The Mystery Behind the Baal Shem Tov Portrait

A widely recognized portrait is attributed to our revered Baal Shem Tov, seen donning a turban and cloak. According to legend, the Baal Shem Tov was once hosted by a nobleman, and an impressed visiting artist painted him from memory.

This image is certainly mistaken because, according to his students, the Baal Shem Tov typically wore the humble clothing of the common people of Poland, not the attire depicted. There could have been a talented artist nearby capable of such a feat from memory, but no such artist is known to have worked in the Baal Shem Tov's vicinity.

Furthermore, it is actually known who painted the famous portrait and whom they portrayed. Roughly three hundred years ago, a remnant of Shabbatean sects operated in Podhayce, southern Poland, in the Podolia region, including a man named Moshe David, recognized as a notable Shabbatean 'prophet.'

One of his students was Shmuel Yaakov Falk, from a Sephardic family, who began working as a 'Baal Shem,' healing using sacred names and various herbs. 

Falk was suspected of Shabbatean practices and pursued by Rabbi Yaakov Emden. He wandered to Germany, where suspicions of witchcraft led to an attempt to execute him at the stake, and eventually fled to London. 

In London, he was known as a wandering sorcerer and adventurer, reputed to discover gold treasures in the earth or create them through alchemy using mystical names, as Shabbateans did. The Christian nobility of England at the time referred to him as 'Doctor' due to his healing powers.

The American painter John Singleton Copley met him in London and captured his likeness on canvas. The image was first published in 1903 by the Chief Rabbi of London, explicitly identified as the actual portrait of the 'Baal Shem' Dr. Falk.

However, due to the association with the title 'Baal Shem,' the portrait erroneously became identified with the Baal Shem Tov.

What does the Baal Shem Tov actually look like? That remains an enigma, as nothing definitive is known.