A Rebbe’s Name Is Like a Holy Name

Rav Dovid Moshe of Tshortkov used the story of the Baal Shem Tov and the amulet to explain a statement of Chazal (Sanhedrin 100a) that whoever calls his rebbe by name is liable to the death penalty. The sentence seems far too harsh for so light an offense. He explained that the punishment for pronouncing Hashem’s Divine Name is severe (ibid., 90a), and the story shows that a rebbe’s name is also counted among the holy names, so much so that it can even serve as an amulet.