The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

The Pastakh

Baruch Thaler gifted me with this nigun during the wee hours of Chulent in May 2007. Pastakh means "The Shepherd", and it lasts more than five minutes. Baruch, a once deep-inside Chabad bochur turned burner who now studies film, also promised me another long nigun called "The Pilpul", but the Shul (meaning, the Carlebach Shul on W. 79th) was being locked up by Reb Naftali. Riverside Park, where the last holdouts regrouped, was too noisy with traffic to record the other song. This sweet and deep nigun could take a few years to learn

Download "The Pastakh"

Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006