Yechidah: Suprarational stubbornness

Yechidah: Suprarational stubbornness

Rabbi Y. Oliver

The Jew’s bond with Hashem at the soul-level of Yechidah transcends intellect completely, even the intellect of the Divine Soul.

The Yechidah is also known as the “eisan of the soul.”[1] The word eisan means firm, for this level is firm and unyielding to any force that might separate the Jew from Hashem, G–d forbid. Of this stubbornness to obey Hashem the Jewish people are called “a stiff-necked nation”[2] in the positive sense.[3]

In the Hoshanos liturgy,[4] it is written: “It embraces and is attached to You, it carries Your yoke, the Yechidah to unite You.” This alludes to the qualities of the soul-level of Yechidah:

• “It embraces and is attached to You”: The core of every Jew, no matter who he may be, is connected to Hashem’s very Essence. This expresses itself in the Jewish custom to constantly thank and otherwise refer to Hashem, such as by saying “boruch Hashem.”[5]

• “It carries Your yoke”: Regardless of his external behavior, the Jew’s Yechidah naturally submits to and “carries” the yoke of observance of Torah and Mitzvos.

• “The Yechidah to unite with You”: On this level, the bond with Hashem is so deep that the Jew is even willing to give up his life rather than sin.[6] Of this the Alter Rebbe taught: “A Jew neither desires, nor is able, to sever himself from G–dliness.”[7] 

(For one way to reveal the Yechidah, see here.)

Based on the Previous Rebbe’s Ma’amar Hachodesh hazeh lachem 5685, pp. 16-17.

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[1] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5703, p. 73 ff. Igros Kodesh Admur HaRayatz, Vol. 3, p. 335.

[2] Shemos 34:9.

[3] Shemos Rabbah 42:9, cited in Torah Ohr, Megillas Esther 123b.

[4] As recited on the third day of Sukkos.

[5] “Shem Shomayim shagur befi kol.” Cf. Ma’amarei Admur HaZaken 5565, Vol. 1, p. 12. Sha’arei Teshuvah, Vol. 1 8b.

[6] Tanya chs. 18, 19, 24.

[7] Hayom Yom p. 73.

Dedicated by Reb Shmuel Leib and Sara Rochel Markel in honor of the birth of their daughter, Yehudis bas Shmuel Leib. Yegadluha leTorah, lechuppah, ulemaasim tovim mitoch harchavah!

Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 3): The Boost from the Divine Soul

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 3)

The Boost from the Divine Soul

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

(Continued from The Intellectual Soul, pt. 1 and The Intellectual Soul, pt. 2.)

But if so, how is the Intellectual Soul of a Jew any better? It too consists of worldly, human intellect; by what virtue does it also “sense spiritual refinement”?

Rather, the Jew’s Intellectual Soul itself is not inherently different from the non-Jew’s. However, since the Jew possesses the Divine Soul (a.k.a., Nefesh HoElokis) that transcends the world completely, and the Nefesh HoElokis becomes vested within the Nefesh HoElokis, this proximity subdues the Nefesh HoElokis’ natural sense of ego and enables it to “sense spiritual refinement” in a way that makes it possible for the Jew to attain true objectivity in intellectual judgments, and thus fully fulfill the potential of the Intellectual Soul. It emerges that the verse, “The spirit ... of man rises upwards” refers primarily to the Jew’s Intellectual Soul.

Perhaps this is comparable to the difference between two people of equal intelligence. One constantly keeps the company of a very spiritual, inspired, and sagely rabbi, while the other keeps no such company, and so he is left to live a life focused on materialism. All things being equal, the former will be much more spiritually inclined than the other.

This explains the double expression in the Mishnah cited above: “Beloved is man ... it is by special divine love ... ”

The first phrase refers to the Intellectual Soul within all mankind, while the second phrase refers to the Intellectual Soul within the Jewish people. “Beloved is man ... ” tells us that the non-Jew is beloved to Hashem because of his Intellectual Soul. In contrast, “it is by special divine love that he is informed that he was created in the image of G–d” tells us that a Jew is beloved to Hashem because of his Divine Soul. Because of this belovedness, Hashem also gives the Jew an Intellectual Soul.

The Jew’s responsibility to elevate the nations

This is also the reason that Torah instructs, and even obligates the Jew to influence non-Jews positively by teaching them the Noahide laws, as the Rambam rules explicitly: “Moshe was commanded via a direct divine revelation [to tell the Jewish people] to compel all the world’s inhabitants to undertake the laws commanded to Noah’s descendants.”[1] The Tosafos Yom Tov explains[2] that the expression “compel” also includes the imperative to use verbal persuasion, to explain to someone resistant the necessity to adhere to the Noahide laws. Of course, [3] at the same time one should be careful to influence non-Jews in a pleasant, peaceful manner, for it is written of the Torah, “Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are peace.”[4]

Why was the Jew in particular assigned with this mission? Because provided that the Jew is refined and G–d-fearing, his more sensitive Intellectual Soul enables him to serve as a true guide for the non-Jew, elevating him above the limitation of his Intellectual Soul, and bringing him to relate to the world, and to the moral choices he is constantly called upon to render, in a manner that is truly objective, and therefore truly correct and truly ethical.

Based on the Rebbe's Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 58 ff.

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[1] Mishneh Torah, Laws of Kings, 8:10.

[2] Tosafos Yom Tov, Avos 3:14.

[3] Hisva’aduyos 5747, Vol. 1, p. 82.

[4] Mishlei 3:17.



This article was dedicated by Moshe Maaravi and family as a merit for the refuah sheleimah of Yehoshua ben Sheva.



Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 2): Bittul--The key to objectivity

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 2)

Bittul—The key to objectivity

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

(This post is continued from my earlier post, The Intellectual Soul pt. 1.)

As mentioned, the purpose of intellect and of the Intellectual Soul is to bring the person to transcend his own narrow self-interest and prejudices, and discover the truth of whatever subject he examines.

But if so, how is it possible that the Intellectual Soul of the non-Jews does the very opposite—it drags the person down into a state of coarseness?

The answer lies in the key to objectivity, bittul—which means self-effacement or humility.

When a person is consumed with the desire to promote his own self-interest, and he freely indulges his preferences, desires, and lusts, then no matter how intelligent he may be, and how much of an effort he makes to set aside his personal interests and be objective in his analysis of a moral dilemma, he is simply incapable of attaining true objectivity—although he may well convince himself and others that he has. And so the moral judgments that he renders will inevitably be hopelessly biased, and hence most likely incorrect.

How can one transcend personal bias and thereby attain truth? It starts with fostering an attitude of bittul—humility before Hashem and one’s fellow man.[1] This underlying philosophy then becomes manifest in one’s approach to worldly matters. The humble person will eschew hedonism and embrace a lifestyle of moderation and restraint in which fulfilling his responsibilities to Hashem and his fellow man is primary and material pleasure is secondary.

