There once was a young man, Israel ben Eliezer, who loved to spend hours alone in the forest. Others wondered why he so enjoyed being alone there, and some even accused him of being lazy, although this was certainly not the case. No, the truth was that one day, while walking in the forest, the boy had discovered a pure spring, and after he drank the water of that spring, he found that he could understand the language of the birds. Now he kept this discovery a secret, for he soon learned that the birds are acquainted with all kinds of mysteries, and he did not want these powers to fall into the wrong hands.
At that time there was a severe drought that had lasted for many months. As a result the plants did not grow, and the harvest was in danger. And although the people often prayed for rain, none was forthcoming. Then one day, while he was sitting in the forest, the boy Israel heard two birds speaking in a tree, and one of them said: The plants are thirsty, and so are the animals, and so are the people. And all because the evil witch has cast a spell on the rain. Yes, said the other bird, it is all the witch's fault. If only someone knew that the drought was caused by the evil spell that the witch wrote out, and concealed in an amulet, which keeps the clouds from forming, so that it cannot rain. And if only someone knew that the witch hid the amulet in a metal case at the foot of this tree, and that if they found it and burned the spell written inside it until it was ashes, and scattered those ashes on the pure stream that flows in this forest, then the spell would be broken, and the clouds could form again and fill with water, and the rain could fall. Now when the boy Israel heard this, he was astounded, for he too had wondered why the terrible drought had descended, and now he knew. And now he knew, as well, what needed to be done in order to break the spell. Then Israel did not hesitate, but stood up and began to dig at the foot of that tree. And lo and behold, before he had dug for very long he struck something hard, and found a small metal case buried there, which was locked. But when Israel struck it against a rock, the case broke open, and an amulet fell out. And inside that amulet was a folded paper on which was written the terrible spell that had prevented the clouds from forming and had thus brought about the drought.
Then Israel wasted no time, but made a fire and burned the spell until it was ashes, and then carried the ashes to the pure spring he had discovered in the forest. And when he scattered the ashes on the water, they burst like bubbles as soon as they touched it. Suddenly the sky was covered by dark clouds, which soon broke open, and a fine rain fell that refreshed all the thirsty plants and animals and people, and everyone was very happy that the drought had come to an end.
Now when the first drops of rain began to fall, the witch was astonished, for she believed her spell was still in effect. And as soon as the rain stopped falling—for she did not want to get wet, since witches are afraid of water—she hurried to the tree where she had buried the amulet with the evil spell, and when she saw that it had been found, she was furious. Then she went back home and pronounced the words of a spell that made a demon appear, to serve as her slave. When the demon stood before her, she said: Waste no time, demon, but find out for me who it is that has discovered how to break my spell. For I am anxious to take my revenge, and then to cast another evil spell. So the demon went out into the forest to listen to what the birds had to say. For demons all understand the language of the birds, and know too that they are privy to many secrets. Thus it did not take the demon long to learn that it was the boy Israel who had discovered the secret of how to break the spell, for all the birds were speaking in admiration of him.
Now when the witch learned that it was the boy Israel who had found out her secret, she was even more angry. For she had assumed that a great wizard or sorcerer or holy man had broken her magic spell. But a mere boy! The thought of it made her tremble with fury. Then the witch went directly to the house where the boy Israel lived, and knocked on the door. But Israel was not home then, for he was in town learning Torah at the House of Study. Yet his mother was home, and it was she who opened the door, and when she saw who had knocked she grew afraid, for she knew that the visitor was evil. She told the witch that Israel was not there, and then the witch hissed and said:
Tell your son that I know what he has done, and that if he ever gets in my way again I will cast a spell on him. Then, if he is lucky, I will turn him into a bird, and if he is not, I will make him into a stone, and cast it to the bottom of the deepest well! And with that the witch turned away and left, and Israel's mother shivered with fear, for she knew that the evil witch had the power to do everything that she had said.
So it was that as soon as Israel came home, his mother told him of the witch's visit and of her warning. Then she asked him what it was that he had done. So Israel told his mother how he had found the amulet buried in the forest, and how he had burned the paper on which the spell had been written, breaking it. When she had heard this, Israel's mother grew even more afraid, and she warned him to stay out of the witch's way, for if he didn't, the witch would not hesitate to cast a spell on him, as she had threatened. But Israel would not promise to avoid the witch no matter how much his mother pleaded, and only said: I am not afraid of her, for I have trust in God. Not long afterward a strange thing happened: the Ark of the Covenant in the House of Prayer, where the scroll of the Torah was kept, became locked, and despite the efforts of many men, it could not be opened, and thus the Torah could not be taken out.
Now the Jews of that town were very frightened when this happened, for it was a very bad sign. They fasted and prayed and purified themselves, but nothing made any difference, and the doors of the Ark remained closed. Since this had happened during the Days of Awe, the time between Rosh Hashanah, the New Year, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the people were especially frightened. But so far no one had succeeded in finding out what had caused this terrible thing to take place.
The boy Israel was also very unhappy that this had happened, and he wondered if he might learn anything about it from the birds. So he went off alone into the forest, and drank from the pure spring, and sat down under a nearby tree. And while he was sitting there, he heard one bird say to another: The Jews are all so sad because the door to the Ark is closed, and they are cut off from the blessings of the Torah. Yes, said the other bird, but if only someone knew that this was caused by the witch, to revenge herself on the boy Israel, because he is Jewish.
For she has taken a foul rag that she has dipped in the blood of seven unclean animals, and has hidden it beneath the synagogue, right beneath the Ark. And that is why the doors to the Ark have remained closed—to protect the Torah from that terrible impurity. And all that someone has to do is to take that rag and burn it in a fire, and scatter its ashes on the pure spring, and the doors of the Ark will swing open. Now when Israel heard this, he did not hesitate, but ran back to town and crawled beneath the floor of the synagogue and there, directly beneath the place of the Ark, he found the foul rag, exactly where the bird had described it. Then he picked it up and wrapped it in some clean rags, so that he would not have to touch it again, and burned it in a fire, and carried the ashes into the forest, where he scattered them on the pure spring, and once again they burst like bubbles.
After this Israel returned to town, and when he arrived he found that the people were all dancing and singing in the streets, for the doors of the Ark had opened, and the terrible danger had passed. Israel too was very happy, although he did not reveal his role in breaking the evil spell, for he was very modest, and did not want to draw attention to himself.
But when the witch found out that the spell had been broken, and that the doors of the Ark had opened, she fell into a fury. Then she invoked the demon slave again, and sent him to find out what had happened. It did not take him very long to learn that the boy Israel was responsible, for although the people of the town did not know it, the secret was well known among the birds. And when the witch learned that it was Israel who had foiled her evil plans again, her wrath was terrible to behold, and she decided that she would punish him once and for all.
Now the boy Israel was no fool, and he knew very well that the witch might try to harm him, and that he had to be especially careful. He decided to go into the forest and to drink from the pure stream and to listen to what the birds had to say, so that he might have a warning if the witch tried to revenge herself in some way. So it was that he drank from the stream and sat down at the base of a tree, and no sooner did he do this than he heard one bird say to another: My, how the witch has fallen into a terrible fury. And now she has sent a demon after the boy Israel, to touch him. And when that happens he will turn into a stone, which the demon will deliver to the witch, and the witch will drop to the bottom of the deepest well. Yes, said the other bird, but what a shame if this should happen—then there would be no one to struggle against the evil witch. Oh, if only Israel knew that he could protect himself against the demon by lighting a torch and carrying it with him, for demons are afraid of fire.
Any demon who is touched with fire is condemned to serve as a slave in Gehenna for a thousand years, where fire burns everywhere day and night. So too could Israel protect himself with water, and especially the water of the pure spring. For if a demon is splashed with the water of the pure spring, he will become a small fish that will surely be swallowed by a larger one, and cease to exist. Yes, said the first bird, that is all true. And it is also true that the water of the pure spring could destroy the wicked witch as well, for if she were to be splashed with it, that would be the end of her. Now Israel did not hesitate when he heard what the birds had said, and he hurried to make himself a torch, and made a fire and lit the torch in it. He finished making the torch just in time, for a moment later he heard something approaching him in the forest, and saw that it was the demon. Then Israel took the torch and hid behind a large rock, and waited until the demon had passed him. Then he jumped out, with the torch stretched out toward the demon, who found himself trapped between the fire of the torch and the pure stream. Then Israel said: If you take one step toward me, demon, I will throw this torch at you, and you can spend the next thousand years in Gehenna. And if you do not do as I say, I will push you into the stream, and you can become a fish that will serve as food for a bigger fish, and that will be the end of you. And the demon saw that he had fallen into Israel's trap, so he agreed to do whatever Israel told him to do.
Then Israel told the demon to create a long chain that not even a demon could break, and to shackle it to his own right hand. This the demon did, and Israel took the other end in his hand. After this he told the demon to create a bucket, which he also did, and Israel filled the bucket with the water from the pure spring. Then Israel picked up a stone and tossed it to the demon, and told him to take it to the house of the witch, and to give it to her there. And he warned the demon that if he disobeyed, he would not hesitate to splash him with the water, for he would be close behind.
So it was that the demon approached the house of the witch and knocked on the door. And when the witch answered it, the demon handed her the stone, and said it was the stone that the boy Israel had become. Then the witch let out a terrible, shrill laugh, and while she was laughing, Israel ran up with the bucket of water in his hand, and threw most of the water at her. Suddenly her laugh turned to a horrible scream, and all at once she disappeared, and all that remained of her was a puddle of water.
And when the demon saw the witch vanish, he panicked and started to run away, but slipped on the puddle, and suddenly there was a little fish flipping around where the demon had been.
Then Israel picked up the little fish and put it in the bucket, and carried it into the witch's house. He filled a jug he found there with the fish and water, and closed it tightly with a cork.
Then he carried the jug into the forest, and hid it there in the hollow trunk of a tree.
Years later, when the boy Israel grew up and became famous as the Baal Shem Tov, he was traveling with his disciples through that same forest. Then he walked off alone and came to the hollow tree and looked inside and saw that the jug was still standing there, with the little fish still swimming around inside it. When he came back he was laughing, and when his disciples asked him why, he told them this story.