Toras HaChassidus

Chabad-Lubavitch
The Chasidic Founders
	Baal Shem Tov • The Maggid
The Seven Rebbes of Chabad
	Alter Rebbe • Mitteler Rebbe • Tzemach Tzedek • Rebbe Maharash • Rebbe Rashab • Rebbe Rayatz • The Rebbe
General Topics
	Chassidus • Beis HaRav • Chasidim • Music • Mivtzoim • Geography
V – T

Chabad Chassidus or Toras HaChassidus is a system of teachings that primarily relates to the human capacity to understand godliness and to utilise this knowledge in the service of the Creator. These teachings are sometimes referred to in English as Chabad philosophy, and is presented as the total collection of teachings of the Chassidic founders and the Seven Rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch. Major themes in Chabad philosophy include the nature of divinity, the soul, and the meaning of the 613 commandments.

Its foundations and guidance were revealed in the middle of the sixth millennium of creation in Central Europe by the Baal Shem Tov, and spread through his many students until it reached Jerusalem.

Chassidus is essentially an explanation of Kabbalah, detailing the structure of spiritual worlds, the chain of creation and formation of the world, and teaches the hidden reasons for Torah mitzvos. Chassidus emphasizes that learning must be soulful learning that leads to practical improvement in character traits, and mere academic study is insufficient. Similarly, the fulfillment of all mitzvos must be done with inner vitality and intellectual contemplation. As the Baal Shem Tov said, "I came to this world only to fix and enliven the dry bones, so that everything should have vitality and a soul."

Chassidus places Hashem at the center and reveals that every Jew has the power to reach elevated spiritual levels specifically in this physical world through faith, trust in Hashem, joy, and recognition of Divine Providence.

In its early days, Chassidus faced strong opposition and persecution from the Misnagdim (opponents), due to their concerns that Chassidic teachings deviated from authentic Judaism. Over the years, this opposition decreased and has now almost completely disappeared.

Chabad Chassidus is the main continuation of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch among Chassidic courts, in terms of the scope of literature and its many deep explanations of Chassidus. The Chabad Rebbeim explained the ideas of Chassidic teachings and built an organized system through which a person can cleave to Hashem. Additionally, its founder wrote the 'Written Torah' of Chabad Chassidus (since the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezeritch did not write books) - the Tanya.

Chabad philosophy[edit | edit source]

The philosophy of Chabad Chassidus is characterized by its depth and pursuit of understanding the profound concepts explained in Kabbalah and their application to avodas Hashem. This approach is fundamentally rooted in the teachings and path of the Baal Shem Tov, but primarily continues the way of the Maggid of Mezritch, with a certain expansion based on intellectualism. For this reason, some have defined the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, and the Alter Rebbe, founder of Chabad Chassidus, as corresponding to the three upper sefiros called Chochma, Binah, and Daas, whose initials form the word "Chabad."

The Foundational Sefer Tanya[edit | edit source]

Over twenty years from 1775, the Alter Rebbe wrote the sefer in which he expounds his teachings, the philosophy of Chabad Chassidus, which is the written Torah of Chassidic teachings. He also wrote many pieces of advice and answers to questions about avodas Hashem that his chassidim asked him in yechidus. In 1795, he completed writing it and authorized its copying. The sefer was distributed among the chassidim who received it with joy.

The opponents of Chassidus feared the sefer's influence, and therefore deliberately inserted falsifications to present it as a "heretical" book. With such falsifications, they presented it to the Vilna Gaon, and because of this, he ordered it to be burned. When the Alter Rebbe learned of this, he ordered it to be printed to prevent further falsification.

In 1797, the Alter Rebbe sent the sefer to be printed in Slavita, requesting his friends, disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, Reb Meshulam Zusha of Anipoli and Reb Yehuda Leib HaKohen, to add their approbations. They were greatly impressed by the sefer and added their warm approbations. The first copies reached the Alter Rebbe on 20 Kislev 1797.

Initially, some Chassidic leaders did not accept the sefer due to the intellectual element in Chabad Chassidus philosophy, but eventually it was warmly embraced by them as well. Today, the sefer is considered the most important among the foundational works of the Chassidic movement, revered by all its streams and studied throughout the Jewish world.

