Tomb of the Baal Shem Tov - Medzhybizh (Mezibush)
Yosef Shidler and Mendel Mish of CJ Studios recently traveled to Ukraine and filmed this holy Jewish site
Orthodox Judaism is the most traditional and, in many respects, the most conservative and observant of Jewish denominations; and no group is more closely identified with Orthodox Judaism than the Hasidic Jews.
Although not the only Orthodox group, the Hasidim have most strongly preserved the traditions of classical Eastern European Judaism, from religious practices to customs to the manners of dress for which they are famous. The Hasidic movement was founded by the Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, more affectionately known as Ba’al Shem Tov, in Eastern Europe in the 18th century. While there are many different Hasidic groups, virtually all of them look upon Ba’al Shem Tov as their common founder. His gravesite, along with other locations associated with his life, has become an important pilgrimage destination for Hasidic Jews around the world.
History
Israel ben Eliezer was one of the most important and influential Jews in the later history of the Diaspora. He was born in 1698 in Okopy in the Ukraine, and according to tradition maintained by some of his adherents, he was a descendent of the Davidian royal line. From his childhood to the early years of his marriage, ben Eliezer preferred the outdoor life away from the cities and other traditional Jewish centers of existence. His different views of nature, the universe and God grew out of this period and would have a profound effect on his later ideas and philosophies.
Ben Eliezer became respected in the local Jewish communities for his wisdom and fairness, and was often called upon to adjudicate legal disputes. Although a learned man, he voluntarily spent much of his life as a manual laborer, from digging in clay pits to working as a kosher butcher to running a tavern. In his spare time he developed a keen knowledge of the regional flora and was known for developing medicinal remedies. For his skill as a healer, his charitable acts and the general respect he commanded, he was awarded the title of Ba’al Shem, which means ‘Master of the Name’ (of God).
When he reached his forties, Israel ben Eliezer, called Ba’al Shem Tov by his contemporaries, had developed a loyal band of disciples. Settling down in the village of Medzhybizh, he established a school to pass on his ideas to others. His teachings focused strongly on the primary importance of prayer rather than on mastery of the Talmud, which often put him at odds with the traditional rabbinical establisment. By his later years, the Jewish community had begun to divide into two major groups: the Hasidim and the Talmudists. However, although they disagreed on many things, it is important to note that the schism of the two groups did not lead to the kind of virulent antagonism that often plagued other religions such as Christianity and Islam. In fact, the two groups usually cooperated in greater matters of common interest.
By the time of his death, Ba’al Shem Tov was the most important Jewish personality in Eastern Europe. Although he personally wrote very little, his teachings were passed on orally to his disciples, and these teachings would become the foundation of Hasidic Judaism. The movement split under a number of different leaders soon after Baal Shem Tov’s death, but all recognized and honored him as their spiritual founder. The town of Medzhybizh has since become a veritable shrine of Baal Shem Tove-related sites, and thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world visit every year.
Visiting
The town of Medzhybizh is steeped in Hasidic history and sites. There are several Jewish cemeteries in Medzhybizh, the most important one being the Old Jewish Cemetery. It is here that the gravesite of Baal Shem Tov can be found, along with a number of other graves of early Hassidic leaders and adherents. Another large Jewish cemetery outside of town is actually a mass grave of three-thousand Jews who were massacred by the Nazis during World War II. A stone monument marks the site.
Medzhybizh was also home to Baal Shem Tov’s school. The original structure was completely destroyed by the Nazis, but a replica has been built using old plans and photos as a guide. The new building is now part of a museum with exhibits on the life of Baal Shem Tov and the early history of Hasidic Judaism. Finally, there is an old well just outside of the city. According to tradition, it was built by Baal Shem Tov himself.
The town of Medzhybizh is somewhat out-of-the-way in western Ukraine, approximately a hundred and twenty-five miles southwest of Kiev.
Subscribe to Shiezoli Email List:
YouTube:
Instagram:
Google +:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Hasidic Klezmer Style Wedding @ Grave Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine
Wedding celebrations of HaChoson HaChashuv Simcha Gross in Medzhybizh, Ukraine. Wednesday, April 5th 2017
Aerial View: Baal Shem Tov's Shul - Medzhybizh (Mezibush)
The Baal Shem Tov Synagogue is a small shul in the western Ukrainian town of Medzhybizh (Mezibush) where Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (1698-1760), the founder of Chassidism, would daven.
The Baal Shem Tov, as he was known, settled in the town in his later years, though even then he continued to make many journeys to spread his Kabbalistic teachings that touched the entire Jewish nation, scholarly and unlearned alike.
As his fame grew, many came to Mezibush to hear his teachings and to be inspired, and many more came to receive his blessings and advice, noted the scholar Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet.
Those seeking his help were not only Jews, but also gentiles who heard about this miracle-working saint. In recently discovered civil archives and tax records of Mezhibush, the Baal Shem Tov is mentioned in records dating back to 1742, identified as Baal Shem Doktor, living in a tax-exempt house of the community, Rabbi Schochet noted.
The exterior of the shul and Beis Medrash was pictured in 1915. The original shul no longer exists, having been destroyed by the Nazis during the Second World War.
