Home Page -Foreword - Introduction - One
The Commitment at Birth - Two The Role
of Shabbos - Three The Tzadik - Four
Humanity’s Five Categories - Five Body Versus Soul - Six The Body Can Complement The Soul - Seven The Soul and Body of a Tzadik Eight The Five Parts of the Soul - Nine The Image of God
Ten to Twenty Six – NOT ON THE WEB YET.
Introductory Notes on Style and Content
First some notes about what this book
is and where the ideas of the book are taught.
1) This is a book of Chassidus not Kabbalah.
“The earlier Kabbalah tried
to bring man into heaven. The main idea of Chassidus
was to bring heaven into man.”[1]
Chassidic thought is predicated on Kabbalah,
Jewish mysticism, but Chassidic works differ greatly from Kabbalistic
tracts. Chassidus emphasizes practical application while Kabbalah describes
Heavenly domains.
The following story accentuates
this distinction. Rabbi Aryeh Leib Heller, the author of Ketzoth Hachoshen,[2]
once challenged Rabbi Zvi, the Chassidic Grand Rabbi of Zhiditchov:
What is
unique about the Baal Shem Tov? Why are
thousands of simple Jews excitedly following him? He is merely a teacher of Lurianic Mysticism. Rabbi Luriah’s[3]
lectures did not excite such passion amongst the masses.
R. Zvi answered:
Picture a
land whose king died abruptly. The populace plunged into self pity, certain
that no adequate replacement would be found.
A search committee was formed and its agents set out to find a regent.
An investigator heard vague rumors about a man from the distant east: “He is
tall, handsome, and wise; blessed with royal ancestry, and a kind, gracious
heart.” He seemingly possessed the
desired qualifications for the throne.
Unfortunately, due to the vast distance between the candidate and his
prospective subjects the reports lacked details and sounded vague and unsure. As a result, most of the kingdom’s citizens
felt that they were sheep bereft of hope for a shepherd.
A short
time later a traveler arrived from the Far East who was a close friend of the
prospective leader. The traveler
described the strengths of the candidate with first hand clarity. His
presentation was convincing and the leaders of the community announced that a
king had been found. However, the
simple folk remained depressed.
Preoccupied as they were with the daily struggle for subsistence they
could not pay attention to the visitor with exciting news.
One man
thought to relieve the tension of the commoners. He brought the candidate himself to the people. Once the nation saw him and experienced his
speeches all were taken with his stature and wisdom. The masses joined the
leaders, spontaneously all shouting, ‘Behold our King! Long live our new king!’
R. Zvi then explained:
This
parable is the story of Jewish mystical thought. R. Shimon Bar Yochai (the author of the Zohar)[4]
revealed a glimpse of the secret world.
The Jews of that historical period needed an insight into the Heavenly
worlds to inspire devotion, but his lessons were couched in esoteric language
and they were like the distant rumors about the king, only a small and elite
class fully appreciated them. The Ari
Hakadosh’s[5]
time needed more of this heavenly light.
As a result, Providence blessed Rabbi Luriah with an intimate knowledge
of the sacred dimension. He described
the secret realms with great precision.
His reach was broader than Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s, yet his work too
was only meaningful to righteous people and intellectual giants. The current historical era, needs these
lights on a scale for the layman. The
Baal Shem Tov is the man who travels to the peasants and reveals to them,
‘Behold here is your king!’ He shows
that God is everywhere. He takes the secret wisdom and explains how it can be
actualized into daily living. His message is accessible to all since it is
reached in an experiential and not merely intellectual way. As a result the
masses join him and excitedly shout ‘We see our King (God)! Long live our
King!’[6]
The
chassid seeks to answer the charge of application: “How does one translate the
secrets of the universe into service of God?”[7]
For example, Kabbalah discusses the different manifestations of the Sefiroth, distinct gradations of God’s
light, in the varying spiritual universes.
