Summary

Table of Contents

Prologue

Act I

1. The trials of Eliezer
2. The boy Israel
3. Rabbi Adam's son
4. The prayer of Shimon bar Yochai
5. The most holy Name
6. Bringing the Maschiach

Act II

1. Death of the Baal Shem Tov
2. The Maggid of Mezeritch
3. Elimelekh of Lizensk
4. Israel of Rizhin
5. Menachem Mendl of Kotzk (the Kotzker rebbe)

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Prologue

This is a spiritual adventure - a Jewish mystical epic.

It is a big story. It happens on earth and in heaven; it has many characters; its action spans seven generations, with flashbacks across millennia.

It exposes you to an entire world of Jewish mysticism, with its own ideas, heroes, and places.

Judaism is thousands of years old. And like all the world's great religions, it has had within it several mystical threads, including the one known as Hasidism. In this story, you will experience a fictionalized version of the origin of the Hasidic movement.

I have a hunger for the bigness of this story. And I think we all share a hunger for this kind of bigness: we want to read big stories, to know big stories, to live big stories.

Act One

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1. The Trials of Eliezer

There are events in heaven that lead to the birth of the Baal Shem Tov (Israel ben Eliezer). Before a soul of his magnitude can be born, his father undergoes three trials.

The theme of hope is introduced early, through Eliezer's initial prayer, and is carried through in his reactions to his subsequent trials.

A key character, the Adversary (Samael), is described in a way that highlights some of his differences from the Christian Satan.

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2. The Boy Israel

We experience the boy Israel's connection to the forest, his first great disappointment in losing the children he leads, and his discovery of his holy abilities. This learning experience culminates in his discovery of a first Great Holy Spark, a large fragment of the holy spirit that was shattered during the creation. This spark is the location of the Gates of the Forest: the place in the Carpathian mountains where this world touches the other world.

The Holy Sparks will be a continuing theme as he discovers other great sparks and employs his discoveries in time to bring more hope to the world. In the second act, the knowledge of these sparks will be lost, one in each generation.

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3. Rabbi Adam's Son

The mystical papers of Rabbi Adam are brought to Israel by Rabbi Adam's son - who discovers the holiness in Israel, an apparent simpleton. Together, they begin to explore mystical secrets. Their attempts to build a particular holy fire lead to the death of Rabbi Adam's son. Israel's remorse then allows him to build the fire with the correct intention and thereby discover a second Great Holy Spark, the way to build this fire. The building of the fire removes the barrier of his guilt, thus restoring him to connection with God.

This section establishes one of the distortions of hope, the unrestrained seeking of possibility.

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4. The Prayer of Shimon bar Yochai

Israel, siezed with guilt, makes a frenzied return to his connection with God. He wanders for months in the mountains, obsessed with his addictive eagerness to continually experience closeness to God. An old man in the mountains tests Israel, who becomes aware of the narrowness of his obsession. The old man saves Israel's life by teaching him a third Great Holy Spark, the ancient prayer of Shimon bar Yochai. Israel returns home with a determination to try to bring the coming of the Messiah (Mashiach).

This episode, based on a sketchy item from Hassidic tradition, becomes simultaneously the discovery of a third spark, the basis for his respect for the needs of the human body, and the motivation for his life goal of bringing Messiah. The attempt to bring Messiah represents the ultimate hopefulness: hoping for all the world to become "what it could be."

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5. The Most Holy Name

Israel begins his attempts to cause Messiah to be born. His earthly efforts to draw down Messiah failing, he learns to send his soul into heaven itself. Discovering how to open each gate in turn, he is stymied by the final gate that prevents him from asking the Messiah's soul itself how to draw it down. At last, he rediscovers the pronunciation of the most holy name of God, a fourth spark.

This episode deals with the issue of a life's work: the persistence, skill and creativity needed to accomplish any worthwhile goal - along with the futility of trying to force a result.

Other themes are reinforced here: the human ability to discover the nature of the universe by paying attention, and the holy, creative power of the Hebrew letters. The theme of God's relationship to our senses (especially sound) is established vividly during his meditations.

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6. Bringing the Mashiach

The most holy name of God, the fourth spark, turns out to be a key that opens the final gate of heaven. Face to face with Messiah's soul, Israel learns that Messiah's soul will be born when "everyone knows what Israel knows." Despairing in the face of such a large educational task, Israel decides to teach connection to God through the spirit of joy. Creator of the vastly popular Hasidic movement, he still falls short of his goal. In a last attempt to force the birth of Messiah, he unites all four holy sparks. God, moved by the magnificence of this mystical achievement, decrees that Messiah will be born now. The angels celebrate, and the Adversary hears.

