Hasidic Story: How the Baal Shem Tov Saved a Thief from Arrest Through Faith

A Hasidic tale recounts the story of a Jewish man whose profession was theft, yet he maintained a strict personal rule never to steal from fellow Jews. Despite his criminal life, he held a simple and profound faith in the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. Whenever he found himself on the brink of capture, he would run to the Baal Shem Tov, pleading for a blessing to avoid arrest. Miraculously, each time the Baal Shem Tov blessed him, the man escaped capture.

One day, the thief faced a dire situation and rushed to the Baal Shem Tov only to be told that the Baal Shem Tov had passed away. Desperate, he sought help from Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Polonne, the Baal Shem Tov's chief disciple, but was harshly rejected when he confessed his profession. Heartbroken, the man prayed at the Baal Shem Tov's grave, begging for salvation as he had received during the Baal Shem Tov's lifetime.

That night, the Baal Shem Tov appeared to him in a dream, instructing him to seek out his grandson, the "Dagleh Machaneh Ephraim," and to tell him a specific Torah lesson they had studied together as proof of his mission. The thief followed the instructions, and upon verifying the sign, the grandson blessed him with protection from arrest. The man was indeed saved once again.

Rabbi Yisrael of Vlodnik concluded the story by emphasizing the power of simple faith, showing that even a man in the lowest circumstances can receive great salvation through pure and sincere belief in holiness.