This sefer contains the foundations of Chabad teachings and pnimiyus haTorah. The sefer extensively explains the structure of the human soul and the array of forces operating within it; it penetrates deep philosophical issues such as the relationship between the Creator and the world, creation ex nihilo, the unity of Hashem, the purpose of Torah and mitzvos, and similar matters, and it paves a secure and easy path for a person to reach elevated levels and serve Hashem properly.

The Tanya had a decisive influence on Jewish faith. Until the Baal Shem Tov, the opinions of gedolei Yisroel were divided regarding how Hashem supervises His world. The Baal Shem Tov innovated that Hashem's supervision is hashgacha pratis over every detail in the universe. The Alter Rebbe, in explaining the Baal Shem Tov's approach in his sefer, made this belief prevalent throughout all Jewish communities.

Its influence was so great that even the Vilna Gaon's student, Reb Chaim of Volozhin, reversed his rebbe's position following his study of Tanya, and acknowledged in his sefer Nefesh HaChaim that the truth follows the Chassidic approach regarding "tzimtzum lo k'pshuto."

Today, throughout the world, many Jews - Chassidim and Litvish, Charedi and even those who don't define themselves as Torah observant - participate in shiurim studying this sefer, which have a decisive influence on many people's lives. Many chassidim joined Chabad Chassidus following their study of Tanya. Indeed, the influence of this foundational Chassidic sefer reflects the Mashiach's promise to the Baal Shem Tov that "your wellsprings shall spread outward."

The Path of Chabad Chassidus[edit | edit source]

Chabad teachings represent a further development in revealing the teachings of Chassidus, which the Baal Shem Tov began to reveal. Chassidus as a whole is a revelation of the inner dimension of Torah, the inner aspect of all four levels of Torah interpretation - Pshat, Remez, Drush, and Sod.

The Torah, like the body, is divided into "body" and "soul." The part called "Nigleh" is essentially the revealed part, which includes all of Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, and other books added to them. The second part, "Pnimius" - the soul, this is Chassidus.

The word Chabad is an acronym for the three intellectual faculties: Chochma, Binah, Daat. The philosophy of the movement is based on the deepest dimension of Hashem's Torah. It teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of creation, and the importance and unique mission of every created being. Chabad teachings guide a person to refine and control every action or emotion through Chochma, Binah, and Daat.

Chabad teachings essentially deal with the entire world of Jewish thought and philosophy. It discusses the relationship between the Creator and creation, the ways in which the Creator controls His world, how He sustains and gives life to the world, and the purpose for which He created the entire world in the first place. We find in Chabad teachings profound explanations about the essence of Torah and mitzvos, the uniqueness of the Jewish people, and the powers of the Jewish neshamah. Chabad teachings also contain deep and wonderful analyses of the human psyche and penetrate the deepest layers of the Jewish neshamah.

There is a broad range of fundamental questions that are constant topics of discussion in Chabad Chassidus. Some of these questions are: Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu create the world? Was He lacking something that He created the world for? And how did such a complex world with so many contradictions emerge from the One and Only G-d whose "essence" is simple unity?

Extensive attention is devoted to questions of purpose and objective: What is the purpose of Torah study and mitzvah observance? Why did our divine neshamah need to descend from the upper spiritual world where it dwelled to our physical and lower world? What is the benefit of this tremendous descent? What is the end of the world, will it remain as it is forever, or will there be a change in its entire essence at some stage?

What characterizes the form of discussion in Chassidus is - the solid logic of the explanations, the clarity, the depth, and yet - the simplicity that is attainable for every person.

Particularly remarkable is the fact that almost no one who tried to penetrate the wellsprings of Chabad Chassidus was left unchanged. The very engagement with Chabad teachings changes perspectives, increases awareness of subtle areas that weren't previously close, and transforms the person into a different person: more serious, more complete with their worldview, more settled - and also with greater vitality and joy of life.

The essence of Chabad Chassidus was deeply explained by the Rebbe in Kuntres Inyona shel Toras HaChassidus.

Divine Service[edit | edit source]

The goal of Chabad Chassidus is to cause a person to live in a state where the mind rules over the heart, which comes through great effort. For this purpose, Chabad Chassidim pray at length, hold farbrengens frequently, and engage in iskafya. It is not enough to study Chassidus alone, as mere intellectual knowledge, but work of the heart is necessary.

