574) What was the Baal Shem Tov smoking?

 

Introduction

This study—based extensively on the research by Dr Israel Ori Meitlis and Professor Abraham Ofir Shemesh—examines some little-known Chassidic writings on tobacco inhalation and smoking (as well as other substances). It explores the Halachic and metaphysical treatment of tobacco in various Chassidic writings, including the Shulchan haTahor, the Chassidic Shulchan Aruch or Code of Law, by R. Yitzchak Isaac Yehuda Yechiel Safrin, known as the Komarno Rebbe (1806-1874) [Kotzk Blog: 302) SHULCHAN HATAHOR - A ‘REAL’ CHASSIDIC SHULCHAN ARUCH:] Although the Komarno Rebbe was born 66 years after Chassidism’s founder, the Baal Shem Tov (1700-1760), he considered himself his disciple. Both said some very interesting things about tobacco's ‘spirituality.’ Interestingly, it stands in tension with many contemporary Halachic opinions, like R. Eliezer Melamed’s Peninei Halacha, which holds that smoking is forbidden under Jewish law [Kotzk Blog: 069) Cigarettes and Halacha Don't Mix:]. While this article explores classical Chassidism and its spiritualisation of tobacco, it also raises questions about how other Chassidic Rebbes may have related to substances aside from tobacco. 

‘Psychoactive’ and ‘psychedelic’

All psychedelic substances are psychoactive, but not all psychoactive substances are psychedelic. Psychoactive substances (like alcohol, nicotine, caffeine and even cannabis[1]) affect the brain and nervous system, and alter mood and behaviour. Psychedelic substances (like LSD, Psilocybin [magic mushrooms], DMT and Ayahuasca) cause sensory distortion, ego‑dissolution, hallucinations, and altered states of consciousness. 

We have previously dealt with the increasing use of alcohol and psychedelics in the Orthodox and Chassidic communities (‘chasidelics’) [see: Kotzk Blog: 544) Acculturating Alcohol and Sanctifying Psychedelics: It’s time to stand up; and questioned the broad claim that such psychedelics are well researched, safe, and ‘cutting-edge science’ [see: Kotzk Blog: 545) Psychedelics: Cutting-edge science or shamanic ritual?].

Relatively recent emergence of tobacco

Tobacco was used traditionally in early American Indian religious rites. Europeans first encountered it after Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, and it became part of the general culture only around the second half of the eighteenth century. 

Tobacco in Sabbatianism

Tzvi Luboshitz shows tobacco’s use as “mystical smoking” in the Sabbatian movement of pseudo-messiah Shabbatai Tzvi (1626-1776), where R. Moshe David Valle, reflecting motifs that circulated in Italian Sabbatian circles, notes that smoking is equated to: 

“sacrificing to the sitra achra [Evil Side], and is as necessary and important as the biblical scapegoat in the struggle against the sitra achra…[T]he act of smoking plays a crucial role in the enduring struggle of the righteous person (tsaddik) against the powers of the Evil Side (sitra achra) and the impure husks (qelipot)” (Luboshitz 2021:1) [compare to the section on the ‘scapegoat’ in Kotzk Blog: 572) Did Nachmanides and Maimonides hide their deepest thoughts?]. 

Smoking, also known as what Valle refers to as “the secret of the pipe,” was believed to subdue and calm the righteous man’s evil side. These ideas about mystical smoking moved from explicitly Sabbatian circles into Chassidic practice, which, chronologically, followed the Sabbatian movement. This way, the Chassidic movement also became associated with mystical smoking, particularly through the Baal Shem Tov’s mystical pipe, known as a lulke. 

Tobacco in Chassidism

Chassidism further developed the mystical imagery of smoking tobacco, drawing allusions to the Ketoret (Temple incense) and representing the raising of fallen Nitzotzot (holy sparks) (Meitlis and Shemesh 2026:2). The interest early Chassidim were showing in tobacco contributed to the fracturing of their relationship with their religious opponents, the Mitnagdim. Chassidim began to write about “Yichud haYichudim” (spiritual Unification of Unifications) and “Yichudim Noraim” (awesome Unifications) that inhaling tobacco achieves. This aroused the ire of the Mitnagdim, who responded that smoking was “batlanut,” simply a waste of valuable time (Wacks 2006: 66-7). 

Applying “set and setting” to a Chassidic context

This Chassidic engagement with tobacco is often referred to as “shamanic” because it relates to the notion of “set and setting.” Timothy Leary (1920-1996), an American psychologist and counterculture figure best known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs like LSD, coined the phrase “set and setting.” Leary used this phrase within a psychedelic context—where effects of the substances are enhanced and ‘activated’ by the “set” (mindset and expectations of the practitioner) and the “setting” (the surrounding culture, sounds, atmosphere of the environment). Meitlis and Shemesh demonstrate that Leary’s “set and setting” can also apply to psychoactive substances like alcohol and tobacco. These psychoactive substances can similarly exhibit: 

“a genuine pharmacological potential to alter consciousness, particularly when amplified by ritual context and spiritual intention” (Meitlis and Shemesh 2026:2). 

