page_title: Baal Shem
hierarchical_section_title: Baal Shem
caption_attribution_description: English: This portrait by J.S. Copley is often mistaken to be that of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, also known as the Baal Shem Tov. It is, in fact, a portrait of Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk, who was known as the Baal Shem of London.
context_page_description: A Baal Shem was a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah. Employing the names of God, angels, Satan and other spirits, a Baal Shem could heal, enact miracles, perform exorcisms, treat various health issues, curb epidemics, protect people from disaster due to fire, robbery or the evil eye, foresee the future, decipher dreams, and bless those who sought his powers.
  In Judiasm, similar figures arbitrated between earthly realities and spiritual realms since before the establishment of Talmudic Judaism in the 3rd century. However, it wasn't until the sixteenth century that these figures were called Baalei Shem. Herbal folk remedies, amulets, contemporary medical cures as well as magical and mystical solutions were used in accordance with traditional Kabbalistic teachings as well as adapted Lurianic guidelines in the Middle Ages.
  Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer was a Polish rabbi and mystical healer known as the Baal Shem Tov. His teachings imbued the esoteric usage of practical Kabbalah of Baalei Shem into a spiritual movement, Hasidic Judaism.
context_section_description: A Baal Shem (Hebrew: בַּעַל שֵׁם, pl. Baalei Shem) was a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah. Employing the names of God, angels, Satan and other spirits, a Baal Shem could heal, enact miracles, perform exorcisms, treat various health issues, curb epidemics, protect people from disaster due to fire, robbery or the evil eye, foresee the future, decipher dreams, and bless those who sought his powers.
  In Judiasm, similar figures arbitrated between earthly realities and spiritual realms since before the establishment of Talmudic Judaism in the 3rd century. However, it wasn't until the sixteenth century that these figures were called Baalei Shem. Herbal folk remedies, amulets, contemporary medical cures as well as magical and mystical solutions were used in accordance with traditional Kabbalistic teachings as well as adapted Lurianic guidelines in the Middle Ages.
  Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer was a Polish rabbi and mystical healer known as the Baal Shem Tov. His teachings imbued the esoteric usage of practical Kabbalah of Baalei Shem into a spiritual movement, Hasidic Judaism.
caption: A portrait of Hayyim Samuel Jacob Falk, the Baal Shem of London.
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