tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post3828168090628777781..comments2024-03-05T21:22:43.426-05:00Comments on parshablog: The inventor of the Segulah Ring, Reb Yoel Baal Shem Tovjoshwaxmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03516171362038454070noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-56575798562333612592011-06-22T11:23:44.302-04:002011-06-22T11:23:44.302-04:00Yes, and from his description it seems that R. Yoe...Yes, and from his description it seems that R. Yoel II was a scholar and held in high regard by his contemporaries so I think it's unfair to single him out as a charlatan. The Jewish Encylopedia article about him doesn't call him a charlatan only his pupils. It does say that he "<i>pretended</i> to effect cures and perform miracles by means of Cabala" but the same can be said for all Baalei Shem including R. Yoel I if one doesnt believe in the efficacy of kabalistic cures.Znoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-59022869569720093972011-06-21T20:41:04.148-04:002011-06-21T20:41:04.148-04:00thanks!
note that it refers to Baal Shem #2 as of...thanks!<br /><br />note that it refers to Baal Shem #2 as of Zamosc!<br /><br />kt,<br />joshjoshwaxmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149022516101476797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-82755284161518561482011-06-21T18:43:05.902-04:002011-06-21T18:43:05.902-04:00In the book "The Besht: magician, mystic, and...In the book "The Besht: magician, mystic, and leader" Immanuel Etkes writes extensively about R. Yoel and Baalei Shem in general. See <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=LBxQGSNIzoQC&lpg=PA289&pg=PA33#v=onepage" rel="nofollow">here</a> for the beginning of the section dealing with R. Yoel.Znoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-48254498952080906242011-06-21T13:16:59.648-04:002011-06-21T13:16:59.648-04:00The following is taken from "Faith and Folly&...The following is taken from "Faith and Folly" by Rabbi Yaakov Hillel:<br /><br />How can we see through a charlatan?<br /><br />The truth about these miracle workers must be that they are using one of three things: deception, the forces of impurity, or Practical Kabbalah.<br /><br />As for us, Heaven is testing us to see whether we cleave to G-d in perfect faith; and our redemption depends on our passing the test.<br /><br />* Beware of anyone who asks for money.<br />It is not fitting for one to whom G-d has given a share in Kabbalah to accept any benefit from man. Unbearably heavy is the sin of those who use Practical Kabbalah to frighten people into giving them handsome gifts. [Zecher David, ma'amar 1, perek 59, 151a]Devorahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793434651294780439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-40779250373975411452011-06-21T12:52:36.369-04:002011-06-21T12:52:36.369-04:00see in the following link how that cat myth came t...see in the following link how that cat myth came to be:<br />http://books.google.com/books?id=XP_86itwp2IC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=\"a%20silly%20fellow,%20named%20william%20montgomery\"&source=bl&ots=sdmSQ_0e1v&sig=gbwB3cQYgGo54SgZhDnvGJ7Pt4A&hl=en&ei=psQATq37OYXk0QGf7PGvDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%5C%22a%20silly%20fellow%2C%20named%20william%20montgomery%5C%22&f=falseChaimHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-20252985186533787812011-06-21T12:52:34.351-04:002011-06-21T12:52:34.351-04:00see in the following link how that cat myth came t...see in the following link how that cat myth came to be:<br />http://books.google.com/books?id=XP_86itwp2IC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=\"a%20silly%20fellow,%20named%20william%20montgomery\"&source=bl&ots=sdmSQ_0e1v&sig=gbwB3cQYgGo54SgZhDnvGJ7Pt4A&hl=en&ei=psQATq37OYXk0QGf7PGvDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%5C%22a%20silly%20fellow%2C%20named%20william%20montgomery%5C%22&f=falseChaimHnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-3392614719703859002011-06-21T12:46:13.038-04:002011-06-21T12:46:13.038-04:00Selling a segula ring with a misleading rabbi'...Selling a segula ring with a misleading rabbi's name....<br />So right from the start, they are dishonest. Some clarification in their ad would have been the way to go... but that may discourage a few potential buyers who think it is really from the Baal Shem Tov.<br /><br />It's called geneivas da'as: deliberately confusing people, when we're already confused enough.<br /><br />By the way, is it a segula to blog about a segula? :)Devorahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00793434651294780439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-5703967301858296432011-06-21T11:29:26.605-04:002011-06-21T11:29:26.605-04:00Thanks for the link.
I've actually heard the ...Thanks for the link.<br /><br />I've actually heard the second story you brought (about the cat) in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov. Assuming your source is accurate, it shows how easy it is to confuse the two (or the three).yaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08179304707239865515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-64727986448477445072011-06-21T08:14:12.364-04:002011-06-21T08:14:12.364-04:00thanks. i was following the path set by the advert...thanks. i was following the path set by the advertisement. i'll correct it, with strikethroughs.<br /><br />--joshjoshwaxmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05149022516101476797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5589564.post-66373711028165727462011-06-21T07:58:59.429-04:002011-06-21T07:58:59.429-04:00Not that this nitpick is of major importance, but ...Not that this nitpick is of major importance, but there is only one Baal Shem who was called Baal Shem Tov. Thus, Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem was not and should not be referred to as Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem Tov. On the one hand it could be a simple mistake. On the other hand it serves to make things more gray and mix people up. As you correctly pointed out, people could confuse the two, which is consequential if they are taken by what they think originates with the Baal Shem Tov, whereas really it's something from a man they had never heard of before.S.http://onthemainline.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com