The Baal Shem Tov's Shabbos Guest

It is told that complaints reached the Baal Shem Tov that his kameyos (amulets) no longer worked. When he looked into it, he found that Reb Yitzchak had spoken against them and so drained them of their power.

The Baal Shem Tov concentrated with all his strength, and Reb Yitzchak lost track of what day of the week it was. He was traveling, and he reached Medziboz on Friday afternoon, believing it was Thursday. With no reason to hurry, he davened, ate a little and lay down for a nap.

When he awoke, he found the whole inn preparing for Shabbos. He asked why they were getting ready on Thursday afternoon. They told him he was mistaken, for Shabbos was almost here. He refused to believe them until he stepped outside and saw the street full of Jews hurrying in every direction. Only then did he understand that it was Erev Shabbos.

Reb Yitzchak hurried back to begin his own preparations, but a visitor interrupted him, and it was the Baal Shem Tov himself. The Baal Shem Tov begged him to spend Shabbos with him. Reb Yitzchak declined, saying that the innkeeper had already made arrangements for him. The Baal Shem Tov said he had spoken to the innkeeper, who had no objection.

Reb Yitzchak then objected that he was used to eating on Shabbos until he was completely full, and he feared there would not be enough food for him. The Baal Shem Tov assured him that he had prepared a great deal. Reb Yitzchak had run out of excuses and had to accept.

His claim about his appetite was no exaggeration. He fasted the whole week, from one Shabbos to the next. At his Shabbos meal he used a huge silver platter engraved with the Name of Hashem, and each week after Kiddush he piled it high with food and ate everything served at each course.

At the Baal Shem Tov's table he finished what was set before him and then complained that he had been promised enough to satisfy him, yet he was still hungry and no food was left. The Baal Shem Tov answered that he was truly sorry. He had expected to host angels, he said, but had never imagined he would have serafim as guests, the beings who consume everything in their path.

When Shabbos ended, the Baal Shem Tov approached his guest and asked why he had seen fit to remove the power from his kameyos. Reb Yitzchak replied that it was forbidden to use holy Names of Hashem in that way.

The Baal Shem Tov told him he was mistaken. He did not use the holy Names at all. The only thing he wrote in his kameyos was his own name, Yisrael ben Sara. It was only when the Baal Shem Tov took one of the kameyos and showed it to him that the tzaddik could believe such miracles came from a kamea without the holy Names.

Reb Yitzchak was overwhelmed by the discovery, and he restored the power of the kameyos at once. "Almighty Hashem," he said, "if such wonders can come from the name of this man alone, why should You mind?"