Baal Shem

A Baal Shem (Hebrew: בַּעַל שֵׁם, romanized: baʿal šēm, pl. Baale Shem; Yiddish: בעל־שם, romanized: Balshém, plural baléshem) was a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah, folk healer, and thaumaturge (miracle worker). Employing various methods, Baalei Shem are claimed to 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 Rabbinic Judaism, similar figures arbitrated between earthly realities and spiritual realms since before early Judaism in the 3rd century as noted in the Talmud. However, it was only in the 16th century that the figures were called Baale Shem. Herbal medicine, amulets, contemporary medical cures, as well as magical and mystical solutions were used in accordance with Kabbalistic and Lurianic Kabbalistic teachings in the Middle Ages.

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 into a spiritual movement, Hasidic Judaism.

Alternatively transliterated Ba'al Shem or Ba'ale Shem, the term is a conjunction of two separate Hebrew words. ba'al "lord" (Hebrew: בַּעַל, Hebrew pronunciation: [ˈbaʕal], plural ba'ale Hebrew: בַּעֲלֵי), while shem (שֵׁם, Hebrew pronunciation: [ʃeːm]) means "name". For Ashkenazi Jews, this term meant "master of [God's] name", signifying both the possession of God's power and an ability to manipulate it through spiritual means. "What all ba'alei shem had in common was the ability to employ magical techniques for manipulating the name or names of God to achieve practical effects in everyday life. They were masters of The Name–God's name–and dealt in what was termed practical Kabbalah."

The unofficial title baal shem was given by others who recognized or benefited from their ability to perform wondrous deeds, emerging in the Middle Ages and continuing until the early modern period.

Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chełm is the oldest historical figure to have been contemporaneously known as a Baal Shem. He was known to study Kabbalah. He received the title of ba'al shem because he created a Golem through the use of one of God's names. His descendant, Tzvi Ashkenazi, mentioned that people attested to him having created a golem using the Sefer Yetzirah.

Baale Shem were folk healers and also had mystical powers that allowed them to foresee or interpret events and personalities. They were considered to have a "direct line" to Heaven, evoking God's mercies and compassion on suffering human beings. In Jewish society, the theurgic role of Baale Shem among the common folk was a mystical institution contrasted with the more theosophical and ecstatic Kabbalistic study circles, which were isolated from the populace. The Baal Shem, the communal maggid "preacher" and the mokhiakh (מוֹכִיחַ "preacher of penitence" were seen as lower-level, unofficial intelligentsia, below contract rabbis and study Kabbalists.

While a few people received the title of Baal Shem among Eastern and Central European Ashkenazi Jewry, the designation is most well known in reference to the founder of Hasidic Judaism.^{[citation needed]} The Baal Shem Tov, born in the 17th century Kingdom of Poland, started public life as a traditional Baal Shem, but introduced new interpretations of mystical thought and practice that eventually became the core teachings of Hasidic Judaism. In his time, he was given the title Baal Shem Tov, and later, by Hasids, referred to by the acronym BeShT. He disavowed traditional Jewish practice and theology by encouraging mixing with non-Jews and asserting the sacredness of everyday corporal existence.