Chassidus uses the Sephiroth to develop a psychological map
of man’s personality and then guide man as to how best approach Divinity.
The
various customs designed to preserve mysticism for the scholars do not refer to
Chassidic thought. Kabbalah with its
other worldly focus is traditionally only studied by experts of Jewish
thought. Chassidus however, focuses
Kabbalistic lessons toward man’s behavior in this world. When Kabbalah is used to encourage practical
actions, when its ideas are expressed in the human realm, then all should study
it. Consider the lesson of Rabbi Chaim
of Tzanz:[8]
It is written, “the honor of God-(demands that one) conceal the
matter; and the honor of Kings-(requires the) study of the matter.”[9] This means that if a student seeks to study
Kabbalah in order to know how many spiritual worlds there really are and how
many Sefiroth exist, namely the
“honor of God,” then “conceal the matter” do not teach such a person. However
if he wishes to study Kabbalah in order to know how to serve God with
dedication, sanctify all of his two hundred and forty eight limbs, and turn
them into a Merkavah Lashchina -
channels filled with God’s light,[10]
namely the “honor of Kings” then
“study the matter” and reveal Kabbalah to such a seeker.[11]
2) This book
is not limited to Hebrew speakers.
Chassidus discovers inspiration through the
etymology of Hebrew words. Many ideas
in this book are derived from the meaning of words in different contexts. Further, the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
have assigned numeric values. This book
draws on the wisdom of Gimmattria -
calculating the numeric value of a word and phrase and explicating its
relationship to other words or phrases that equal the same sum. Another linguistic device is Roshey Teivoth, word headings. The lessons in this book will interpret a
word as an acronym for a phrase with each letter representing an entire word
that begins with that letter. For instance
the word shevy, literally captive, through word headings, represents the
phrase Shimon var Yochai, which means Simon son of Yochai. This book was written for
the non-Hebrew literate. I have
attempted to explain in plain English, as best I can, all Hebrew word
interpretations, so that even the non-Hebrew speaker or reader will understand
the ideas of this book.
3) This book will not use the word bechina.
A
Chassidic term that befuddles many students is “bechina.” In Chassidic
texts many items are described as being a bechina
of something else, and multiple bechinos
may be ascribed to a single item. It is
hard to translate the term bechina.[12]
It denotes an analogy or a relative value.
For example, male is to female as giver is to receiver, for to create
life male gives seed that female receives.
The sun gives light that the moon receives, thus the sun is bechinas zachar, relatively it is
masculine, while the moon is bechinas
nekeiva, analogous to the feminine. Personalities are thus a bechina of certain times or places. Some Rabbis are a bechina of Shabbos (Sabbath)[13]
while others are a bechina of Yom Tov (holidays). Shabbos is the day of complete rest and
during the six days of work all of Shabbos’s needs are prepared. Holidays are times of partial rest, when
some forms of work, food preparation in particular, are allowed. Shabbos individuals are at rest with their
faith, they do not engage the material world at all; others end up doing the
work to help them. Holiday sages
resemble Yom Tov, for they expend
minimal effort in the material realm.[14]
Relativity
allows for many different bechinos
within an item, for an item can be contrasted by many disparate phenomena. If we look at the relationship between sun
and moon, the sun is male while the moon is female. But if we look at the relationship between the Creator and His
creations, the sun is female and God represents the male concept. This leads to items symbolizing many
different concepts, some of them contradictory, such as the sun being the
symbol of both the masculine and the feminine.
One God
created our world and, as a result, a powerful unity underlies all of
creation. Chassidus seeks to reveal this unity. Chassidic thought revels in finding the common themes of
different details within a particular lesson, even if, in another lesson, a
different principle is suggested for the same material. Thus, Abraham in one lesson might be defined
as the ultimate personification of Shabbos (bechina
of Shabbos), while in another lesson Abraham is the personality of kindness and
Joseph’s personality is presented as the paragon of Shabbos-like living. In truth, both Abraham and Joseph had
multiple elements to their personalities, one of which was a Shabbos-like
quality. In this work, I have tried to
spell out the points of comparison to the extent that I understand them and I
have avoided the use of the term bechina
since it is so difficult to translate.
