Thread by @wordpaley

Thursday was Chai Elul (18 Elul), said (in Chabad sources) to be the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chasidic movement. A lot of his teachings--brief but pithy--remind me of tweets. Here's 18 of them that can teach us how to be better on this website:
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But first: who was the Besht, and why does the environment he was born in remind me of Twitter? Born to Eliezer and Sara in the village of Okopy, near the border of present-day Poland and Belarus, little Yisroel was orphaned at the age of 5.

He was born in a time of upheaval in European Jewry. The Chmielnicki pogroms of 1648-9 had killed 100,000 Jews, or ~30% of Poland's Jews. Shabtai Tzvi's failure left many followers disillusioned with Judaism or following new "messiah" Jacob Frank.

Twitter also seems in a constant state of upheaval. Someone (more like a lot of someones) is always upset about something. There was a time not too long ago when many folks here were quite focused on a certain orange, larger-than-life messiah/anti-messiah.

When the Besht was born, Judaism in Europe was not nearly as accessible as it is today. Spiritual achievement and enlightenment were privileges of learned rabbis, many of whom came from rich families who hired teachers for them. Many Jews, and nearly all women, could not read.

On Twitter too, elitism rules the day. Even if blue-checks don't talk down to us (and many do), Twitter has conditioned us to believe that what they say is somehow more true or important. And people take you more seriously if you have a good follower:following ratio.

Anyway, young Yisroel found his way into a circle of wandering, forest-dwelling mystic-shamans led by a still-mysterious figure Adam Baal Shem (baal shem=healer w/ God's Names). He himself became an itinerant healer, but presented as a simple man, at one point owned a tavern.

All the while, he was deeply immersed in the secrets of Torah, studying with Elijah the Prophet but mostly Elijah's teacher Achiya ha-Shiloni. Achiya's single prophecy, in I Kings, was about the fissure of the Israelite monarchy during the 1st Temple era.

Fittingly, the Besht's mission was to unite the Jewish people through soulful, spontaneous prayer in their own language and reminding them of God's infinite love. In this way, he came to undo, and fix, his teacher's prophecy. (heard this in @RIETSDean's name.)

If you're interested in the historicity of the Besht, check out Moshe Rosman's book Founder of Hasidism. Rosman found a tax roll from a Polish principality with the name "Balsam", and argues fairly convincingly that it refers to the Besht.

On 18 Elul 1734 (again per Chabad sources), at the age of 36, the Besht revealed himself. He quickly amassed a group of close followers, who eventually spread his teachings across Eastern Europe. He died on the first day of Shavuot, c. 1760. He left very few writings.

One piece of writing he did leave us, however, was a letter to his brother-in-law R. Gershon Kitover. In it, he reports a vision of the Messiah, who tells the Besht Messiah will come when the Besht's "wellsprings spread outward."

In that spirit, let's see if we can spread some of these wellsprings onto this dry, thirsty hellscape. Here are 18 teachings, many from a later collection of his teachings called Keter Shem Tov, each with a Twitter-relevant interpretation.

1. One of the Besht's earliest teachings, which he received in a vision of Elijah the Prophet at age 16, was that there's no such thing as a simpleton. Everyone can effect metaphysical change in the universe no matter how much they know.

1. Same is true on Twitter. Don't think you're so high and mighty because you have a lot of followers or get a lot of retweets. It's the algorithm, man. The smallest account with an egg for a profile pic could have the deepest insight, and you'd never see it.

2. A central tenet of the Baal Shem Tov's philosophy is Divine Providence over every aspect of not just human life, but the universe. If a leaf rustles in the breeze, God wanted it to rustle at exactly that time, in precisely that way.

2. Yes, the algorithm shows you the tweets. But a series of Divine decisions led you to this particular combination of recent follows and likes, and also led the people in your feed to tweet whatever they did. Respond in kind, with kindness.

3. You are where your thoughts are. That means a bunch of things: a. You can transport yourself to other places or spiritual states with just your mind b. Your thoughts or ways of thinking may be limiting you or c. Your status relative to others is imaginary.

3. This whole website is imaginary. None of the ways in which we present ourselves here truly represent who we are. Take yourself out of your thoughts, of your virtual self, for a moment, and ask yourself what you would say in real life.

4. The other is a mirror in which we see our own flaws. If we see an imperfection in someone else, we are simply being shown what we need to fix within ourselves. Also, we notice flaws in people who are more similar to us than not.

4. Before you attack a bad tweet, think about things you've said recently that you wish you hadn't. Did you receive forgiveness and understanding? You can still reply, but come with an intention to understand or educate, not shame. Ask yourself: does this person remind me of me?

5. Constant enjoyment is not really enjoyment. The experience of pleasure is dependent on desire, which itself is born from a lack of some kind. If you eat pizza 3 meals a day every day you're probably not going to like it for very long.

5. I've been on this site almost 10 years now. It's starting to get old. The same issues and jokes cycle endlessly through my feed, the same people's tweets get me upset, the same patterns of behavior repeat themselves. It's good to take a break sometimes.

5. (cont.) If you feel like you instinctively reach for Twitter, pause and ask yourself why. I realized I did it more when I was feeling lonely. I've since reconnected with friends and managed to avoid the app for weeks without deactivating my account.

