Author

The Baal Shem Tov

Charismatic teacher in Podolia, regarded as the founder of Hasidism.

c. 1700–1760

Also known as Israel ben Eliezer, the Besht

Biography

Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov, “Master of the Good Name”, or by the acronym the Besht, was born around 1700 in Podolia, then part of Poland, now Ukraine. A baal shem was a healer and maker of amulets who used the divine names; Israel was one of several such figures, but gained a reputation as a holy man and teacher.

Around 1740 he settled in Międzybóż, where he was supported by the community and gathered a circle of disciples and associates, among them Jacob Joseph of Polonne and Dov Ber, later the Maggid of Mezeritch. He died there in 1760. A letter attributed to him describes an ascent of his soul in which he asked the Messiah when he would come, and was told: when your teaching is spread abroad.

He wrote no books. His teaching is known from the works of his disciples, beginning with Jacob Joseph’s Toledot Yaakov Yosef, printed in 1780, and his life from the collection of stories In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov, printed in 1814 or 1815. Historians have debated how far he founded a movement, and how far the movement was built around his memory by the Maggid and his students.

Philosophical ideas

Scholarship

God fills all the worlds, and there is no place empty of God; so God can be served in every act, in eating, conversation and work, and not only in study and prayer.

Joy, not sadness or self-mortification, is the right way to serve God; even stray and evil thoughts can be raised to their divine root.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “The Baal Shem Tov.” Author. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/authors/baal-shem-tov.
Chicago (note): “The Baal Shem Tov,” author, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/authors/baal-shem-tov.
MLA: “The Baal Shem Tov.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/authors/baal-shem-tov.
BibTeX: @misc{authors-baal-shem-tov, title = {{The Baal Shem Tov}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Author. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/library/authors/baal-shem-tov} }

Related authors

Influenced: Martin Buber
Naḥman of Bratslav
Influenced by: Isaac Luria

Related concepts

Related traditions

HasidismMovementThe Jewish pietist movement founded in eighteenth-century Eastern Europe.