In the case of psychoactive tobacco, “set and setting” can sometimes trigger “shamanic” effects, which are generally only associated with psychedelic substances. “Set and setting” also become important components of the tobacco experience because they shape the interpretive framework of the smoking event. In a Chassidic context, smoking (and alcohol consumption) are even more critical when performed by a Rebbe and witnessed by participating Chassidim. 

Tobacco and the Baal Shem Tov

The Komarno Rebbe records two mystical Yichudim (Unifications) ascribed to the Baal Shem Tov and achieved through his pipe-smoking ceremonies. 

1) The first is an account by the Baal Shem Tov’s student, R. Yakov Yosef of Polonne (or Polonye) (1695-1781), who writes: 

“I wish I would profit from all my good deeds in this world that which my teacher, the divine master, the Besht, profits when he smokes his pipe. He unites awesome Unifications with every movement. He does not move the smallest limb without Unification” (cited in Safrin, Book of Secrets: Deeds of the Lord, [in Faierstein 1999:40-1]). 

2) The second is an account, also of the Baal Shem Tov’s smoking practices, by the Komarno Rebbe’s teacher and uncle, R. Tzvi Hirsch of Zhiditchov (1763–1831). It appears in a story about a sick woman who could not afford the fifty ducats to purchase a Segula (healing amulet) from the Baal Shem Tov. She sold all her belongings but was twenty ducats short, so she appealed to R. David of Ostrog (then head of the Council of the Four Lands) to raise funds for the remaining amount. R. David became angry at the Baal Shem Tov for charging a sick woman so much and summoned him to appear before the Council. 

“When he [the Baal Shem Tov] arrived there, he stood in the doorway and smoked his pipe until the house was filled with smoke. None of them had the strength to open his mouth from the fright of the Shekhinah that fell heavily upon them. Afterwards, the master [Baal Shem Tov] went to the above-mentioned sage, Rabbi David, and said to him: David, David, come and I will show you a new Heaven and a new earth that I created in smoking this pipe, with the Unifications that I did during this time. He showed him, and Rabbi David fainted. When he awoke, he said to his colleagues: One does not argue with God Himself. Believe me, this is no ordinary man. [The story ends with the lesson to be learned that] [t]he woman, because of her great desire to give the zaddiq what he wanted, became extremely wealthy…” (Ibid. 296-97). 

Meitlis and Shemesh explain the second case as an extreme example of “set and setting”: 

“Clearly, the smoking of ordinary Eastern European tobacco could not, on its own, account for such a dramatic vision; rather, this phenomenon depended on a combination of factors, chief among them the unique persona of the smoker” (Meitlis and Shemesh 2026:4). 

Tobacco or psychedelics?

Because of the vivid mystical and theurgic experiences recorded of the Baal Shem Tov, Professor Yaffa Eliach suggests that his legendary pipe contained substances beyond mere tobacco. According to Eliach: 

“Only in one incident in Shivchei HaBesht (p. 155) is the substance that the Besht smoked identified as tobacco (titun); however, in that story his pipe is referred to as a Ma'aleh-Ashan, while in all the other stories the substance smoked is not identified and the pipe is referred to as a lulke (Persian for "pipe"), having a long Zibuk (Turkish for "shank") (pp. 142-143). While smoking the lulke, the Besht remained in a stationary position lying or sitting in his room or carriage, while when he smoked tobacco he was walking around” (Eliach 1968:81). 

However, many challenge the hypothesis that psychedelics may have been the substances used in the pipe of the Baal Shem Tov. Meitlis and Shemesh challenge Eliach too, and argue (with Rosman 2013:60) that, in certain cases, a “non-drug-induced mystical-ecstatic experience” is possible. In other words, with the right spiritual preparation, environment, and intention of “set and setting,” even tobacco can take the practitioner to ecstatic states without being chemically induced by psychedelics.  

R. Nachman of Breslov

On the other hand, Meitlis and Shemesh mention that some interpreters do see Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s imagery, in the unusual story “A Tale of a Fly and a Spider,” as suggestive of psychedelics: 

“where smoking is depicted as directed toward highly potent, genuinely psychedelic substances such as Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)” (Meitlis and Shemesh 2026:13, n.11). 