Sources
The
overwhelming majority of ideas contained herein have been gleaned from the lectures
of my teacher, Rav Moshe Wolfson Shlit”a, the mashgiach ruchani (spiritual guidance counselor) of Yeshiva Torah Vadaath[15]
and the Rav (Rabbi) of Kehillas Emunas
Yisrael. As an introduction to Chassidus, for three years, the Mashgiach taught an English language
class on the Tanya. This work is based upon my notes from those
lectures.[16] In addition, I have listened to lectures on
the Tanya by the Rebbe, leading
Rabbi, of Stutchin, Rav Mordechai
Zilber shlit”a, the Mashgiach’s son-in-law. The Rebbe’s deep presentations have also
helped me immeasurably in the preparation of this work. I have also added material from the writings
of Rabbi Wolfson and other Chassidic masters.[17] There are works from the Mussar schools of thought that seemed to
me to deal with the same themes the Mashgiach
advanced, and I have attempted to incorporate their insights as well. I have tried to note in the footnotes the
sources for all the ideas that I did not hear directly from Rav Wolfson.
The Mashgiach is a selfless teacher. He has shared his wisdom and life with
thousands, many of whom seek him out on a daily basis. He has been a major influence and source of
inspiration in my life and in the lives of countless other students of
Torah. I will never be able to
sufficiently express my gratitude to the Almighty for bringing me to the Mashgiach. His outlook and personality have had an enormous impact upon me.
Some ideas
in the book are from sources that I do not remember. Whatever sources I did recall I have tried to note, and I hope
that I did not violate the Talmudic dictum demanding that lessons be taught in
the name of their originator. Finally, I pray that if I misrepresented a
concept its author will forgive me.
The Essence
of Chassidus
In R. Zvi’s
parable the Baal Shem Tov showed the king to the peasants. Chassidus encourages a perspective on life that sees God everywhere
… guiding every personal experience and maintaining the existence of every
physical item.[18] Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk[19]
once said, “Where is God? Wherever you let Him in.”[20] Over the centuries of the existence of Chassidus, thousands of devotees, from
all walks of life, allowed God into every aspect of their lives. Their theology
painted the world with dazzling new colors.
Once you acquire their point of view, wherever you turn, you’ll find
infinite light.[21]
Seeing the
King excited the peasants. Seeing is a physical sensation, an experience, not a
logical argument. The essence of Chassidus lies in experience and
passion. Verbal definition of Chassidus is inherently deficient. Words cannot do justice to the tearful eye
of a teenager singing “Tzamah Licha
Nafshi” (“My soul is thirsting for You, God”). Nor can verbiage accurately convey the joy of the dancer leaping
in honor of God.
The highest emotion
is love. Chassidus calls upon man to fall in love with Holiness. Its devotees enter into a state of rhapsodic
ecstasy and revel in the personal bond they feel with their Maker.[22]
Genuine
seekers of spirituality should not satisfy themselves with study of this or any
other book. They should travel to Chassidic centers and sense the emotional
power of Chassidic life.[23]
The key to the
understanding of Chassidic thought lies in experiencing Chassidic teachings
directly. This work is presented as a series of lessons filled with Chassidic
insight. Hopefully, these will serve as an introduction to Chassidus in general and, once mastered, as a springboard to the
comprehension of classic Chassidic texts.
A Prayer
One of the
few pieces of literature written by the Baal Shem Tov is a letter he sent to
his brother-in-law. In it, the Besht related a dreamlike experience in
which he ascended the heavenly ladder and met the soul of Mashiach - the Messiah.
I spoke to Mashiach and
asked him, “When is your majesty coming?”
He
replied, “This is your sign: It will be at a time when your teachings become
widespread in the world, and ‘your springs spread their waters afar.’”[24]
Hopefully
this book will help spread the waters of the springs of Chassidus a little further.
