<<(ISRAEL BA’AL SHEM TOV.)>> Kether Shem Tov ["Crown of a Good Name.”] Edited by Aharon ben Tzvi Hirsch HaKohen of Apta.

<<First edition of the first work to present the teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov in one cohesive volume. >> The Ba’al Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic Movement, did not himself leave any of his own writings for publication following his death in 1760. Most of his teachings are found in the works of his disciples, especially R. Ya’akov Yoseph of Polonnoye, in his Toldoth Ya’akov Yoseph, Ben Porath Yoseph and Tzophnath Pane’ach. These works presented the philosophy of the Ba'al Shem Tov within the context of profound and lengthy discourses. The editor of the present work, Kether Shem Tov, shortened these discourses, culling only those that were directly in the name of the Ba'al Shem Tov and thus overall, a work was created that presented the thought of the Ba'al Shem Tov in a way that was far more palatable for the average Jew. The Kether Shem Tov commences with the celebrated letter sent by the Ba’al Shem Tov to to his brother-in-law R. Gershon Kitover in Eretz Israel, in which the Besh"t recounts his ascension to Heaven and his pivotal query: Eimathai Ka’athi Mar? (“When will the Master Come?”) - The Messiah famously responding: Kesheyaphutzu Ma'ayanothecha Chutza (“When the Wellsprings of your Torah are Disseminated Universally.”).