A medical doctor conducted a routine medical check of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chasidic movement in the 18th Century.
‘I am not surprised that you could not find the root of my sickness. I so desire the presence of God that my heart cries out in pain when I cannot feel it. You missed the profound sickness I have for the constant yearning for God.’
After a moment of stunned silence, the Baal Shem Tov requested to examine the medical doctor. He took his hands, gazed into his eyes and then asked:
‘Have you ever lost something very valuable?’
‘In fact,’ replied the doctor, ‘I once had a large jewel, but it was stolen from me.’
‘Ah! That is your sickness!’ answered the Baal Shem Tov. The medical doctor was puzzled.
‘What! Missing my diamond?’
‘No! My sickness is yearning after God. Your sickness is that you have forgotten that you ever had that desire.’”
God wants to ignite within each one of us a deep yearning for more of Him. Whoever we are, whatever background we come
from, no matter what status we may enjoy, there is something which raises God’s attention above all things, what the Baal
S h em To v c a l l e d , “My sickness.” In Psalm 27, the psalmist David made an earnest request to God. In verse 4 of the Psalm, he identified one overriding thing. In typical Jewish fashion, he in fact negotiated three things of
which one them was, ‘to see the beauty of Adonai.’ This was his sickness.
It is a dangerous thing to look into the eyes of the Lord for even if you wear sunglasses, His gaze will pierce the depths of your soul. Yet, when you love someone so much, you can do no other: you look at their eyes. You don’t look at their ears, only their eyes. That is our sickness.
