Willful Compulsion
In the Yom Kippur prayers, we ask G-d that he forgive us for “the sin that we committed by compulsion and voluntarily.” While the simple meaning of this statement is that it discusses two...
Neirot
Weak and Poor
Once, a student in Tomchei Temim, asked his chassidic mentor the following question:[1] “In Tanya[2] is enumerated two methods how to rectify sin: There is fasting, for someone who is physically robust, and charity,...
Regretting Sin
Chassidim would recount in the name of the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the manner that an individual is to regret sinning.
Imagination and Repentance
Once, the 3rd Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, said:[1] “An individual with a sense of imagination is much sooner to repent than an person lacking such a sense.” [1] Likutei Dibburim, Vol....
Five Points of Repentance
The previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, enumerated five distinct times for Teshuva—each to rectify another aspect of the individual:[1] The month of Elul: The person rectifies the garments of the soul—thought, speech...
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...
Parshat Nitzavim – The Nature of A Covenant
The covenant of the Parsha and Rosh HaShana.
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...
Motzei Shabbat Slichot
The essence of Slichot reliance on G-d.
On the Origins of the Chassidic Movement – A Critique
A critique on Yaffa Eilach’s work “The Russian Dissenting Sects and Their Influence on Israel Baal Shem Tov, Founder of Hassidism.” There she postulates that the Besht was directly influenced by Christian priests.
