You Are a Wellspring
By Tzvi Freeman
Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer was known as the Baal Shem Tov—meaning, “The Master of the Good Name.” Love, awe, wonder and joy were his themes, and he set the hearts and souls of all who came in contact with him afire.
As a young orphan, as a member of a circle of wandering, hidden tzadikim, he studied the teachings of the Kabbalah. Yet, he went beyond the understanding of his teachers, grasping the core-essence of this ancient wisdom, to the point that he was able to make this wisdom relevant to the everyday lives of the most simple folk.
On the Jewish New Year of the year 1705, the Baal Shem Tov lay on the floor of his room in a deep trance. He felt his soul ascend to the higher spiritual realms—higher and yet higher than he had ever ascended before, until he arrived at the highest chamber of heaven, the chamber of the Moshiach, a soul that awaits its time to descend to this world and liberate all of humanity from its bonds, both physical and spiritual.
He entered that chamber, and he asked, “Master, when will you come?”
The Moshiach answered him, “When your wellsprings will spread to the outside.”
Wellsprings. The Baal Shem Tov knew what was meant by that word. And he understood the subtle implication of that response. It was not enough for the wellsprings to overflow so that their waters would give life to the world outside. No, the wellsprings themselves had to spread to the outside—as far outside as possible, until there would be no place that could be called “outside.” Every corner of the world, every sentient being, everything that is, all had to become a wellspring of the inner wisdom.
After all, for the Creator of all things, there is no inside or outside. He is everywhere, in everything, and all is an expression of His oneness. So that there is nothing in this world that cannot become a wellspring. Because there is nothing outside of Him.
So that is our job today. Can your outside become a wellspring of the most inner wisdom?