself or anyone, by the very fact that he is there as a person, as a symbol, could have the same impact. — Elie Wiesel

The disciples of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, tell of a dream he had. In the dream, the very incarnation of the Evil Impulse appears in the form of a sinister heart. The Baal Shem Tov seizes the heart and pounds it furiously. He would destroy evil and redeem the world. As he pummels it, he hears an infant's sobbing emitted from the heart. He stops beating it. In the midst of evil is a voice of innocence; there is goodness entangled in evil. — Harold M. Schulweis

We should learn and reflect to the best of our capacity, but when we reach a point where we are unable to make
sense of life, we should supplant faith for understanding, and reflect again on what we do know. — Baal Shem Tov

For any of us to come to the understanding that we are common and unlearned is the accomplishment of a lifetime. — Baal Shem Tov