Home Page -Foreword - Introduction - One
The Commitment at Birth - Two The Role
of Shabbos - Three The Tzadik - Four
Humanity’s Five Categories - Five Body Versus Soul - Six The Body Can Complement The Soul - Seven The Soul and Body of a Tzadik Eight The Five Parts of the Soul - Nine The Image of God
Ten to Twenty Six – NOT ON THE WEB YET.
email comments to
[1] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Chassidic Masters page 4
[2] Ketzoth is a classic commentary about Jewish financial law, its author lived from 1745-1813 and is considered one of his era’s greatest scholars of the Talmud.
[3] Rabbi Isaac Luriah was one of the foremost mystics in Jewish history. Born in Jerusalem in 1534, he led the Jewish mystics of Safed during their period of prolific scholarship. He passed away in 1572. His work is the definitive guide for Kabbalah and he is known as the Ari Hakadosh “the Godly Rabbi Isaac,” Ari is the acronym of the Hebrew phrase - Eloki (Godly) Rabbeinu Yitzchok.
[4] Zohar literally means Glow or Splendor, it is the title for a work that collects mystical lessons from sages from the times of the Mishna (the second century). It is the basic text for all Jewish mystics.
[5] Rabbi Luriah
[6] Adapted from the Torah commentary Divrey Tzadikim written by Rav DovBerish of Oeschviezim zelkovah.
Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzato (1707-1746), one of the greatest mystical masters, revealed that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai had a special soul which came to earth to help lead wayward Jews back to observance. His logic can be extended to include Rabbi Isaac Luria and the Baal Shem Tov.
“When Moses rose to the highest spiritual levels he took out of the light of Binah, the force of return to God, a special soul. This soul became Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. That is why in the Psalms (68:19) it is written, ‘Alisa lamarom shavisa shevy’ ‘You rose to the heavens and took, shevy, a captive.’ This “captive” was the soul of Rabbi Shimon, which is why his name is hinted in the letters of the word shevy. The Hebrew letters shin, bet, and yud are the three letter acronym of his name Shimon Bar Yochai and they are the letters of the word shevy…” (Rabbi Luzzatto’s Adir Bamarom)
Rabbi Isaac Luriah was the son of Shlomo, his Hebrew name is Yitzchok ben Shlomo, shin, bet, and yud are the three leading letters in his name. The Baal Shem Tov’s Hebrew name was Yisrael and his mother’s name was Sarah, Yisrael ben Sarah’s acronym also results in the letters yud, bet, and shin. An individual’s essence is contained within the letters of his name. These three individuals shared the same leading letters, for these personalities were partners in a common mission, to reveal the innermost secrets of the Torah and thus encourage Jews to renew their ties with the Almighty. (Rav Wolfson)
[7] This question is referred to Chassidic literature with the phrase “Al derech haavodah” meaning “According to the way of service to God.” Every Torah concept can be applied to derech avodah, it can be interpreted as advice about serving the Almighty.
[8] Rabbi Chaim Halberstam of Tzanz was born in 1793 and passed away in 1876. He was a renowned Talmudist and Chassidic leader who fathered several great Chassidic dynasties.
[9] Proverbs Chapter 25
[10] According to Jewish thought the physical body can become a Merkavah - a container - to the Shechina - the Divine presence. Our physical bodies can be sanctified to the point that the Divine is felt on them and they become billboards that increase His Glory. Literally Merkavah is a chariot. Travel usually causes a person to have less honor (for in the new location he is unknown, c.f. Rashi at the beginning of Parshath Lech Lecha). Travel in a chariot increases the honor of the passenger (because the chariot engenders respect and through his journey more people learn that he is a nobleman). Similarly physical life usually causes a decrease in God’s honor, but for those who are a Merkavah, their sojourn of life is like a chariot, and their deeds and life-story bring added glory to God. (Pachad Yitzchok, Pesach Maamar #1)
Each of our forefathers was a Merkavah. They were
exclusively dedicated to serving God and God’s attributes were discernible from
their deeds. C.f. Breishis Rabba 47, Michtav Meeliyahu part 2 Lech Lecha, Daath Tefillah pages
75-78.