Although this order of priorities may necessitate sacrifice and hardship, it opens the person up to realize and connect with a higher truth. Since pleasure and personal comfort are not the goal of life, the person is willing to forgo them when a higher cause requires it of him.

To be continued, im yirtzeh Hashem (see here).

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[1] Cf.  Tanya ch. 30.


Dedicated by Shmuel and Sara Rochel Markel in honor of the birth of their daughter, Yehudis bas Shmuel Leib. Yegadluha leTorah, lechuppah, ulemaasim tovim mitoch harchavah!


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Chanukah: Hiskashrus cleanses from spiritual defilement

Hiskashrus cleanses from spiritual defilement

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

“They found one flask of pure olive oil sealed with the imprint of the Cohen Gadol (the High Priest).”[1]

The physical defilement of the oil in the Beis HaMikdash was merely an external, physical manifestation of the inner malaise—the popularity that secular wisdom had gained among the Jewish people in general, and particularly among the Misyavnim, or Hellenists—the assimilationist Jews who had adopted Greek philosophy as their lifestyle.

This represents a certain kind of inner spiritual decline from which we can derive a lesson today.

Every Jew has a natural sensitivity to the refined spiritual explanations of G–d’s greatness, particularly as explained in the teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidus. This is found in the intellect of his Nefesh HoElokis, the Divine Soul.

A spiritually healthy Jew limits the intellect of the Nefesh HaSichlis, the Intellectual Soul (see here), and subjugates it to the ends of the Nefesh HoElokis.

However, when one becomes preoccupied with using one’s intellect in a way that lacks submission to the will of Hashem and of the Divine Soul, instead pursuing secular pursuits and studies for their own sake (as explained earlier here), the intellect of the Nefesh HaSichlis has become predominant.

This “defiles” the “pure olive oil”—the natural sensitivity to G–dliness of the intellect of the Divine Soul.[2] In this state, although the Jew is fully intellectually capable of grasping secular studies that discuss physical phenomena, he comes up against a dullness and resistance when he attempts to study spiritual concepts.

How can he possibly emerge from such a degenerate state? This is the lesson of Chanukah. There always remains “one flask of pure olive oil sealed with the imprint of the Cohen Gadol (the High Priest).”

To explain, it is stated of the Cohen Gadol: “His glory and beauty consist of sitting in the Beis HaMikdash all day. ... His house shall be in Yerushalayim, and he should never depart from there.”[3] Yerushalayim represents yirah shaleim,[4] complete fear of Hashem.

Thus, the Cohen Gadol represents the very core of the Jew’s soul, the Pinteleh Yid, the soul-level of Yechidah, a level that “never departs from Yerushalayim”—from complete fear of Hashem. This level is completely united with Hashem and can never be sullied by the person’s actions, although it can definitely be “asleep”—hidden and dormant in one who has fallen.

Now, the Yechidah may “wake up” when the Jew is faced with a test of faith, and inspire him to give up his life rather than deny Hashem. [5] However, that is an extreme circumstance. How does one awaken the Yechidah of oneself or others in the state described above, and bring it to fully illuminate the flame of the Neshamah[6]—which is compared to a flame, as it is written, “The Neshamah of a man is Hashem’s candle”—on all levels?

For this one must connect with the Cohen Gadol of the generation, a Jew who “sits all day in the Beis HaMikdash”—in an atmosphere of holiness and purity; moreover, he “never departs from Yerushalayim”—from a state of pure and complete fear of Hashem.

The Cohen Gadol, the Rebbe,[7] gives to all those who connect themselves with him a “flask of pure olive oil” with which to kindle and illuminate their own Neshamos despite its defilement and desecration.

However, just as on Chanukah, we are required to celebrate through both “Hallel vehoda’ah,” praise and acknowledgement, so is it with hiskashrus, bonding with the Rebbe. Hoda’ah, acknowledgement and faith are indeed necessary, but not sufficient. One must also engage Hallel, praise,[8] which represents investing intellectual effort to understand the greatness of Hashem (see here) as explained in Chassidus (which is compared to oil), thereby fulfilling the exhortation, “Know the G–d of your father”[9] until it illuminates every level of our souls with purity and holiness.

Adapted from the Rebbe’s Igros Kodesh, Vol. 2, pp. 277-278.

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[1] Shabbos 21b.
[2] For oil is compared to wisdom (Zohar 3:7b).
[3] Mishneh Torah, Hilchos K’lei HaMikdash, 5:7.
[4] Likkutei Torah, Rosh HaShanah 60b.
[5] Tanya ch. 19.
[6] Mishlei 20:27.
[7] Cf. Igros Kodesh, Vol. 5, p. 33.
[8] Shabbos ibid..
[9] I Divrei HaYomim 28:9.

• Dedicated by Reb Yitzchak Kruk and family in the memory of Aryeh ben Yitzchak.
• Dedicated by Yehoshua Solomon and family in the memory of Mrs. Molly Mitnick (Malah bas Elchanan).

Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

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Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Chanukah: The Anti-Religious Campaign of the Academics

Chanukah: The Anti-Religious Campaign of the Academics

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The[1] Greeks sought “to bring them [Jewish people] to forget Your Torah.”[2] The wording here is precise.

As is well-known, Greek culture valued intellect as the greatest good, and the Greeks were sophisticated intellectuals par excellence. This meant that they did not oppose Torah study per se; on the contrary, they recognized and were greatly impressed by the beauty, depth, and complexity of Torah, which they considered as on a par with their own wisdoms—as it is written of Torah, “it is your [the Jewish people’s] wisdom in the eyes of the nations.”[3] Hence, they held Torah study in high esteem as a most sublime intellectual pursuit and were willing to allow and even support the Jewish people to study Torah.

Rather, they opposed the Jews’ study of Torah with the belief that it is “Your Torah”—that it is divine. For our Torah is not just another wisdom among many. And it is more than even a highly advanced wisdom, more advanced than all others. Nor is Torah a tool for intellectual gratification and development, G–d forbid—although because it is so inherently great, it does carry that fringe benefit as well, along with many others.

Rather, although Torah study involves the intellect, it is fundamentally different—it is holy intellect.

It was this submission to the suprarational that the Greeks so vehemently opposed, and sought to contaminate. How did they seek to accomplish this? By systematically enticing the Jewish people to become preoccupied and passionately devoted to the study of secular wisdoms and to view amassing secular knowledge as a highly desirable pursuit of inherent value.

This was the root of the Greeks’ harmful influence. For Torah requires that the mundane always serve the holy, as our sages instruct us, “All your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven,”[4] and “In all your ways, know Him.”[5]

However, when one takes something mundane and puts it on the pedestal that should be reserved for the holy, this necessarily leads one to lose the reverence and awe that he had for the holy and treat it as mundane, may G–d save us.[6]

The same is true of Torah vis-à-vis secular wisdom.