In Chabad Chassidus, the need for divine service with joy and gladness of heart is emphasized, and sadness is rejected. There is also much discussion about working on middos. However, unlike Mussar and Kabbalah, it does not negate the body or disconnect the neshamah from physical reality but teaches the person to strengthen form over matter.

Major concepts[edit | edit source]

Nefesh Helokis (the Divine Soul)
Avodas Hatfilah (the Service of Prayer)
Avodat HaBirurim - The Work of Refinement
Bitul (Self-Nullification)
Dirah B'tachtonim (the Dwelling in the Lower Realms)
Etzem HaNeshama (The Essence of the Soul)
Spreading the Wellsprings (Hafatzat HaMayanot)
Deveikut (Spiritual Attachment)

Context within prior approaches in Judaism[edit | edit source]

The Philosophical Approach[edit | edit source]

this includes works like the Kuzari by Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, Guide for the Perplexed by the Rambam, and others. These books discuss the reality of the Creator and proofs for His existence, proofs for fundamental Jewish principles such as G-d's unity, Torah from Heaven, the truth of the Oral Torah, and more.

The authors of these philosophical works use proofs derived from human intellect, aimed at entering the human mind of the reader, so these proofs will enter the reader's understanding and verify with clear intellectual comprehension, like tangible sight, the concepts they wish to convey.

That is, this wisdom, the wisdom of philosophical investigation, uses tools of human intellect and deals only with it.

The Mussar Approach[edit | edit source]

The Mussar approach, in contrast, deals with refining character traits.

The Frierdiker Rebbe (Previous Rebbe) explains the matter of the Mussar approach in a talk that was printed in "Kuntres Toras HaChassidus":

"When a person behaves like an animal, he is worse than an animal. For an animal has no intelligence to desire and choose something more elevated than bodily desires and lusts. But a person who has the intelligence to desire and choose something more elevated than bodily desires, such as good character traits and intellectual pursuits, yet chooses physical desires, is more degraded and contaminated than, lehavdil (to distinguish), an animal.

The wisdom of nullifying physicality through teaching the repulsiveness and abhorrence of physical pleasures and desires, and the greatness of punishment in Gehinom and the like that a person will be punished for being drawn after bodily desires - this is the wisdom of Mussar."

Mussar therefore deals with "bandaging external wounds" - fixing traits like pride, laziness, anger and so forth. An excellent example of this approach can be found in the Ramchal's "Mesillas Yesharim."

The Chassidic Approach[edit | edit source]

Compared to Others Chassidus did not come to negate the other two approaches - Mussar and philosophical investigation - but to add to them.

The Chassidic teachings according to Chabad maintain that one should not be satisfied with only addressing human intellect and dealing with it alone, just as one should not only deal with "bandaging external wounds."

In that same kuntres (pamphlet), the Frierdiker Rebbe writes:

"Specifically Chabad Chassidus, while being Divine philosophical investigation with wonderful depth, nevertheless explains every intellectual concept with broad explanation through examples and analogies that are easily grasped, explaining generously until it can be understood even by those of lesser comprehension.

Like the study pattern of intellectual concepts from simple to complex, so too in learning Chassidus, which leads from rung to rung on the ladder of wisdom and knowledge."

This means that Chassidus also engages with human intellect, but not in the style of philosophical investigation. Philosophical investigation brings ideas and proofs whose source is human intellect and addresses only human intellect.

Chabad teachings indeed address human intellect and require that one receive the concepts that Chassidus presents with clear and analytical understanding, but the concepts themselves do not originate in human intellect, rather they are Divine.

In Chassidus, Divine levels are explained as they descend from the higher worlds to below, in an organized and clear order, with analogies that ensure a person won't materialize (chas v'shalom) the concepts and Divine levels being studied into physical things, while still feeling connected to the material being learned so it will have its intended effect.

As the Frierdiker Rebbe continues to write:

"However, Chassidus has an advantage in that it also awakens the heart's feelings to be affected in the measure of heart required by the knowledge and comprehension of that concept learned in Chassidus."

It is difficult for followers of other approaches to understand how one can deal with such extreme opposites in human personality - the cold intellect and warm heart - and demand that one influence the other.

