For years this arrangement has been considered one of the largest and most valuable assets in the stork world.
This week, more than 250 years after it was handwritten, pictures from the personal arrangement of one of the most famous rabbis in the history of the Jewish people and who is considered the father of Hasidism - the Baal Shem Tov - were revealed.
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The photos of the Siddur, which is currently housed in the World Chabad Library in New York, were unveiled today (Thursday) by Mendi Corts in the weekly newspaper "Kfar Chabad" and include excerpts with the names of some of the Baal Shem Tov students, which they added themselves so that most would pray for them. During his prayers.
Page from the Baal Shem Tov Siddur, Photo: World Chabad Library, courtesy of Kfar Chabad Weekly
The Baal Shem Tov was born and lived in Ukraine in the early 18th century.
The Siddur was written by his brother-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Gershon of Kitov, in his own handwriting and later completed by the scribe R. Pinchas, in both cases with the consent of the Baal Shem Tov himself.
Over the years, some of his famous disciples, the Maggid of Mezrich, Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk and others, added their names to the Siddur, along with various personal requests addressed by their rabbi during his prayers.
The World Chabad Library also notes that some of the pages of the Siddur can be seen soaked in blood and tears.
Page from the Baal Shem Tov Siddur, Photo: World Chabad Library, courtesy of Kfar Chabad Weekly
The story of the incarnation of the arrangement, which has 496 pages, is not fully known.
One of the stories in his case tells that he came into Gvir's hands in a Ukrainian town and one day the Gvir house burned down completely except for the room where the arrangement was kept.
Later, after the First World War, the sixth Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, purchased the Siddur from the family of the same man and when the World Chabad Library was established, the Siddur was transferred to it where it is preserved to this day.
Page from the Baal Shem Tov Siddur, Photo: World Chabad Library, courtesy of Kfar Chabad Weekly
The son-in-law of the sixth Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson - the Rebbe of Lubavitch, spoke in the past about the Siddur and said, "I have always had great reverence for this Siddur and I was afraid to approach it and serve it."
He further said that the previous Rebbe did not allow anyone to approach and touch the Siddur, and on rare occasions since he agreed it was only after prolonged spiritual preparation that included immersion in the mikveh.
In recent years, library staff have been scanning and cataloging many materials, and this week they have finished scanning half a million manuscripts, including the Baal Shem Tov arrangement, which is considered a valuable asset in every sense.
After decades of being away from the public eye, the library decided to expose parts of it to the public.
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