It is not sufficient to study Torah with a focus on understanding it correctly, although of course, that is also vital. Rather, one should study Torah with a sense of awe at its holiness. Our sages teach that “Just as [at Sinai] there was awe, fear, trembling, and quaking, so should it be now as well: [One should study Torah] with awe, fear, trembling, and quaking.”[7] Chassidus explains that in fact, the Giving of the Torah is an ongoing event. Hashem is constantly giving us the Torah anew, and this is the reason that in the blessing upon the Torah we refer to Hashem as the “Giver of the Torah,” in present tense.[8] One who studies Torah with this awareness will also be helped by Hashem to reach a correct understanding of his studies.

In contrast, secular wisdom should be viewed as merely a tool. It has no inherent value; rather, its purpose is only fulfilled when it is used in a way that serves a holy purpose, such as for the sake of earning a living, to facilitate better understanding of certain Torah topics, and the like.[9] This knowledge should inform the attitude and feeling that one has while studying this wisdom, if and when it may be appropriate. One should always be conscious that this study is purely a means to an end, a handmaiden to the mistress of Torah and divine service.

Back to the story of Chanukah: The Greeks tragically succeeded in their campaign to influence many Jews to become enamored with secular wisdom, thereby treating it as on a par with Torah wisdom (lehavdil). This naturally corrupted the Jews’ view of Torah study, leading them to slowly but surely lose their sensitivity to the Torah’s inherent holiness, and view it as merely an intellectual pursuit, may G–d save us.

This answers a question one might ask. In normal warfare, the victors will plunder the wealth of their enemy, and take it as booty. Yet when the Greeks broke into the Beis HaMikdash, we find no mention of them taking any action to seize the fabulously precious silver and gold vessels kept there.

Rather, they made a point of contaminating all the oil that they could find. The deeper significance of this is that oil represents wisdom,[10] and the Greeks fought with all their might to contaminate the holy oil of Torah with the impurity of secular wisdom, and thereby influence the Jewish people to treat Torah as if it were no different from other wisdoms, G–d forbid.

The lessons from this for our personal lives are self-evident.

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[1] See Sefer HaMa’amarim 5741, pp. 59-60.
[2] Ve’al HaNissim liturgy.
[3] Devarim 4:6.
[4] Avos 2:12.
[5] Mishlei 3:6.
[6] This is perhaps analogous to our sages’ saying: “He who has compassionate upon the cruel, will ultimately be cruel to the compassionate” (Tanchuma, Metzora 1; Yalkut Shimoni, I Samuel, ch. 121).
[7] Berachos 22a.
[8] Shaloh 25a. Likkutei Torah, Tazria 23a.
[9] Tanya, end ch. 8.
[10] Zohar 3:7b.


This article was dedicated by haTomim Menachem Mendel ben Sarah lizchus a shidduch hogun bekorov.



Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

The Evil Inclination vs. the Bestial Soul

The Evil Inclination vs. the Bestial Soul

(Based on a maamar of the Alter Rebbe,

in honor of 19 Kislev)

Rabbi Y. Oliver

The Bestial Soul is also referred to as the Evil Inclination. In fact, in classical Torah sources, this soul is referred to as the Evil Inclination, and only at a later point did it also come to be known by the appellation of Bestial Soul.

An analogy for the place of the Evil Inclination in the Bestial Soul can be drawn from burning wood. Wood consists of a combination of the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth. Now, everything consists of a combination of two parts: chomer, the raw matter, and tzurah, the particular form that it assumes.

The primary chomer of a thing is the component that comes from the element of earth within it. This is the deeper meaning of the verse, “Everything came to exist from earth.”[1] In contrast, the tzurah stems primarily from the specific combination of three other elements—fire, air, and water.

In the wood, the chomer is the element of earth within it, while its tzurah is shaped by the specific combination of the other three elements. Since burning destroys the tzurah of a thing, when the wood is burned, the other three elements are separated from the wood, and only ashes—which come from the element of earth, which is the chomer—are left behind.

The distinction between chomer and tzurah also exists spiritually, and this sheds light on the nature of the Evil Inclination. This name is precise—the Evil Inclination, for this title refers specifically to the emotional expression and inclination toward selfish and even sinful desires, which, unless one exercises self-control, naturally culminates in the thought, speech, and action that consummate these desires.

In contrast, the essence of the Bestial Soul is beyond any inclination; it is not inclined to any particular, defined emotion, for by definition, an essence transcends particularities.[2] Rather, at the Bestial Soul’s essence lies the ko’ach hamis’aveh, the “faculty that desires,” which consists of an intense, primal, selfish desire as it exists in potential form—raw, simple, uncomplicated, and unformed.

Now, although an actual desire for the physical is unworthy, its core, the ko’ach hamis’aveh, is not fundamentally evil, for just as it was directed to physical pleasures, so can it be redirected to desire that which is good and holy—to yearn to connect with Hashem, as it is written, “My soul yearns for You.”[3]

This[4] is also the meaning of the verse, “You shall love Hashem bechol levavcha—with all your heart.”[5] Although normally translated in the singular, the literal meaning of bechol levavcha is “with all your hearts,” in the plural. What is the significance of this unusual expression?

Our sages explain[6] that this alludes to the two inclinations within—the good inclination and the evil inclination. The Jew should come to love Hashem not only with the good inclination—the Divine Soul, but even with the evil inclination—the Bestial Soul.

However,[7] in order to reach this love, one must first uproot the “filthy garments”—the selfish, indulgent desires for physical pleasure, permitted and forbidden, along with the thought, speech, and action to which they led. This is accomplished through genuine Teshuvah—sincere regret for one’s past behavior, and a firm resolution to change in the future. Teshuvah uproots one’s desires from materialism and redirects them to yearn for the realm of purity and holiness instead.

Based on Likkutei Torah, Chukas 56c-d.

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[1] Koheles 3:20.

[2] Cf. Imrei Binah, Shaar HaKerias Shema, ch. 8. Toras Chaim, Vayeshev 68a.

[3] Yeshayah 26:9. Cf. Tanya, Chinuch Katan.

[4] Cf. Sefer HaMa’amarim 5717-5718-5719, p. 389.

[5] Devarim 6:5.

[6] Berachos 26a-b.

[7] Cf. Sefer HaMa’amarim ibid., p. 388.



Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

19 Kislev: Join me in bringing Moshiach!

Dear Friend,


It’s Yud-Tes Kislev! Gut Yom Tov! I take this opportunity to express my best wishes to all my friends, all chassidim, and all Jews: l’shonoh tovoh b’limmud haChassidus uvedarkei haChassidus tikoseivu veseichoseimu—may we be written and sealed for a good year in the study and ways of Chassidus (I discuss the difference between the two here).

