Before his revelation as a Hassidic master, the Baal Shem Tov was employed as a shochet (a ritual slaughterer). Once one of the local Jewish land-holders sent his non-Jewish servant with a chicken to the shochet to be slaughtered. Some time passed and the servant returned with the live bird. The landowner inquired as to why the servant had not had the bird slaughtered. The servant replied there was a new shochet in town, as the old one, the Baal Shem Tov, had left. “Well,” asked the landowner, “why did you not have the chicken slaughtered?” The servant replied, “This shochet wets his sharpening stone with water. Reb Yisroel would wet his stone with tears.”
Via saieditor.
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Bill Bell said
I hope you can offer these stories occasionally. They are wonderful for those of us outside the Jewish faith.
File under ‘education’ or ‘inspiration’?
Anyway, thank you.