My Horses Do Not Eat Matzah
Turned away by the Baal Shem Tov at first, the weakened Maggid sat outside and sent a message about loving the stranger, and the door opened.
A story ofRebbe Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritchרבי דוב בער, המגיד ממזריטשProfile ›
The early tales of the Baal Shem Tov recall how the Maggid first came near to him. He had fasted so often, seven or eight times from one Shabbos to the next, that he fell gravely ill. A chassid of the Baal Shem Tov, Rav Mendel of Bar, overheard him learning with a student in his small house in Turchin, was struck by his words, and pressed him to visit the Baal Shem Tov and be healed. The Maggid replied that it is better to take refuge in Hashem than to trust in man. Accounts differ on how he finally went, but one says his relatives pressed him until he agreed.
He found the Baal Shem Tov seated on his bed, studying. The Maggid greeted him and asked to be healed, and the Baal Shem Tov rebuked him: "My horses do not eat matzah." Weak, and drenched in sweat, the Maggid stepped outside and sat on the bench by the door to rest. A young man passed by, and the Maggid asked him to go in and ask the Baal Shem Tov why he was not keeping the verse "You shall love the stranger." The young man, Rav Yaakov of Hanipoli, pitied him and found a gentle way to deliver the message.
At once the Baal Shem Tov gathered ten men, went out to the Maggid and soothed him. He gave him lodging and twelve zlotys for his needs, and after a short while the Maggid began to recover and came to eat at his table. When he finally left, the Baal Shem Tov blessed him, then bowed his head to receive a blessing in return. The Maggid would not give it, so the Baal Shem Tov took the Maggid's hand and placed it on his own head.
Source: Shivchei HaBesht (Kopys, 1815), the account of how the Maggid came close to the Baal Shem Tov (Sefaria numbering, section 34).
The Maggid was weak and had just been turned away, yet he did not storm off. He sat down, rested, and found a calm way to say what he believed was true. When a door closes on you this week, a request refused or a relationship that feels shut, pause before reacting. Rest for a moment, then ask yourself what simple, respectful word might reopen things, and say it. Often the same person who said no is waiting to be asked a better way.