Thank G-d, for the last four years I have maintained a website, www.a-farbrengen.blogspot.com. On it I have produced a consistent output of high-quality articles and essays on various topics related to the teachings and the lifestyle of Chassidus. I have currently reached over 100,000 hits on the site. I have also distributed these postings via a growing e-mail list to subscribers worldwide, and you have been one of my loyal readers.

Below are a list of articles related to 19 Kislev and the importance of spreading Chassidus:

• 19 Kislev: Rosh Hashanah for Chassidus
• Chassidus illuminates the darkness of exile
• The vital need to spread Chassidus in print
• Chassidus: The antidote to spiritual death
• Chassidus: Hashem's most precious treasure
• Chof Kislev: Overcoming the inner misnagid

Do you like what you read? The articles I write require a lot of time and effort—for research, writing, and reviewing.

In order to continue this noble and holy work, I require significant financial assistance. Even once, with Hashem’s help, these writings are published in book form, the income from these books will be negligible when compared with the amount of money that I need to provide for my family.

Please make a donation in order to help support these efforts to publicize the teachings of Chassidus, which the Rebbe, quoting the famous words of Moshiach to the Baal Shem Tov, identified countless times as the main purpose of our generation, and the key to bringing Moshiach.

Assisting this endeavor also brings one tremendous personal blessings, as the Rebbe writes (in Letters of the Rebbe):

By helping publish a Torah text and disseminating it … motivating change, helping people find the proper path and resolve their problems ... the reward for this manifests in this world—with abundant material and spiritual good.

For just $36, please sponsor an article in honor of your loved one/s. I would suggest that you sponsor an article regularly in honor of your anniversary, in honor of the birthdays of your various family members, and in honor of the yohrtzeits of your departed loved ones. This donation can also be made lirefuah sheleimah, or in honor of a bris, wedding, or the like.

If you are able, please consider making a more substantial donation, to sponsor a series of articles, a full-length booklet, or even an entire book.

I will also add that if there is a specific subject in Chassidus that is close to your heart, and you would like to sponsor an article discussing that particular topic, I would be eager to do so.

Please click on the Donate image on the right-hand-side of my site in order to make a secure donation via PayPal. Or, to send me a check, please get in touch with me via email for my mailing information.

Thank you, and best wishes to be sealed for a good and sweet new year in the study and ways of Chassidus, along with you, your family, all chassidim, and the entire Jewish people!

Moshiach now!

Yours sincerely,

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 1): "In the image of G-d"

The Intellectual Soul (pt. 1)

All mankind is created “in the image of G–d”

The Mishnah states:[1]

Beloved is man, for he was created in the image of G–d; it is by special divine love that he was informed that he was created in the image of G–d. As it is stated: “For G–d made man in His own image.”[2]

The Tosafos Yom Tov notes that the Mishnah cites a verse addressed to Noach and his descendants, who were not Jewish. He interprets that “beloved is man” refers not only to Jews, but to all mankind. All mankind is created “in the image of G–d,” and is therefore beloved to G–d. And since human beings are beloved to G–d, all mankind should also respect, value, and love one another.

Of course, although in this context “man” refers to all mankind, not only the Jewish people, it surely includes Jews as well. Although Jews possess an additional soul that is “literally a part of Hashem above,”[3] they too were created “in the image of G–d.”

The Intellectual Soul

What indeed does it mean to have been created “in the image of G–d,” and why is this “beloved to G–d”? To state the obvious, G–d has no image or form, neither material nor spiritual.[4] Rather, echoing the Rambam,[5] Chassidus explains[6] that “the image of G–d” refers to the Nefesh HaSichlis, the Intellectual Soul.

The Intellectual Soul is the mind, the spiritual faculty that enables a person to think in a uniquely human way. Its goal is to transcend personal interest and pursue abstract, objective truth. This is alluded to in the verse, “The spirit ... of man rises upwards”[7]; i.e., man—and the faculty that defines man as different from animals, the Intellectual Soul—naturally yearns upward, to transcend itself.

Both Jews and non-Jews possess an Intellectual Soul. However, the Jew’s Intellectual Soul is higher than the non-Jew’s, for it “senses spiritual refinement, so although it is by nature human intellect, it has a feel for spiritual refinement.”[8]

This sensitivity to spiritual refinement enables the Jew who follows Torah properly to truly transcend his own self-interest in his intellectual strivings.

By contrast, the non-Jew’s Intellectual Soul naturally relates to the world in a coarse, materialistic way, lacking the Jew’s natural sensitivity to the spirituality that underlies the world.

The non-Jewish Intellectual Soul comes fully manifest in secular wisdom, which is the culmination of the intellectual efforts of the finest of non-Jewish minds.

This wisdom naturally fosters a feeling of arrogance; in fact, it fosters a feeling of the utmost arrogance. Thus, ongoing study of secular wisdom without the spiritual fortification that Torah study provides will spoil the student spiritually until he or she ultimately degenerates to a state of spiritual and moral coarseness.[9]

To be continued, with the help of Hashem.

Based on the Rebbe's Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 15, pp. 58 ff.

_________________
[1] Avos 3:18.
[2] Bereshis 1:17.
[3] Tanya ch. 2.
[4] See the Yigdal hymn: “He has no semblance of a body, nor is He corporeal.” Cf. Derech Mitzvosecha, Shoresh Mitzvas HaTefillah ch. 2.
[5] See Guide for the Perplexed 1:1:

Now man possesses as his proprium something that is very strange in that it is not found in anything else that exists under the sphere of the moon, namely, intellectual apprehension. In the exercise of this, neither sense, nor any part of the body, nor any of the extremities are used; and therefore this apprehension was compared to G–d’s apprehension, which does not require an instrument, although in reality it is not like the latter apprehension, but only appears so at first.

It is because of ... the divine intellect conjoined with man, that it is said of man that he is “in the image of G–d” and “after His likeness”—not that Hashem, may He be exalted, is a body and possesses a shape.

Likewise, Rashi explains kidmuseinu, “after our likeness” to mean “with the power to comprehend and discern.”
[6] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5702, p. 104 ff.
[7] Koheles 3:21.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Sefer HaMa’amarim 5709, p. 52 ff.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

On Our Mission in the Mundane World

(in honor of 9-10 Kislev)

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The ultimate Truth of all is that Hashem is the one and only true, absolute reality. 

There is a lofty realm in which this truth is completely, undeniably real and obvious, akin to the experience of standing in the outdoors and basking in the sunlight directly. This is the supernal realm, or “world,” of Atzilus, a level in a state of constant, all-consuming bittul, nullification, to G–dliness; it has no sense of any independent existence from Him. This is known as bittul bi’metzius, “total nullification.”

But from the levels below, Hashem chooses to conceal His absolute reality and this enables them to become beings that are self-aware. They have a sense of yeshus, of independent existence from Hashem. (For more on the difference between Atzilus and the worlds below it, see here.)