6. A person who is sick but doesn't know cannot be cured. But a person who is aware of their sickness is halfway towards the cure, such that knowing is itself half of the cure.

6. If there's something wrong with the way you use Twitter--whether you're mean or addicted--if you're aware of the problem you're halfway to fixing it. If you find yourself denying it: wouldn't it be better to be free of the doubt in the first place?

7. A person is able to transform bad into good simply by changing perspectives, by switching around the letters of a word. The way things appear to us is simply a function of our expectations, that is, our interpretation of life.

7. Did a bad tweet? Transform it into an opportunity to show empathy for those hurt by asking for forgiveness. Feeling bitter that you didn't get a follow back (I would follow you back if I could, I'm over the limit!)? Use it as motivation. You don't need their approval anyway.

8. Often after spiritual ascents, we descend back into our lower comfort zones to elevate our most base tendencies. We aren't meant to constantly climb, we are meant to climb and go back down to strengthen the rungs of the ladder.

8. Got sucked back in to a toxic thread again? Don't sweat it. Now you have an opportunity to bow out gracefully or distract yourself and forget to reply. It really doesn't matter if some stranger thinks they "defeated" you on the internet. They'll forget about it in 20 minutes.

9. Language is the most powerful tool we humans have. God wants us to immerse ourselves in it, to deconstruct it, to make ourselves at home in it. We can unite heaven and earth by using it mindfully.

9. Think of your tweets as ways to bring people together, not merely to speak your mind. Use language that the largest number of people can understand and benefit from. Read your tweets with the eyes of an outsider.

10. A soul may descend into this world and live 70 and 80 years just to do another soul a material favor, and certainly a spiritual one.

10. You have no idea what impact one well-timed joke or shower thought could have on a follower's life. If it's good, tweet it! Even if it doesn't speak to everyone. If some unfollow you, so what? Your follower count is just a number...

10. ...and the potential impact on just 1 follower is immeasurable. Reminds me of this thread, the responses to which exemplify everything that's wrong with Twitter, but brims with deep self-aware insight. If you don't like it, he didn't tweet it for you!

https://twitter.com/QiaochuYuan/status/1415771873900568576?s=20

11. Limitation is merely a personal invitation from God to expand. In one's own limitations and suffering, one can see what God is missing reflected in oneself. This inspires a person to pray 𝐟𝐨𝐫 God, which expands one's awareness.

11. The 280-character limit on Twitter invites questions and conversation, because it's almost impossible to communicate a fully formed thought unless you write long threads no one reads (like this one 🤪). Ask more questions!

12. Just like you can get someone's attention by physically touching them, you can touch someone's soul by calling their name. A person's name is sort of like a handle for their soul. That's why people wake up when you say their name.

12. Address people by their names on here whenever you can. It reminds you that there's a real person behind the handle you're tweeting at, and will likely make the other person feel seen and heard, and more likely to engage genuinely.

13. The Hebrew word for light has the same gematria (numerical value assigned to each Hebrew letter) as the word for secret. One who knows and shares secrets reveals the inner light in everything.

13. The best interactions on this site happen when people share openly with each other about things they wouldn't normally share with strangers. It's hard and may feel unnatural, but try to share personally, or ask questions that move people to do so.

14. The concealment of exile is doubled, because God is so hidden we aren't even aware of God's hiddenness. Becoming aware of that hiddenness is itself a form of revelation.

14. There is a double-hiddenness on Twitter: you hide behind the way you present yourself in your profile, and so does anyone you engage with. Simply naming that concealment and acknowledging each other's humanness may be enough to break down barriers to heartfelt conversation.

15. When one faces an important decision in life, the Torah one is learning at the moment may contain a message from God regarding how to proceed.

15. Twitter is more than just a place to keep up with the news or banter, it's a place you can get life-changing insight and direction. Ever since I started using it with that intention, I've had less FOMO and more fulfillment.

16. A person needs to learn and accustom themselves to scream silently to God.

16. There's no rule that you have to voice your displeasure with everything on this site. I think we can all agree there are certain serious issues that require speaking out. But sometimes there's no one to blame, and all you can do is tweet a blank tweet at God.

17. When two people have an argument, and want to make amends, they should express to each other how they were hurt. Otherwise, it's as if they *want* to carry the hurt with them and let it fester into a full-blown grudge.

17. This website encourages passive-aggressive behavior. If someone upset you, don't quote-tweet or subtweet them. DM them to tell them how you feel. If they don't apologize, at least you can (try to) move on and not let it blow up later.

18. Relevant for this time of year: a story is told of a boy who came into shul on Rosh Hashanah playing his flute. The congregants were furious and tried to make him leave. The Baal Shem Tov said: Stop! This is the prayer of the shofar.

18. People use Twitter in many, many different ways. We could all (myself included) do with a little more tolerance for that diversity. That doesn't mean you can't disagree. But if you find yourself constantly replying to one person...

...and not getting anywhere with them, you should probably unfollow. Like the boy and the Besht in this story, don't try to change people's minds. Play your own flute and maybe one day the music will enter their heart. 🎵💞

Correction: the Okopy near which the Besht was born is in western Ukraine.