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| The legendary synagogue of the Baal Shem Tov in Piatra Neamț in Western Moldavia |
Introduction
All the literature we read on the Baal Shem Tov (1690[1]/1698/[2]1700[3]-1760) gives his birthplace as Okopy, in Podolia, Western Ukraine. However, relatively recent research by Romainian-born Professor Moshe Idel,[4] upon which this article is extensively based, suggests that his birthplace may have been “in the state of Walachia."
It is amazing how names, dates and ideas sometimes become accepted as truths just because they are repeated often enough. The same thing may apply to the town of Okopy which is always given as the birthplace of the Baal Shem Tov (Besht). Idel draws our attention to the fact that there is no “reliable” (Idel 2011:69) source to corroborate this detail.