There are various degrees in this concealment. The first general level, which we will discuss in this post, is expressed in the words of the Havdalah prayer, “to separate between the holy and the mundane.” Here Hashem conceals His light only partially. This is comparable to the beneficial effect produced when a curtain is placed in front of a window of bright sunlight. This concealment allows the light to illuminate the room in an acceptable, pleasant way.

Likewise, Hashem placed a “parsah” (lit. “curtain”) that conceals the awesome light of the world of Atzilus, where the absolute truth of Hashem’s reality shines openly. This enables the creation of the three lower worlds of Beriyah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (known collectively by the acronym b’ya), which sense their own independent existence. Yet this concealment is only partial, for the “light shines through,” enabling the beings in these worlds, the angels, to sense Hashem’s reality enough that they can surrender themselves partially to Hashem. This is known as bittul ha’yesh, “nullification of ego.”

This is akin to the difference between Shabbos and the weekdays:

Shabbos is a time of open, transcendent divine revelation (see here), when the Jew rises completely above all worldly concerns and devotes himself exclusively to Hashem. This is comparable to the bittul bi’metzius in the world of Atzilus.

On the other hand, of the weekdays the Torah instructs: “For six days you shall work,”[1] for then one must pursue one’s livelihood (see here). This requires that one lower oneself spiritually into an environment of divine concealment that allows for one to feel selfishness. This is comparable to the divine concealment and yeshus that prevails in the worlds of b’ya.

The Jew’s mission, however, is bittul—to bring awareness of Hashem to illuminate this experience. Every morning, before he goes out into the world and falls into the preoccupations related to his livelihood, he should remind himself that the world can’t possibly exist on its own, and so its existence surely comes from G–dliness. Likewise, during prayer, and then afterward, even in the very midst of his grueling business dealings, he should remind himself that it is Hashem alone Who grants him “strength to perform deeds of might.”[2] This means that he should trust in Hashem alone, and not in any mortal. Moreover, he should remind himself, this trust itself is the key to his material success, for we are assured, “cast your burden upon Hashem, and He will sustain you.”[3]

Through this one breaks through the concealment, brings divine light even into the lowliness of the world (see here). Moreover, he elevates to Hashem all the energies that he had invested in his mundane matters, bringing them to assume the refined status of chullin shena’asu al taharas ha’kodesh, mundane matters that were performed in a pure and holy manner. He thereby performs bittul ha’yesh, fulfills the purpose of his creation, and merits a personal revelation of G–dliness.

Adapted from the Mitteleh Rebbe's
Ma’amarei Admur HaEmtza’i, Hanachos 5577, pp. 274-276; cf. p. 281.

________________
[1] Shemos 20:8.
[2] Devarim 8:18.
[3] Tehillim 55:23.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).


Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Chilling "coincidence": A sign from Above

Chilling “Coincidence”:
A Sign from Above

Rabbi Y. Oliver

This is a glaring, chilling “coincidence.”

On Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5769, Gavriel Holtzberg and his pregnant wife, Rivkah, shluchim to India, were slain by terrorists and died al kiddush Hashem, along with others. May their blood be avenged.

Just now, on the very same day in 5773, four years later, Mira Sharf, shluchah to India, also pregnant, was slain by terrorists and died al kiddush Hashem, along with others. May their blood be avenged. (Her husband Shmuel, yibadel lechaim tovim, shliach to India, was critically injured, but survived, as did her children. May they have a full recovery and be comforted.)

Our first response should be to cry out, “Hashem, ad mosai?!” Enough suffering in golus!

But then we must take notice. This is an open sign of Hashem’s hashgachah, His direct involvement in our lives. What is He trying to tell us, the worldwide community of chassidei Chabad in particular?

I don’t presume to know for certain what the lesson might be. But Chazal say, “If one sees suffering coming upon himself, he should inspect his deeds.”[1] He should make a cheshbon nefesh, and see if he can find any sins that might have caused this misfortune, and do teshuvah for them.

This applies not only to the Jew as an individual, but also to the Jew’s community, as the Rambam rules:[2]

It is a positive obligation stated in the Torah to cry out to Hashem in prayer whenever a great calamity should befall the community. … This is counted among the paths of repentance, that when a calamity arrives and people cry out and sound the Shofar, everyone will know that it was because of their wrongdoing that this evil befell them … and this will cause the calamity to be removed from them. If, however, they do not cry out … arguing instead that this event happened to us as part of the natural way of the world and that the calamity happened by chance, this approach is cruel, because it causes people to persist in their wrongdoing and thus brings about further disasters … . Moreover, the Sages ordained that people should fast over every calamity that overtakes the community, until Heaven shows them compassion.

So when tragedy befalls a community, it’s the fault of the entire community, and the community must know that. (It’s certainly not the fault of any non-Jew, although that evil scum will certainly get his just deserts, for no non-Jew has the power to harm any Jew unless Hashem so decreed it. As the Gemara states,[3] the Beis HaMikdash would not have been destroyed unless “their Mighty One had given them over, and Hashem had trapped them.”[4])

This is true of any tragedy in the community (as I write here), but all the more so when it occurs in a way in which we see Hashem’s hashgachah so openly, as is the case here, Rachmana litzlan.

So let us not let this tragedy pass us by, in effect treating it as if, chas vesholom, “the calamity happened by chance.” Let us search within, consult with our friends, and turn to our venerated Rabbonim and Mashpi’im in earnest: What can we do to improve as chassidim? Are there areas in which we are falling short, and even going against what the teachings of Chassidus demand of us, Rachmana litzlan? In which areas are we not devoting ourselves to do perform good deeds—and and the hora’os of Chassidus and the Rebbe in general, and his call to spread Yiddishkeit and Chassidus far and wide in particular—as much as we could? And let us make good resolutions to change, and follow them through, with the help of Hashem.

This is the true Jewish response to suffering. Let’s do it, and may Hashem see our sincere teshuvah, have mercy upon us, spare us from all future harm and sorrow, and send Moshiach now.

_____________________________________
[1] Berachos 5a.
[2] Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Ta’aniyos, 1:1-4.
[3] Gittin 55b-56b.
[4] Devarim 32:30.


Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Essential spiritual food and clothing

Essential spiritual food and clothing

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Generally speaking, livelihood includes two kinds of basic needs: food and clothing. These are both necessities for livelihood, i.e., physical survival, for a person must have some food and clothing to survive. However, they serve very different functions.

Food is an ohr pnimi, an “internal light”—an influence that comes down and adapts to the level of the recipient on its terms, who internalizes and unites with it. So when a person eats, he takes the food inside, and once it has been digested, it becomes one with his flesh and blood. This then enables one’s physical life to continue, for the food becomes converted into blood and other nutrients that spread throughout the body, strengthening it and making it a fit vessel for the soul to become fully vested in it, enabling the soul to continue giving life to the body.

