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THE HASIDIC STORIES about the prophet Elijah incorporate elements from the Talmud and the Midrash, and from folk tales and kabbalistic literature from the medieval period and later. In all these traditions Elijah appears in various guises and with various purposes: he is the harbinger of good news, frustrates anti-Jewish persecutions, and puts individuals to the test.
The hasidic story is intensely preoccupied with gilui eliyahu (the ‘vision of Elijah’), which is one of the levels of prophecy. Even in the pre-hasidic tradition this revelation depended on piety, and its level corresponds to that of the individual's devotion. Thus, R. Hayim Vital asserted, regarding ‘the conduct of the spirit of divine inspiration at this time’, that ‘[Elijah's] revelations to a person will increase in accordance with his piety’. There are, then, different levels of gilui eliyahu, as explained to R. Joseph Karo by the magid (his religious and spiritual guide):
There are three levels here. The first, he saw his [Elijah's] countenance in a dream. The second, he saw while awake, and he greeted him [Elijah], but Elijah did not respond. The third, that he saw Elijah while awake, and Elijah responded. And [when] you shall ascend to the third level, you shall see him while awake, and you shall greet him, but he will come to you only without your being cognizant of this.
Similarly, the well-known piyut that is recited on Saturday night at the end of the sabbath, Eliyahu hanavi (‘The prophet Elijah’), contains the words: ‘Happy is the one who sees his countenance in a dream, happy is the one who greets him, and to whom he returns the greeting.’
The hasidic story tells us that many hasidic leaders merited gilui eliyahu. The prophet appeared to the Ba'al Shem Tov's father upon his return from captivity in a distant land, having withstood many trials, including sexual temptation by the ‘daughter of an alien god’ (that is, a non-Jewish woman). ‘When he was on the way, Elijah, of blessed mention, revealed himself to him, and said to him: “As your reward, you will merit having a son who will illuminate the eyes of Israel, and who will fulfil the verse: ‘Israel in whom I glory’ [Isa. 49: 3].”’
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