Baal Shem Tov

Baal Shem Tov: "His name was Israel ben Eliezer. Like other great Jews, including Moshe Rabenu, Israel came from circumstances that would hardly have given cause to believe that he could lead anyone, let along the Jewish people. He was terribly poor. As a young boy he became an orphan and was raised as a community charge. Because life expectancy was short in the 18th century there were orphan homes in every community, as parents died young. Israel began his career as a Beihilfer, a German or Yiddish word for assistant. He was assigned the job of teacher’s assistant, a job even lower in the esteem of the community than teacher. This didn’t work out for him and so he was assigned the job of assistant to the shammes, or sexton, of a congregation. He married young and became an innkeeper but that failed also. Finally he became a teacher - melamed in Hebrew. This was the usual profession for those who could not otherwise His name was Israel ben Eliezer. Like other great Jews, including Moshe Rabenu, Israel came from circumstances that would hardly have given cause to believe that he could lead anyone, let along the Jewish people. He was terribly poor. As a young boy he became an orphan and was raised as a community charge. Because life expectancy was short in the 18th century there were orphan homes in every community, as parents died young. Israel began his career as a Beihilfer, a German or Yiddish word for assistant. He was assigned the job of teacher’s assistant, a job even lower in the esteem of the community than teacher. This didn’t work out for him and so he was assigned the job of assistant to the shammes, or sexton, of a congregation. He married young and became an innkeeper but that failed also. Finally he became a teacher - melamed in Hebrew. This was the usual profession for those who could not otherwise "