Into the darkness of 18th Century Eastern European Jewish life came a light that spoke of joy, ecstasy, and hope. He was called the Baal Shem Tov--the Master of the Good Name. He was a simple man who served with a soul that touched other lives with beauty and peace.

One night the Baal Shem returned home after a long day of helping others and lay down for a much needed rest. He fell deeply asleep and yet was suddenly awakened by an angel who shook him and said, "Baal Shem, Baal Shem, wake up!" The tired Rabbi opened his eyes, saw the angel and said, "What is it you want?" But the angel took his arm and simply said, "Come, come with me." They walked through darkness and mist and finally the Baal Shem said, "Where are we going?" And the angel said, "You will see." And suddenly they came upon a clearing and the Baal Shem saw a man walking slowly on a narrow circular path, his eyes seeing only the path beneath his feet. But the Baal Shem saw that on the inside of the circular ridge was a raging sea of blood-- a sea of the most intense passions, loves, and fears. And on the outside of the ridge was the cold blackness of nothing, the absence of the human. The Baal Shem tried to call out to the man, to warn him of where he stood and where he walked, but the angel sealed the Rabbi's lips so that he could not speak.

Suddenly the scene was lit up by an almost blinding flash of light and the eyes of the man who slowly walked his path were opened. He saw for the first time the raging sea of blood on the one side and the empty nothingness on the other, and his face twisted in horror. He began to totter. The sea of blood licked up at his heels pulling him into its midst, and icy gnarled hands reached to pull him from his path into the darkness. He was losing his balance, almost falling into the sea, almost being sucked into the emptiness.

But then the Baal Shem's lips wre freed and he screamed out to the man, "Fly! You can fly!"

And the man flew.