In contrast, clothes represent an ohr makif, an “encompassing light,” an influence that does not descend to the level of the recipient, but encompasses him. Likewise, clothes do not actually become one with the wearer; rather, they surround him and benefit him by providing warmth, maintaining modesty, expressing his identity, and so on.

The same is true of spiritual livelihood and spiritual health, which depend upon the combination of two parallel kinds of divine service—Torah and Mitzvos.[1]

Torah is compared to eating, as it is written, “Come and partake of My bread,”[2] and “Your Torah is in my innards,”[3] for the Torah is an ohr pnimi that a Jew is obligated to intellectually “digest” and unite with.

In contrast, Mitzvos are compared to clothing, for they elicit upon the Jew an intense ohr makif, a sublime divine light, that descends upon the Divine Soul, the Bestial Soul, and the body, but does not permeate the Jew’s personality, which primarily constitute the intellect and emotions.[4]

So when Hashem instructs in the Torah to fix regular times for Torah study, to perform Mitzvos, davven with a minyan, and so on, these are not merely worthy actions that we do because we want to make Hashem happy, or the like. Nor are they merely a fulfillment of our duties to Hashem. Although they include all the above, we should realize that Torah and Mitzvos simply provide our soul—which constitutes the Jew’s true self (see here)—with the “food” and “clothing” that it needs in order to survive and thrive.

The Rebbe Rashab’s Sefer HaMa’amarim 5653, p. 262-263.

_____________________________
[1] Zohar 3:7b.
[2] Cf. Tanya ch. 5.
[3] Mishlei 9:5.
[4] Tehillim 40:9.
[5] Cf. Tanya chs. 5, 25, 46.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Jacob Ostreicher (Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

Dedicated by Dovid and Bracha Tsap as a merit for their daughter Sara Rachel bas Hinda Zelda Bracha, in honor of her birthday on 10 Cheshvan.


Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Bringing the Spiritual to Dominate Over the Material

(The essay below is published in honor of the birthday of
the Rebbe Rashab, nishmaso Eden, on 20 Cheshvan—today.
May his merit protect us.)

Bringing the Spiritual to
Dominate Over the Material

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Hashem created us in the default state of valuing the material above the spiritual—in Hebrew, “hisgabrus ha’chomer al ha’tzurah.” At first glance, and especially in light of the materialistic and degenerate culture and times in which we live, changing this around may seem unrealistic and even unattainable.

Yet Torah, and the teachings of Chassidus in particular, teach that in fact, we are not doomed to remain in this state. We can and must choose to transcend it, but try as we might, we cannot truly do so on our own.

Without an airplane or similar device, a human being cannot fly up into the sky. Likewise, without special tools, we are trapped in our natural, default state of regarding the material as of foremost importance.

What are the tools that enable this inner change? In general, this is the purpose of all of Torah and Mitzvos.[1] However, in Torah itself, the area that facilitates this inner change in the most thorough and lasting way can be found, in our generation, in the teachings of Chassidus.

It is written, “From my flesh I see Hashem.”[2] This encapsulates the purpose of the teachings of Chassidus—to explain in great depth and detail the faculties of the soul, and how they interact with one another. Since the Jew’s soul descends from the higher spiritual worlds,[3] everything in our inner selves parallels the world at large, and can thus be used to understand it.

Thus Chassidus uses as its mashal, analogy (pl. meshalim), the soul’s faculties—“my flesh”—in all its intricacies, through which we are able to “see Hashem”—to understand the nimshal (concept being explained by the analogy) of sublime levels of Hashem’s greatness.

In particular, by learning about and becoming aware of and sensitive to the soul’s faculties, one can come to truly know and understand the ten Sefiros (divine emanations), and all the levels of Seder Hishtalshelus (the entire spiritual cosmos—see here), which Hashem created “So that we would come to know His greatness”[4] through them.

One should reflect upon these levels thoroughly and with great concentration (this is known as hisbonenus—see here). This enables the Neshamah to shine, elevating the person to a state of inner closeness and attachment to G–dliness, and the appropriate time to engage in this reflection is during Tefillah, prayer (see here and here).

This leads one to fulfill the goal of Chassidus: to bring the spiritual to dominate over the physical.[5] For when the Neshamah shines, one naturally casts aside materialistic desires and preoccupations (“chumriyus”—see here), and views all the physical as nothing but a tool to be used to fulfills the Torah’s instructions, “All your actions should be for the sake of Heaven,”[6] and “In all your ways, know Him.”[7]

May Hashem help us to go from strength to strength in this endeavor!

Based on the Rebbe Rashab’s Hemshech 5672, Vol. 3, pp. 1310-1311.

__________________________________________________________
[1] Cf. Tanya, ch. 32: “...כי יסוד ושורש כל התורה הוא להגביה ולהעלו' הנפש על הגוף מעלה מעלה”.
[2] Iyov 19:26.
[3] Tanya, ch. 3, beg.
[4] Zohar 2:42b.
[5] In the original, “hisgabrus hatzurah al hachomer.”
[6] Avos 2:12.
[7] Mishlei 3:6.


Dedicated by Dovid and Bracha Tsap as a merit for their daughter Sara Rachel bas Hinda Zelda Bracha, in honor of her birthday on 10 Cheshvan.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Alan Gross (Aba Chonah ben Hava Chana), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Chassidus: A Philosophy and a Lifestyle

Chassidus: A philosophy and a lifestyle

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The derech of Chassidus consists of both a philosophy—“the study of Chassidus” and a lifestyle—“the ways of Chassidus” (see here). The two are more than necessary, complementary aspects of a Chassidic lifestyle—they are interdependent and inextricable.

The teachings of Chassidus inherently necessitate that one follow a Chassidic lifestyle, and so the lifestyle is the fulfillment of those teachings. Conversely, one who follows the lifestyle but neglects to study the teachings—of course, each person according to his or her individual level—will in one way or another be lacking in the lifestyle as well.

To explain, the core of Chassidus is to promote a pure belief in the unity of Hashem. Now, belief in divine unity is by no means a novelty of Chassidus. However, before Chassidus was revealed, divine unity meant that His existence is simple, a unity that transcends all parts. Moreover, Hashem is the only Creator—He doesn’t share His control over the universe with any other force, nor does He have any helpers, and therefore one’s prayers should be directed to Him alone.

Yet according to this worldview, the world exists. True, it exists because Hashem created it, but now that the deed is done, the world is in fact real. But Chassidus takes divine unity further, teaching that not only is Hashem the one and only deity, but He is the only being in existence. In reality, “ein od milvado”—nothing beside Him exists.

(This statement raises many questions, naturally, such as 1. How can Chassidus declare that the world doesn’t exist if the Torah says that Hashem created the world? 2. How can I reconcile the belief that only Hashem exists with my tangible observation of the vast array of multiplicity in the world? 3. Doesn’t the Torah itself recognize the world’s existence by requiring that we keep Mitzvos with physical objects according to certain physical specifications? And so on.

