The Cry of a Jew
Once, the 4th Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch, remarked:[1] “When on Rosh HaShana a Jew sighs or cries on his sorry physical position, whether concerning health of livelihood—this is ‘Teshuva I’la-ah.’” Though externally...
Category: meditations
Different Challenges
By Rabbi Dovid Markel Once, in a private audience that the Chassidic mentor, Reb Nissan Neminov had with the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Rebbe enumerated three stages of the Chassidic Yeshivah, Tomchei Temimim:[1] The...
Three Groups of Chassidim
The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn is said to have divided his chassidim into three groups:[1] There are Chabad chassidim, chassidim who pray using the siddur constructed by the first Chabad Rebbe,...
Rosh HaShana – Where Were You Until Now?!
G-d asks each of us where we were.
A Lengthy Exile
The first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi explained the reason for the lengthy exile:[1] The Talmud (Yuma 9b) that the destruction of the second Temple was on account of the sin of...
Chassidic Flames – Equanimity
A teaching of the Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory[1]: “As waters reflect the face to the face, so does the heart of man reflect to man.” When a person stands beside water, his...
Chassidic Flames – Running Angels
I heard from my master (the Baal Shem Tov) of blessed memory[1], on the matter of,[2] “And the Chayot run and return,” that everything is aflame with desire to return and adhere to its...
My Relative, Israel
The Jerusalem Talmud (Berachos Ch. 9) describes the love that G-d has for the Jewish People, using the following formula: “When an individual of flesh and blood has a relative who is a philosopher,...
Memory Technique
Once, a chossid of Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk complained to his Rebbe that he did not remember his learning. Reb Mendel responded: “A clear technique for remembering your studies is written in the Torah (Bamidbar 15:39-40),...
Three things
The holy Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vorki, enumerated three things that a chossid must know: “How to dance while sitting, how to be bent over while standing and how to cry out in...
