The
Magid
of Mezeritch had fallen ill
and he begged the
Baal Shem Tov HaKodesh
to heal him. At first the
tzaddik
declined but, after being pressed, he finally agreed and for about two weeks he visited the
Magid
regularly and recited
Tehillim
at his side.
When the
Magid
asked for a quicker method of cure, the
BeSHT
gave him medicines and it helped. Later, however, the
Baal Shem Tov
told him, "I wanted to heal you with words because this brings
refuah sheleyma
- a complete and lasting recovery. But since you were in a hurry, I had to use medicines.
" (
Shevachey haBaal Shem Tov
#41)