Suffice it to say that these and many other questions on this matter are discussed in Chassidus, and the one who truly seeks Hashem will not suffice with reading almost glib, “standing-on-one-foot” summaries of this incredibly profound concept, for after all, the entire corpus of the literature of Chassidus Chabad comes to explain this teaching, and so the serious student will fulfill his duty to learn. In any case, addressing these questions is beyond the scope of this article.)

One who learns and understands to a significant degree that only Hashem exists reaches a certain inner awareness of this fundamental truth, and this spurs him to desire to live a very different kind of lifestyle from one who lacks this sensitivity. When one realizes that only Hashem exists, and this is in fact the core of the entire Torah, then an onus lies on the person to live a lifestyle that reflects that belief.

According to Chassidus, this is the meaning of the Torah’s mandate,[1] “All your actions should be for the sake of Heaven”: Bring consciousness of Hashem and the devotion to serve Him to permeate every single aspect of your life—without exception. Thus, the Jewish people are called “one nation on the earth,”[2] for our mission is to bring consciousness of Hashem’s oneness down into the mundane world, and into every aspect of it.[3] Then Hashem is not only one in theory, but also in practice.

__________________
[1] Avos 2:12.
[2] Shmuel II 7:23.
[3] Cf. Tanya 114a.


Dedicated in honor of the wedding of Shmuel Aaron ben Liba and Malka Aida bas Devorah Forshner on 8 Elul, 5772.


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel (Jacob Ostreicher), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

___________________________________

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

An unflinching reckoning

An Unflinching Reckoning

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

Our sages warn us: “Don’t judge your fellow until you have reached his place.”[1] The Bartenura explains: “If you see that your fellow has been tested and succumbed, do not judge him as guilty until you are tested like him, and you are saved.”

The Torah requires that when we see fault and even sin in our fellow Jew, we give him the benefit of the doubt that his behavior stems from “his place,” which consists of two influences: 1. his external, physical location, which constantly bombards him with temptation; 2. his inner, spiritual “location,” which is his very powerful evil inclination, which constantly bombards him with inner struggles.[2] We discussed this in an earlier post here.

It should be noted that this perspective is only appropriate when viewing another. When viewing oneself, on the contrary, one should not seek to excuse one’s own behavior (with the exception of one who was raised in an atmosphere of secularism, and was therefore genuinely a tinok shenishba, one so completely ignorant of Torah that he or she is not held to blame for his actions).

Rather, one should take full responsibility—both for his actions and for his inactions, and in both his relationship with Hashem, and with his fellow. Some actions Hashem expected him to do, yet he inexcusably neglected to do them; conversely, when faced with temptation, he inexcusably chose to sin. Had he been truly permeated with awareness of Hashem’s constant presence, he would not have sinned regardless how great the temptation.

However, the one who seeks refuge in excuses 1. does himself a disservice; 2. deceives himself.

1. He does himself a disservice. Every excuse distances the Jew from Teshuvah, for why should one sincerely regret actions that were simply not his fault? And if his unfortunate circumstances indeed forced him to do wrong, how could he possibly do Teshuvah, and truly change and fix himself? He is a hapless victim of circumstance. Moreover, whenever he is faced with temptation down the line, he will succumb and excuse his inappropriate behavior with more claims that come down to the belief that he is fundamentally incapable of being in control of his life and himself. One with such a mentality cannot ever truly grow and mature in his character traits; on the contrary, he is at constant, high risk of falling into ever more unsavory behaviors.

2. He deceives himself. The Torah is eternal,[3] and so it is not only applicable when all is well, such as during the era when the Beis HaMikdash stood, but in every single time and place, forever, even during the darkest periods of exile. The one who claims to be a victim of circumstance denies this, for he loses sight of the awareness that as difficult as his circumstances may be, they are not some kind of cosmic accident, G-d forbid; rather, Hashem Himself created them, and brought them to the Jew for a reason. Moreover, Hashem declares (what is regardless simple logic): “I only ask of them [the Jewish people] according to their ability,”[4] and therefore He surely endows every single Jew—man, woman, and child—with the ability to overcome whatever tests and temptations he or she may face.

This is vital to recognize now, in the month of Elul. In this month every Jew is charged with making a cheshbon nefesh, a spiritual stocktaking, in preparation for the month of Tishrei. The key to success in this endeavor is simply being ruthlessly honest with oneself, and taking full responsibility for one’s own actions.

Based on the Previous Rebbe's Ani Ledodi, in Sefer HaMaamarim 5700.

_____________________________
[1] Avos 2:4.
[2] Cf. Tanya ch. 30, beg.
[3] Ibid., ch. 17, beg.
[4] Vayikra Rabba 12:3.

Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel (Jacob Ostreicher), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

___________________________________

Like what you read? The articles I write take a lot of time and effort. Please contact me to sponsor an article for (at least) $36 in honor of the birthday, wedding anniversary, or yarhtzeit of a loved one, or for a refuah shleimah or the like. Also, see here concerning the tremendous merit of supporting the dissemination of Chassidus, and the blessings that one receives for doing so.

Positive innovations

Positive innovations

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver

The Rebbe has come out with numerous calls for the Jewish people to undertake various new customs and practices not necessarily followed by our’s predecessors. These include (in no particular order, and this is a mere fraction of them): studying Chitas—Chumash, Tehillim, and Tanya as divided up according to a yearly cycle; studying the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah as divided up into the triennial or yearly cycle; celebrating the Hakhel year; women wearing a sheitel; boys wearing Rabeinu Tam’s Tefillin from the age of Bar Mitzvah; girls lighting Shabbos candles from age three; lighting public Menorahs; disseminating the laws of Noach to non-Jews; and perhaps most importantly, calling upon all Jews—including women and even children, on their level—to study Chassidus in order to prepare for the coming of Moshiach, along with topics of Moshiach and the Redemption (see here), and so on.

Some have responded to these calls by saying that they refuse to change from the example that was displayed to them by their forefathers—“ma’aseh avoseinu beyadeinu.”

The Rebbe acknowledges that in a certain context, this concern is valid:

It is famous just how careful great Torah leaders of past generations were not to establish new customs—even when there was no concern that doing so would violate the prohibition “do not add” to the Torah,”[1] as is obvious. Great Torah leaders [in particular, the Chasam Sofer—see further] said of this—by way of pun—“New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah.”

The reason for their tremendous caution was in order that there be no opening for students who were lacking sufficient training,[2] or those who didn’t qualify as students altogether, to establish new customs that bring no benefit and on the contrary, are detrimental.

Hisva’aduyos 5746, Vol. 2, p. 187.

What is an example of such an innovation in the context in which the Chasam Sofer said it? In one responsum, he speaks[3] of those who seek to move the bimah (dais) from the centre of the shul to the front of the Aron Kodesh because, they claim, they think it’s prettier and more spacious that way (or in order to mimic the design of a Church, lehavdil), and of this he states: “New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah.”

