Toras HaChassidus
| Chabad-Lubavitch |
|---|
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| 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.
Major concepts
Three Approaches in Judaism
The Philosophical Approach
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
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
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
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
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.