In R. Nachman’s story, framed as a “trip” (nesia): 

 אֲסַפֵּר לָכֶם כָּל הַנְּסִיעָה שֶׁלִּי שֶׁהָיָה לִי 

However, this trip is not through geographical terrain, but rather an inner visionary experience. There are surreal sequences: a king at a banquet, a spider chasing a fly across the pages of a book, pages mysteriously lifting and falling, and the spider eventually disappearing between them. The king holds a diamond and faces enemies. In the middle of his story, R. Nachman stops to warn listeners that they may not fully understand the story’s esoteric nature: 

 בְּתוֹךְ דְּבָרָיו שֶׁהִתְחִיל לְסַפֵּר זאת הַמַּעֲשֶׂה עָנָה וְאָמַר בְּזוֹ הַלָּשׁוֹן תּאמְרוּ שֶׁאֲסַפֵּר לָכֶם הַכּל וְתוּכְלוּ לְהָבִין

The king dreams of holding a diamond and facing enemies, reinforcing the tale’s unrealistic and dreamlike quality. An unimaginable number of people start emerging from the diamond, and he throws the diamond down: 

וְהָיָה מִסְתַּכֵּל בּוֹ וְהָיוּ יוֹצְאִין מִמֶּנּוּ גֻּזְמוֹת אֲנָשִׁים וְהִשְׁלִיךְ מִיָדוֹ הַאֶבֶן טוֹב 

Also, he refuses to tell us what happened to the fly:

 וְהַזְּבוּב לא אֲסַפֵּר לָכֶם מַה שֶּׁהָיָה בָּהּ

Then he begins to have a conversation with a tall mountain, which asks him why he’s screaming:

בְּתוֹךְ כָּךְ בָּא אֵלָיו הַר גָּבוֹהַּ וְשָׁאַל אוֹתוֹ. מָה אַתָּה צוֹעֵק כָּל כָּךְ שֶׁזֶּה זְמַן רַב שֶׁאֲנִי יָשֵׁן

And so the story continues with similar strange imagery (Sipurei Ma’asiyot, Tales of Rabbi Nachman, 7). 

I'm not sure where Meitlis and Shemesh stand on the issue of R. Nachman of Breslov, but they certainly do not suggest any psychedelics within the context of the Baal Shem Tov, who, they maintain, only made use of tobacco and that his altered states were induced solely through tobacco. 

Baal Shem Tov and inhalation of tobacco

In the traditions recorded by the Komarno Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov not only smoked tobacco, but inhaled it as well. As mentioned, tobacco was a relatively recent discovery for Europeans, and the Baal Shem Tov actually commented on this novelty. The Komarno Rebbe shares his father-in-law, R. Avraham Mordechai of Pintchov’s account of the Baal Shem Tov. 

One Rosh haShanah, while the Baal Shem Tov’s students were praying, one of his disciples' snuff boxes fell to the ground. He immediately bent down to pick it up and sniffed it “according to custom.” His companions became angry at him for interrupting the prayers. Meanwhile, the Baal Shem Tov, observing the events, saw “through his holy spirit” that the resentment was so intense that it evoked a heavenly decree that the snuff sniffer would die that year. The Baal Shem Tov ascended to Heaven and tried by all means to avert the decree, but to no avail. Then the Baal Shem Tov struck a deal with heaven: if the angry student would withdraw his animosity towards his colleague of his own accord, and personally find some merit in snuff, the evil decree would be averted. The Baal Shem Tov then caused the angry student to lose concentration in his studies (it was now the night Hoshana Rabba, when it is customary to stay awake all night and study). While wandering about aimlessly, unable to study, the angry student had time to ponder: 

“Why was this matter of the tobacco herb for sniffing and smoking revealed in the final generation, at the footsteps [of the Messiah—tobacco was only introduced to Europe in the eighteenth century]? And he said in his thought that there are several precious souls in the final generation that cannot clothe and materialize themselves except through a subtle medium of fragrance…  And from this came to him regret that he should not have resented his companion who sniffed (tobacco) during the prayer, for who knows what precious soul and matter this Tzaddik [his colleague] raised through his unification” (Safrin, 1896, Leviticus, Kedoshim, Otzar haChaim, 171b). 

No idle smoking

R. Tzvi Hirsch of Zhiditchov describes the conceptualisation of the Baal Shem Tov’s pipe as so holy that it was considered an act of religious “rebellion” to touch the pipe immediately after prayer, unless one had mystical intent (Safrin, 1963-5, Shulchan haTahor, 157). 

Snuff in Halacha

While some Halachic rulings prohibit sniffing snuff during the prayer services, the Komarno Rebbe makes two exceptions. The first is physical dependence on tobacco. Such a person may sniff snuff because without it they will lose concentration in their prayers. The second is the mystical Kabbalist or Chassid who knows how to perform Yichudim (spiritual Unifications) through sniffing tobacco. There is just one proviso: the sniffing worshipper must pause the prayers while engaging in this practice. The reason given for both these dispensations is found in Shulchan haTahor: 

“If one has a need to sniff tobacco and is distracted in his prayer in the manner of those accustomed to it, it is possible that he may sniff; and for those who use it to perform unifications (yihudim), it is self-evidently permitted, since they perform the service of the King therewith to sweeten the judgments” (Safrin, 1963-5, Shulchan haTahor, 92:2, 123). 

