Baal Shem Tov, R. Israel

Learn about the life and teachings of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the 18th century mystic who permanently changed the Jewish landscape.

The Baal Shem Tov was a leader who revolutionized Jewish thought and breathed new life into a swooning nation. The effects of his teachings continue to be felt today.

Israel Baal Shem Tov was born on the 18th day of Elul in the year 5458 in a little town called Okup in the Ukraine. The name 'Baal Shem Tov' meaning 'the master of the Name', was given him later, when he became known as a great and pious leader, with divi...

Every hundred years or so, a person comes along and changes the way we look at ourselves and our world. But there is something that is rarer still -- someone who will tell us something that we already know

"Chai Elul" - the 18th day of the month of Elul - is the birthday, in 1698, of the founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. It is also the day on which his "spiritual grandson," the founder of Chabad, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, was born, in ...

When the man saw me he asked: "What is a small child doing all alone in the forest? Are you not afraid to be in the forest all by yourself?"

There are many myths and legends about the Baal Shem Tov. Even the most fantastic ones, they say, are true. But there's one, very popular, myth that's not true: the Modern Jewish Legend of the Baal Shem Tov...

A five-part series of classes on the founder of Chassidus and how the revelation of his Torah teachings impacts the world at large.

Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov entered a chilled, dreary world and set it afire. He taught that even the simplest soul can bond to the Infinite Creator with love and joy . . .

Learn about the Baal Shemtov's only daughter, Udel, who plays a unique role in early Chassidic history.