Episode 71 : From Sinai to Bethlehem - Tell the Story of Hope

Today we talk about hope. Our world is in great need of hope and in the telling of the story of God's love for us we know hope is still alive. Listen to this story about the 18th century Hasidic master, Baal Shem Tov, told below, and understand that hope remains as does the promise that God will be with us. “It is told that in every generation there are times when hope threatens to leave this world. At such times, the Baal Shem Tov, the great Jewish mystic, would go into a secret place in the forest. There he would light a special fire and say a holy prayer speaking the long-forgotten most sacred name of God. The danger was averted and hope stayed alive. In later times when disaster threatened, the Maggid of Mezrich, his disciple, would go to the same place in the forest and say, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire, but I can say the prayer.” Still later, his disciple, Moshe Leib of Sasov, would go to the same place in the forest and say, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I do not know how to light the fire or say the prayer, but I found my way to this place, and that must be enough.” And it was. Hope stayed alive. And later when Israel of Rizhyn needed intervention from heaven, he sat in his chair with his head in his hands and said, “Ribono Shel Olam, Master of the Universe, I no longer know how to light the fire nor how to say the prayer, I can’t even find my way to that place, but I can tell the story and that must be enough.” And it was. And it still is. As long as stories are told, hope stays in the world.”