Is there a blessing over tobacco?

The prevailing Halachic practice is not to recite a blessing on tobacco because its primary purpose is not fragrance but its psychoactive properties. However, the Komarno Rebbe permitted a bracha (blessing), though he claims he never did recite one. He also claims that the Baal Shem Tov regularly recited a bracha over tobacco. Furthermore, this bracha was so holy that the Baal Shem Tov had received this authority and wording from his two spiritual teachers, Elijah the Prophet and Achiya haShiloni (who is also said to have taught Torah to Eliyahu) (Chabad.org^[2]). 

“Our divine master, the Holy of Holies, the holy rabbi R. Israel ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, would recite a blessing over the smoking of the lyulke [pipe] and over the sniffing of tabak into the nose” (Safrin, 1963-5, Shulchan haTahor, 6:4, Zer Zahav, 4, 14). 

Although the formula of the Baal Shem Tov’s blessings for smoking and inhaling tobacco has been lost, the Komarno Rebbe suggests that for sniffing snuff, one recites “Shenatan reiach tov ba’asavim” (Who gave a pleasing aroma to herbs). For smoking a pipe, he suggests consulting a great Torah sage to formulate a new and appropriate bracha. He further claims that had the Talmudic sages known of tobacco, they would have instituted a blessing over it. Nevertheless: 

“[A]n individual theoretically retains the capacity to institute blessings for themselves, and this authority has not been completely blocked in the present era” (Meitlis and Shemesh 2026:9). 

Where is the Baal Shem Tov’s pipe today?

According to Chassidic legend, the Ukrainian Robin Hood and rebel leader (1700-1745), Oleksa Dovbush, gifted the Baal Shem Tov his personal pipe as a token of gratitude after seeking refuge in his home from the authorities. 

In his ‘Introduction’ to the first edition of haTamim in 1935, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe) writes that the Kherson Geniza, housed in the Chabad Library in New York, did not only comprise letters, but also personal items belonging to the Baal Shem Tov’s pipe, including his walking stick and his private collection of books (Schneerson, haTamim, 1975:11) [see: Kotzk Blog: 453) Kherson Geniza - the greatest Chassidic find / or forgery?]. 

Conclusion

Meitlis and Shemesh argue that Chassidic smoking was generally a non‑psychedelic, spiritually charged practice involving tobacco. They disregard Eliach’s suggestion that the Baal Shem Tov may have used substances other than tobacco; while (if I understand them correctly) they acknowledge scholarly speculation that figures such as R. Nachman of Breslov may have experimented with psychedelic substances. Certainly, their own emphasis is on the non-psychedelic mystical‑ecstatic experience of the Baal Shem Tov, with tobacco serving as a trigger when embedded in the right ritual context of “set and setting.”

 

Bibliography

Eliach, Yaffa, 1968, ‘The Russian Dissenting Sects and Their Influence on Israel Baal Shem Tov, Founder of Hassidism’, Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, no. 36, 57-88.

Faierstein, Morris M., (translator), 1999, In Jewish Mystical Autobiographies: Book of Visions and Book of Secrets, Paulist Press, 40-41.

Garb, Jonathan, 2011, Shamanic Trance in Modern Kabbalah, University of Chicago Press.

Garb, Jonathan, 2025, ‘R. Itzhak Isaac Judah Yehiel of Komarno as a Test Case of Jewish Mysticism’, Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, no. 33, 173-98.

Luboshitz, Tzvi, 2021, ‘The Secret of That Herb: from Italian Sabbateanism to Hasidism’, Modern Judaism—A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience, vol. 41, no. 2, 317-38.

Meitlis, Israel, O., and Shemesh, Abraham, O., 2026, ‘“And for Those Who Use It to Perform Unifications (Yihudim)—It Is Self-Evidently Permitted”: Tobacco in the Shulhan ha-Tahor of the Komarno Rebbe’, Religions, no. 17, 1275, 1-15.

Rosman, Moshe, 2013, Founder of Hasidism: A Quest for the Historical Ba’al Shem Tov, 2nd ed., The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization.

Wacks, Ron, 2006, The Secret of Unity: Unifications in the Kabbalistic and Hasidic Thought of R. Hayyim Ben Solomon Tyrer of Czernowitz, Cherub Press. (Hebrew).

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[1]. Pharmacologically, cannabis is categorised as a psychoactive drug. However, in high doses, cannabis can produce effects that feel psychedelic.

[2] Online source: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1208507/jewish/The-Baal-Shem-TovA-Brief-Biography.htm. Retrieved 5 November 2026.