Where Was the Baal Shem Tov Born? The Mystery Deepens

The Year: 1760. The Place: The plains of Ukraine. The Likelihood: Change of name.

Almost every detail about the life of the esteemed Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, is subject to debate among historians of the Chassidic movement, to the extent that even the identification of his birthplace is controversial. Although the name of the village where the Baal Shem Tov was born is well-known, its actual location remains unclear.

At the beginning of the book 'Shivchei HaBaal Shem Tov', it is written that the Baal Shem Tov's family lived in the region of Wallachia near the border, in a town called Okop. It was in this village that the Baal Shem Tov was born and orphaned from his parents. Before his passing, his father, Rebbe Eliezer, left a will for his son: "I see that you will light my lamp. Though I did not live to raise you, my dear son, remember all your life that Hashem is with you, and do not fear any creature in the world, only Hashem alone."

After his parents' death, the people of Okop took pity on him, and he was given to the village schoolteacher as a guardian. In time, he became an assistant to the teacher—the one responsible for bringing the children to the 'cheder' and returning them home. He fulfilled this role faithfully, and the young children under his care enjoyed their time with him.

He later became the caretaker of the local study hall, which allowed him to meditate at night away from everyone and ascend in levels of holiness and purity. At that time, a wondrous man from the hidden righteous, named Rabbi Adam Baal Shem, lived in a nearby village. He had writings full of hidden Torah secrets that he found in a cave, and before he passed away, he instructed his son to deliver these writings to a young man named Israel, son of Rabbi Eliezer, from Okop.

After Rabbi Adam's son observed the young man at the study hall, he concluded that this was the person his father intended. The writings were given to Rabbi Israel, who learned them together with Rabbi Adam's son.

Due to a tragic incident, the young man passed away, and Rabbi Israel decided to leave the village, wandering across various towns in Ukraine until he eventually settled in Talust and Medzhybizh, where he passed away.

However, everyone knows where Medzhybizh is, and many have visited it. Similarly, Talust is a well-known city on the Galician border, but where is the village called Okop?

The name of the village does not appear, neither before nor after, in any other source. It almost never appears on maps of the countries and territories where the Baal Shem Tov operated, leading to a Chassidic tradition that suggests Okop is an acronym: "A Righteous Person and Doer of Wonders," named after the Baal Shem Tov.

Several locations have been proposed as possible identifications for the village's origin. Among them, various settlements named Okopy, found in eastern Ukraine, were suggested.

According to a Jewish tradition from Kolomyia, the village was located near the city until it gradually became part of the city itself, later destroyed and now serving as the site of the Jewish cemetery in Kolomyia, which was decimated during the Nazi occupation, with its headstones removed. Today, the site functions as a city park.

'Okopy' in Ukrainian means 'water canal,' so almost any place surrounded by a water canal could be called 'Okopy.' This was also the suggestion of Rabbi Joseph Lewenstein, Rabbi of Seretck, as cited in the journal 'Nachalat Tzvi' volume 14, which suggested it was a neighborhood or district in Talust surrounded by a water canal or wall. A similar tradition was passed down by Chabad leaders, with the Rebbe of Lubavitch, of blessed memory, noting this interpretation in one of his writings.

Some argue that Okop is a settlement on the banks of the Dniester River, north of the border dividing Moldova and Podolia, founded in 1712 as a defense base against the Turks who ruled Moldova. It is located on the Dniester River, which served as a border between the principality of Moldova and Poland and over time became a civilian settlement.

Those supporting the identification of the place, as described in 'Shivchei HaBaal Shem Tov' and other sources: The birthplace of the Baal Shem Tov is, according to 'Shivchei HaBaal Shem Tov' (Story 1), located on the border of the Wallachia district, which at the time encompassed the Romanian territory, overlapping with Moldova and its borders. It is also mentioned that the village is on the banks of the Dniester, which supports the discussed identification.