As part of a project of the central Chabad library to upload 3,000 of its rarest and most precious manuscripts online, a rarely-viewed personal siddur of the Baal Shem Tov has become publicly accessible for the first time.
The siddur was handwritten by the Baal Shem Tov’s brother-in-law in the early 17th century, with mystical kavanos of the Arizal.
The central Chabad library has completed the years-long project of uploading its rarest and most precious manuscripts for online public access. Each of the 3,000 manuscripts shares secrets of Torah and tells an incredible story of the survival of Torah and the Jewish people.
In the margins of the Baal Shem Tov’s siddur, one finds inscriptions of the Baal Shem Tov’s students, asking their master to pray for their wellbeing. Its pages are literally soaked and stained with the blood stained tears of the Baal Shem Tov.
Its survival through multiple wars, pogroms, fires and all is a miracle unto itself.
For hundreds of years, its access was restricted to a select few. Now, anyone from anywhere can view its tear soaked pages. All one needs to do is click here.
{Matzav.com}
As is known, the Chassidic switch away from nusach Ashkenaz to “Sfard” is a development that came later on in the movement. It is said that it came from the Mezritcher maggid, but nevertheless, a great Chasidic leader no less than the Noam Elimelech writes that only people on a very high level can daven Sfard.
Many things can be said about this particular text.
1) There are multiple siddurim claiming to be ‘the siddur of the Baal Shem Tov, not just one.
2) Experts say that the Baal Shem Tov davened nusach Ashkenaz. For more about this, see https://tinyurl.com/29pa93ss
3) A study in in the Kulmus supplement to Mishpacha magazine also showed the Baal Shem Tov davening nusach Ashkenaz. See it at https://col.org.il/news/21003
1) that’s right, but this one has the most backing as it came from Chernoble straight to Chabad
2-3) this has nothing to do with what you’re saying cause you obviously didn’t go to page 44 where you can clearly see that it is actually boruch shaomer before hodu…
This siddur is neither Chasidic nusach Sfard, nor nusach Ari, used by Chabad Lubavitch.
Note for example נוסח ספרדים ועדות המזרח in it on p.66 in ברכת השנים, and on p.67 in ברכת בונה ירושלים.
you obviously aren’t talking with great knowledge of nusach, and about this siddur…
only the cover is available not the actual pages?
Choose the page via the white bar at the top.
Look on the top of the page and you should find a way to navigate throughout the siddur. I was able to. Hopefully you will be as well. Hatzlachah!
you can see the whole thing, on the top you can press next or previous, you can also put in the page number you are looking for
Closer:
Chabad calls their siddur, actually the nusach that was compiled by the Baal Hatanya, to be Nusach Ari. That is not true. Actually, as is actually stated openly on the cover and the shaar blatt, it is al pi ha’Ari. It is based on the mesora from the Ari Zal. The Baal Hatanya is reported to have had 60 siddurim with reputable mesoros from the Ari in front of him. He sifted through them and established his nusach. It is clear that other tzaddikim used other nuschaos, none of which are less important or less genuine than that of Chabad. The halacha that one needs to daven the nusach of the beis hamedrash where one is is not superseded by the nusach of Chabad or anyone else.
Having noted this, nusach does matter, and every legitimate nusach has explanations (aside from kavanos according to kabbalah) that make our tefilos so much richer. Yet, if we get attracted to that at the cost of being fervent in our kavvanah, that we are beseeching the graces of HKB”H Himself, we have missed the forest for a tree. And even the individual who chews up the words but recites them from the depths of his heart reaches spiritual connection that is extreme.
There are multiple sidurim with the claim of being the Ba’al Shem’s, just as there are many sifrei Torah with similar provenance, in various sizes, writing styles, and of different ages.
Now, why were his tears blood stained? What sort of condition caused that?
note on page 67 and 68 where it is written in the holy names of the talmedai habaal shem tov!!
Fascinating headline. A siddur goes online? How? Does the siddur have a filtered internet? How will his kids get into a Yeshiva for mitzuyanim? How long does the siddur hang out online? Does the siddur leave comments on Matzav?