However, the Rebbe says, unfortunately, those who quote this aphorism in order to justify their unwillingness to adopt innovations in their Torah observance of a positive nature introduced by great Torah leaders and Tzaddikim are misguided; on the contrary, positive increases adopted on the advice of truly great Torah leaders must be adopted in order to overcome the additional spiritual darkness of the exile:

With regard to [the Rebbe’s urging for] adding in areas of holiness, some ask: This seems to be an innovation, and “New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah,” along the lines of the aphorism of the Chasam Sofer applied to similar cases. ... It is worthwhile to clarify (although it should be self-evident) that these claims have no basis. First, this is not an innovation, because these two customs are quoted in many holy works of earlier generations, as explained at length earlier.

The only innovation in this suggestion is that in light of the current situation in which we need increased prayer, everyone should adopt the suggestion of our great Torah leaders of past generations: Maimonides, Rabbi Shlomo Luria, the Arizal, the Bach, the Taz, the Alter Rebbe, and more. And this does not in any way entail deviating from one’s prayer liturgy, as explained above at length.

Moreover, this [suggestion that people undertaking a new practice] is not an innovation, for it was customary in every generation that when the darkness of “the other side” intensified, they would add in matters of goodness and holiness, Torah and Mitzvos. This is along the lines of the Gemara’s statement: “When he found a valley [i.e., an open space], he put a fence around it.”[4] [I.e., when Rav came to Bavel, he observed areas in which people were ignorant and neglectful, and so he enacted certain laws to prevent the people from further transgression.]

Hisva’aduyos 5744, Vol. 2, pp. 682-683.

Moreover, the Rebbe adds, these same people who so self-righteously refuse to change in a positive way because they don’t dare deviate one iota from their predecessors’ example are practicing a double standard, for they themselves have often adopted radical changes in their lifestyle of a negative nature, of exactly the kind that the Chasam Sofer zealously opposed:

In connection with the suggestion to adopt the recital of “I accept upon myself the positive Mitzvah to love one’s fellow Jew” and the verse, “Indeed, the righteous will acknowledge Your Name, the upright will dwell in Your presence,”[5] some argue that since they have not done so until now, they do not want to adopt a new practice; or, as they put it: “New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah.”

First and foremost, the claim that one does not want to increase in matters of holiness on account of a “concern” of [inappropriate] innovation has no basis whatsoever.

This aphorism, “New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah”—which is the basis of their claim—is an aphorism of the Chasam Sofer stated in reference to the innovations that some sought to introduce in his era—in undesirable areas.

If that’s the case, let us ask those who declare that they raise the banner of “New [practices] are forbidden by the Torah”: Do they think that the Chasam Sofer started out his day by reading ... a newspaper? They will certainly respond: “G–d forbid to even ask such a question!” And yet they themselves have adopted this new practice, which was never done before—reading a newspaper before Tefillah, and doing business before Tefillah, if only by telephone, and sometimes after going to Mikveh, and sometimes beforehand. So if such innovations are acceptable, why is it forbidden to adopt an additional practice in matters of holiness?!

One cannot ask: “Why wasn’t this done in earlier generations, because when a new sickness develops that did not exist in earlier generations, one must find a new medicine to heal it!

Moreover, and this is the main thing, the recital of these two verses is not an innovation altogether, as explained at length...

Hisva’aduyos 5744, Vol. 2, pp. 668-669.

Likewise, it is also possible that one’s forefathers, although very pious in many areas (in which we would do well to emulate them), in other areas, they may simply not have sufficiently followed true Torah sources, and so not all their actions serve as an example for us:

In response to the request to do activities to draw the redemption near, there is one who responds that he never saw his father or grandfather behave in such a way, to demand from Hashem to bring the redemption. It’s up to Hashem to bring the redemption, and it’s not his way, he claims, to prod Hashem to hurry up!

When it comes to his own personal needs, in his livelihood, there he sees fit to “prod Hashem to hurry up” to give him his livelihood in a certain way, a “double portion, and the like; however, when it comes to the redemption—that’s not his way!

Even after he is shown sources in the works of great Torah leaders, such as the Rokeach, and the like, he responds that the works of the Rokeach were in print in the time of his grandfather, and yet he never saw his grandfather doing so.

Is that a reason not to obey the ruling of the Rokeach?! First obey the ruling in action, and then you can engage in theoretical discussion [“pilpul”]. ...

As for what you say, “I didn’t see my father and grandfather behaving in such a way,” do you emulate your father and grandfather in other areas as well? If your grandfather would enter your home and see what you do in private, he would cry out in disgust!

Hisva’aduyos 5748, Vol. 4, pp. 163-164 .

In conclusion, we should zealously follow our age-old Jewish customs, for “A Jewish custom is Torah.”[6] Those who are not of sufficient caliber must not innovate new customs (or foolishly try to create their own derech, for that matter—see here). However, true Tzaddikim—such as the Rebbe, of course, in our time—are the expert “doctors” who can and should institute for the entire Jewish people that certain new practices be adopted because the times demand it—and it can be readily understood that an increase in darkness demands an increase in light, and a new sickness requires a new cure. 

On the contrary, one dare not exempt oneself from carrying out these directives simply because one holds one’s predecessors in such high esteem that one refuses to budge from following their example in every respect. Moreover, this self-professed stalwart for conservatism might do well to take his own advice to heart, and strive to eliminate negative innovations in his own life, and bring his own lifestyle to emulate the atmosphere and average level of fear of G–d found in “der alter heim.”

There can be no doubt that in our times, when the inroads of secularism in our communities have intensified, and additional darkness and spiritual sicknesses proliferate, the Rebbe’s holy instructions on how to we should go about counteracting that darkness—instructions that he directed to all the Jewish people—should be followed and disseminated more than ever.

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[1] Devarim 13:1.
[2] In the Hebrew, “shelo shimsu kol tzorkam.”
[3] Responsa of Chasam Sofer, Orach Chaim #28. Cf. ibid, Yoreh Deah #19.
[4] Eruvin 6a, 100b. Chullin 110a.
[5] Tehillim 140:14.
[6] Pesachim 7b, Ramban; Machzor Vitri 503; Menachos 20b, Tosfos.

Dedicated in honor of the birthday of my dear son, Shneur Zalman ben Atarah Arielle on 29 Menachem-Av. May he have a shenas berachah vehatzlachah begashmiyus uveruchniyus, and grow up to be a chossid, yerei Shomayim, and lamdan, l'Torah, l'chuppah ul'maasim tovim!


Dedicated in the merit of a speedy release for the captives Yonasan ben Malka (Jonathan Pollard), Sholom Mordechai Halevi ben Rivka (Sholom Rubashkin), Yaakov Yehuda ben Shaindel (Jacob Ostreicher), and Zeva Rochel bas Chaya (Wendy Weiner Runge).

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