Once upon a time, a delegation of elders from a distant city came to the Baal Shem Tov on urgent business. After listening to their complaint, he opened the Torah lying on the table in front of him. Having barely glanced at the text, he immediately closed the book, and then not only suggested a solution to the problem to visitors, but also described in detail how the situation would develop in the coming months.
Indeed, everything happened exactly as Besht predicted.
After some time, the elders again came to the Baal Shem Tov to thank him for his participation and advice. One of them asked:
- Teacher, when we asked our question, you looked into the Torah. And what, this holy book told you how events would develop and how we should react to them?
“We were taught that the Lord created the world through light,” answered the Baal Shem Tov. “The world was permeated with light from edge to edge. Here and there, yesterday and tomorrow, everything was illuminated. But God saw that the world was unworthy of this, that if low and evil people reached the light, disasters would threaten the entire universe. And then He hid the light so that only the tzaddikim (saints) of the future, the few who are able to use it correctly, could gain access to it. Where is the light hidden? In the Torah. If a person looks at this book of the Torah - only for its own sake, without any selfish motives, his path is illuminated: the past and the future, time and space are open to him. The Tzadik sees the world the same way God sees it—created from light.
Commentary by Rami Shapiro Many people study the Bible, but rarely does anyone do it li-shma. Most people want something from the Bible: rules, truths, answers, clues to past events, and prophecies for the future.
If you pick up the Torah with a goal in mind, the book will reflect only your own desires. But by opening it without a goal and, therefore, allowing pure divine light to enter your consciousness, you see the same thing that God sees: a world full of love and joy, the opportunity to live based on kindness, justice, compassion and humility.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru