Międzybóż and Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem Tov

This chapter is based on Israel Ba'al Shem Tov and his town, Międzybóż. Specifically, it is a non-Jewish documentation on the man and his environment. Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (Besht) and the movement that arose in his wake have been studied and discussed many times, from varying perspectives and a variety of methodological approaches. Yet for a long time one element was virtually absent from this entire scholarly corpus: the perspective on the Besht provided by non-Jewish sources, which this chapter seeks to provide. Crucial to research on the Besht and his entourage is the need to understand the dynamics in the Jewish community of Międzybóż when the Ba'al Shem Tov settled there. Among other things, the chapter considers who possessed financial means and who wielded authority. Furthermore, their attitude towards the Besht is also studied. Community organisation and whether or not the Besht had a formal role in any communal institutions are also considered, as well as what sort of problems the Jews faced in Międzybóż, and what part the Besht played in attempting to find solutions.