Rabbi Jacob I. Schochet explained the idea of a Merkavah in the following passage:
“Tzadikim are a merkavah (chariot; vehicle) for G-dliness. That is, just as a chariot has no will of its own but is in total submission to the will and directions of the charioteer, so is the tzadik with total self-negation altogether submissive to the Divine Will even with his body and bodily functions… To see and meet them (such tzadikim) is tantamount to seeing and meeting the ‘Face of the Shechina.’ Why are they called the ‘Face of the Shechina?’ Because the Shechina is concealed within the manifest tzadik.” (Chassidic Dimensions page 100)
[11] Introduction to the work Imrey Yosef (Spinka). C.f. Bereishis Rabbah 9:1
[12] Some translate it as “an aspect of.”
[13] C.f. Zohar part 3 page 144b
[14] C.f. Emunath Ethecha to Parshas Naso page 120.
[15] Torah Vadaath is one of New York’s oldest and most prestigious Yeshivos. Rabbi Wolfson was a student at Torah Vadaath and was a close disciple of Rabbi Shraga Feivel Medelowitz o.b.m., the institution’s founder. Today Rav Wolfson provides inspiration and guidance to the students at Torah Vadaath.
[16] The Tanya is the basic text of Chassidic thought, and while there are different approaches than that of the Baal Hatanya, his work is integral to understanding Chassidus.
[17] In particular I have drawn upon Rav Wolfson’s writings, Emunath Ethecha and Tzion Viareha. I have also tried to incorporate insights from Mishbetzos Zahav, the writings of the Stutchiner Rebbe.
[18] “In truth every item in the physical world needs constant care from God. Without God constantly renewing an item’s life it would disappear. Every item only seems to exist on its own in truth God is continually affirming its existence. If you seek the inner reality and reject externals you will find God everywhere. Do not focus on the mirage, focus on the essence and then you will be able to point with your finger at God who inheres within every sphere of the physical world.” (Mishbetzos Zahav page 210-213, Shabbos Hagadol 5753)
Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1810) encapsulated this view of the world with a song called “a Dudele.” In Yiddish the word Du means “you” in a very intimate manner. The song’s lyrics are; “To the east Du, to the west Du, to the north Du, to the south Du, in front Du, behind Du. Du, Du Du Du.” The song is about the Master of the World and Rabbi L.Y. was teaching that he saw Him everywhere.
[19] Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (1787-1859) of Kotzk was a passionate Chassidic leader. He is most remembered for his insistence on absolute truth and his critiques of any form of hypocrisy.
[20] See Chassidic Masters page 4
[21] See Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen of Lublin’s Dover Tzedek page 12. Rabbi Tzadok Hakohen Rabinovitch of Lublin was a great Talmudic scholar and an original Chassidic thinker. He was born in 1823 to a distinguished rabbinic family and he passed away in 1900.
[22] Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan points out that since Chassidus calls on man to love God, it demands of all, even the common man, to achieve saintly sanctity. This ideal is a realistic one for the Chassidic community for “Where love exists, nothing is difficult, and when love for God is absolute, even sainthood may not be an overwhelming goal.” (Chassidic Masters, pg. 5)
[23] Rabbi Kaplan expressed the essential role of feeling in Chassidus in the following way :
“In the teachings of the Hasidic Masters, one comes across a new way of approaching God and the spiritual. Neither Kabbalah nor philosophy, but experience is the proper way to approach God. “Serve God with gladness!” “Taste and see that God is good!” “For me the closeness of God is best” The words of the Psalmist became the watchwords of the Hassidic movement.” (ibid. pg. 3)
[24] Chassidic Masters p.13