An exact replica was rebuilt in its location by Rabbi Yisroel Meir Gabbai and his organization Agudas Ohalei Tzadikim. Its original details have been painstakingly restored.
Yosef Shidler and Mendel Mish of CJ Studios recently traveled to Ukraine to filmed the holy Jewish sites. In part 4 presented on COLlive.com, they show the Baal Shem Tov's restored Shul.
Klezmer Style Hasidic Wedding @ Grave Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine
Wedding celebrations of Hachoson Simcha Gross in Medzhybizh, Ukraine.
Shabbos With Satmar Rebbe @ Kever Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine
Shavuos @ Kever Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine - 2017/5777
Great Kabbalists .Ukraine. R. Nochum of Chernobyl
Welcome to the little journey on the sacred kabbalistics sites of the world. placed in Ukraine: R. Nochum of Chernobyl (11 cheshvan) - student of The Baal Shem Tov and his students: R. Mordechay of Chernobyl (20 iyar) , Isroel Dov Beer of Velednik (21 tevet), Mordechay Dov of Hornostaipil (22 elul), R. Avraham haMalach (12 tishrei) - Maggid of Mezhrich son (Fastov)
This is a second part of the series videos.
Welcome to the tzaddikim!
tel +380 50 3100115
Selichos @ Shul Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh Ukraine - 2017/5777
Baal Shem Tob Resting Place, Medzhybizh 4
Baal Shem Tob Resting Place, Medzhybizh 5
Approaching the Ohel of the holy Baal Shem Tov
On my visit to Medzhybizh, Ukraine during my Kevorim tour of the country
Praying at Grave of ARIZAL
Maggid of Mezritch Kever in Hanipol Ukraine
Filmed by Mendel Mish and Yosef Shidler
Rabbi Dov Baer ben Avraham of Mezeritch (Hebrew: דֹּב בֶּר מִמֶּזְרִיטְשְׁ) (died December 1772 OS), also known as the Maggid of Mezritch, was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement. Rabbi Dov Baer is regarded as the first systematic exponent of the mystical philosophy underlying the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, and through his teaching and leadership, the main architect of the movement.[1] He established his base in Mezhirichi (in Wołyń), which moved the centre of Hasidism from the Baal Shem Tov's Medzhybizh (in Podolia), where he focused his attention on raising a close circle of great disciples to spread the movement. After his death, avoiding the unified leadership of the first two generations, this third generation of leadership took their different interpretations and disseminated across appointed regions of Eastern Europe. Under the inspiration of their teacher, this rapidly spread Hasidism beyond Ukraine, to Poland, Galicia and Russia.
His teachings appear in Magid Devarav L'Yaakov, Or Torah, Likutim Yekarim, Or Ha'emet, Kitvei Kodesh, Shemuah Tovah, and in the works authored by his disciples. His inner circle of disciples, known as the Chevraia Kadisha (Holy Brotherhood), included his son Rabbi Avraham HaMalach (The Angel), Rabbi Nachum of Czernobyl, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, Rabbi Zusha of Hanipol, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev, Rabbi Boruch of Medzhybizh, Rabbi Aharon (HaGadol) of Karlin, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke of Nikolsburg and Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.
Subscribe to Shiezoli Email List:
Follow Shiezoli Wherever You Are
YouTube:
Instagram:
Google +:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Vimeo:
Flickr:
Mashpia R' Mendel Roth Conducts Kumzitz @ Kever Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine
Modzitzer Chasidim Sing @ Kever Of Baal Shem Tov In Medzhybizh, Ukraine
The Baal Shem Tov Library- Rabbi Moshe Wainberger
The Ba'al Shem Tov. Medjiboj in winter.
The Ba'al Shem Tov grave (oel), spring, guest houses
Parnassah Secrets - Baal Shem Tov
Taken from Lecture: MUSSAR Pirkei Avot (30) Don't Get Too Comfortable In This World.
By: Rabbi Yaron Reuven
Great Kabbalists. Ukraine. Part 1
Welcome to the little journey on the sacred kabbalistics sites of the world. placed in Ukraine: Medzhybizh - The Baal Shem Tov (6 sivan) & his students graves, Annipoli - The Maggid of Mezhrich (19 kislev), Rabbi Zusha (2 shvat) Yehuda Leyb hKohen (14 tishrei), Polone - R. Yaakov Yosef hKohen baal Toldot (24 tishrei), Shepetovka - R. Pinchas of Koretz (10 elul), Ostroh - The Maharasha (5 kislev).
This is a first part of the series videos.
Welcome to the tzaddikim!
tel +380 50 3100115
The Ba'al Shem Tov visit Nov 2009
My visit to the Ba'al Shem Tov in Nov 2009. Spent all Shabbat there. You can't see me but I'm there :) I'm the one that loudly says at the end SHAVUA TOV RAV !
The Last Jew of Medzhybizh (Последний еврей Меджибуша)
A scene from the documentary film Across the Narrow Bridge. A group of first generation Americans of Soviet Jewish background travel to Ukraine to explore the Jewish history of the region.