In 1895, a group of maskilim (enlightened Jews) sat with the Rebbe Rashab. One of the questions they posed to the Rebbe was:

"What is Chassidus? On one hand," they said, "Chassidus appears to be deep religious philosophy dealing with and finding comprehensive explanations for the profound matters of G-d's existence and creation of the world.

On the other hand, Chabad Chassidus ignites a flame in one's heart during mitzvah observance and brings a person to ahavas Yisroel (love of fellow Jews). Chabad Chassidus," they observed, "includes two seemingly opposing poles: cold understanding and burning feeling."

"Indeed," the Rebbe Rashab answered them, "this is Chassidus. The burning, enthusiastic feeling within intellectual understanding accompanied by a certain test.

(The test is:) When is Chassidic understanding genuine? When one prays with that same understanding they grasped. The enthusiastic prayer is the test of true understanding! And when is prayer genuine? When after prayer one behaves with good character traits."

Preparation for Moshiach's Coming[edit | edit source]

Chassidus is the preparation for Moshiach's coming, as known from Moshiach's response to the Baal Shem Tov, "When will master come? When your wellsprings spread outward."

The Tanya is the Written Torah of Chassidus, and the maamarim (discourses) of our Rebbeim are the Oral Torah of Chassidus.

Chassidus was revealed specifically in recent generations as preparation for the true and complete redemption, when the inner dimension of Torah will be revealed in a tangible way visible to every person's eye.

Chassidus teaches that the inner dimension of Torah is the aspect of Tal Torah (Torah's dew) with which Hashem will resurrect the dead in the future.

The Dawn of Redemption[edit | edit source]

our Sages say "The world will exist for six thousand years." The six thousand years correspond to the six days of creation, as it says "For a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday," - to Hashem, one thousand years are considered like one day, and the seventh millennium - the World to Come - is compared to Shabbos, "a day that is entirely Shabbos and rest for eternal life."

The last two millennia of the six "days" are called by our Sages "the days of Moshiach," meaning their essence is the revelation of Moshiach's light. Just as in creation specifically at the end of the sixth day man was created - the purpose of creation, similarly in the sixth millennium (at its end) Moshiach will come, and all Torah prophecies about the days of Moshiach are within this time (within the six thousand years that the world exists).

It is taught that from the period of the sixth millennium corresponding to Erev Shabbos, especially in its second half (since the first half is comparable to Thursday night) - from the year 5500 onwards, the dawn of redemption began to break and Moshiach's light began to sparkle in the world. As the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh states: "The sparks of redemption's revelation will begin at the start of the five hundreds coming in peace." And as we get closer to its end, this sparkling intensifies.

This follows what is written in the verse "And it shall be on the sixth day, they shall prepare," that preparation is needed for Shabbos. According to halacha, it is a mitzvah to taste from each food cooked for Shabbos, as it says "those who taste it merit life." The allusion in this according to Chassidus is that in the world's general scheme, the seventh millennium is called "a day that is entirely Shabbos," and then there will be the feast of Leviathan and Wild Ox.

The Chassidic interpretation is known that the inner dimension of Torah will be revealed through Moshiach who will come speedily in our days. This is called the feast of tzaddikim from souls called "fish of the sea," which are called Leviathan from their Torah and mitzvos, and all souls from the revealed world from their Torah and mitzvos are called Wild Ox. Therefore, since the sixth day began in the year 5500, there was the merit and mitzvah to taste from Shabbos foods, and thus the Baal Shem Tov was sent to this world to reveal the inner dimension of Torah.

Whatever inner Torah will be revealed through tzaddikim until Moshiach comes is called merely a taste, and the main feast will be in the future. But before this, souls in bodies were not able to taste from the Tree of Life.

This sparkling came through the revelation of Chassidus, which is the deepest level in Torah, called the level of Yechida. This is a revelation from Moshiach's Torah, whose essence is the general Yechida of Jewish souls.

The holy Zohar states that as Moshiach's days approach, Torah secrets will be revealed to all. This revelation is essential preparation for redemption, and through this "they will leave exile with mercy." There is also revelation of the aspect of Moshiach, as explained by the Alter Rebbe, author of Tanya, "through supreme holy tzaddikim who were at the beginning of the 500th year of the sixth millennium, as is known.