הרב ישראל בן אליעזר

The Baal Shem Tov
Acharonim · c. 1500-1900 CE

רבי ישראל בן אליעזר, הידוע כבעל שם טוב היה מקובל ומנהיג ציבור יהודי במזרח אירופה, הנחשב לאבי תנועת החסידות.

Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov or BeShT (בעש״ט), was a Jewish mystic and healer regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. A baal shem tov is a "Master of the Good Name"—that is, one able to work miracles using a secret name of God. Other sources explain his sobriquet as arising from a reputation of being a saintly, or superior, Baal Shem ('miracle-worker'); hence, he was given the nickname Baal Shem Tov.

Shiurim Featuring This Sage

Reasoning · Bava Metzia

Why Rabbi Yochanan Holds the Finder Keeps It

A close reading of the sugya of disputed ownership — and the unstated principle that drives the entire…

Reasoning 3 min