This chapter introduces themes of leadership that will come to the fore in Act Two. It also sets up Israel's final character flaw for the next episode.

Act Two

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1. The Death of the Baal Shem Tov

The Adversary succeeds in convincing God to amend the decree: the soul of Messiah will not be born, but will only stand at the gates of the world, causing a vast upwelling of hope - for as many generations as the joining of the four sparks can be repeated.

On his death bed, Israel succumbs to the Adversary's attempts to prevent the passing on of the fourth holy spark. Thus, one spark is lost to the world.

This first of a series of acts of despair - Israel's thinking too little of himself to pass on the most holy name of God - begins a long descending arch that continues almost to the end of the story. The theme of bodily strength for the spiritual struggle is also touched on.

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2. The Maggid of Mezheritch

Israel's successor, the Maggid of Mezheritch, unites the three sparks he possesses and prays that the soul of Messiah might remain at the gates of the world, so that the universal upwelling of hope will remain. His efforts are greeted with a universal voice saying, "It is enough."

The Adversary, taking the form of a pious milkman, succeeds in using the Maggid's suppressed yearning for asceticism to silence him at a crucial moment. As a result, the Maggid decides that the prayer of Shimon bar Yochai is too dangerous for modern conditions, and allows the knowledge of it to die with him. Thus a second spark is lost.

This episode continues the themes of leadership and respect for the needs of the body. It also gives a second point on the great descending arc of the story: the Maggid's act of despair happens with less provocation than Israel's. His leadership, though great by our standards, lacks the pure holiness of Israel's.

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3. Elimelekh of Lizensk

Like the Maggid, his successor, Elimelekh, assembles the sparks he has - only two, in this generation - and hears a universal voice say, "It is enough." Thus, the upwelling of hope will remain for another generation.

The Adversary, taking the form of the head of an axe, sets up a situation in which Elimelekh's great intellect will be paralyzed, thus causing him to be unable to pass on one of the sparks, the holy fire.

By now, the failings of each generation are becoming greater, and the required intervention of the Adversary is becoming smaller. Where Israel faltered over recognizing his worthiness to know God, the Maggid faltered over the issue of uniting body and spirit. , Elimelekh stumbles when faced with a paradox, a situation in which any action will render him guilty. This brings up another theme of leadership, taking action even when all actions have negative consequences.

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4. Israel of Rizhin

Israel of Rizhin has knowledge of only one spark: the location of the gates of the forest. He goes there, prays, and hears a voice that says, "It is enough."

At this point Hasidism, no longer a fledgling movement, faces the problems of success. Hasidic leaders now compete for followers, leading to jealousies. The Adversary sets up a situation in which Israel of Rizhin's jealousy will lead him unintentionally to fail to describe the last holy spark's location to his successor, the Kotzker rebbe. The Kotzker rebbe, for his part, feels secretly afraid to ask the necessary question, thus allowing the last spark to be lost.

Israel of Rizhin's all-too-human jealousy is perhaps more familiar to our contemporary lives than the more lofty issues wrestled with by his predecessors. This section also deals with an additional leadership issue: the leader's need to be needed, and the distortions of leadership that can result. As the acts of despair come more easily in each generation, it should also remain clear that each rebbe is worthy of respect and doing the best he can. They are not villains, only too much like us!

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5. Menachem Mendl of Kotzk (the Kotzker Rebbe)

Having allowed the final spark to be lost, the Kotzker rebbe withdraws into isolation. Taking no chances, the Adversary sets up a situation in which Tsvi Hirsh, the only one with access to the Kotzker rebbe, turns against him. Now the Kotzker spends every day of the year alone - except the first night of Passover, which he spends in silence with his Hasidim.

Twenty years after the loss of the fourth holy spark, Tsvi Hirsh returns to the Kotzker rebbe asking his blessing for Tsvi Hirsh's son's wedding. His supplications move the Kotzker to weep, then tell his Hasidim the story of the Baal Shem Tov's life quest and the subsequent losses in each generation. A universal voice says, "It is enough," and they all understand that just telling the story is enough to continue the upwelling of hope.

The story ends with a supplication to the audience to tell the story that each has kept untold, alone in a room like the Kotzker.

The arc of leadership has come to its lowest point, yet swiftly rises almost as high as ever. We meet and overcome the final trick of despair: we have already lost everything, so why try? At the same time, the power that cannot be taken from us - the ability to give voice to our own stories - remains available. And enough.

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Doug Lipman
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This page was last updated on October 12, 2004
Copyright©2002 Doug Lipman