On the Study of Chasidus

On the Study of Chasidus
Author: Joseph Isaac Schneersohn
Publisher: Kehot Publications Society
Total Pages: 193
Release: 1997
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780826604385

A Jewish intellectual asked the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe: Would Chabad philosophy be helpful to an academically-inclined person, estranged from Judaism, who wanted to learn about his heritage? This free translation of the Rebbe's response probes deeply into the scope and significance of Chabad while emphasizing the importance of simplicity and sincerity in the performance of mitzvot. An essay on the general nature of Chabad Chasidic teachings and their impact on Jewish life and thought. The Rebbe explains that it is a "divine philosophy that opens the portals of wisdom and understanding" to the knowledge of G-d, indicating the path for every individual according to his capabilities. Discussing the importance of studying the inner, esoteric aspects of Torah, this essay demonstrates conclusively that anyone, regardless of background or "natural" intellectual faculties, can comprehend and benefit immeasurably from Chabad Chasidic philosophy. Includes fascinating facts of early Chabad-Lubavitch history.

The Quest for Authenticity

The Quest for Authenticity
Author: Michael Rosen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 426
Release: 2008
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Distilling the teachings and thought of Rabbi Simha Bunim, one of the foremost figures in the Przysucha school of Hasidism, this study sheds light both on what students of the Pryzsucha tradition believed as well as on its influence on Polish Hasidism at large. Pryzsucha Hasidism believed in a service to God that demanded both passion and analytical study, and sought to understand the human being, rather than God himself. This exploration of Rabbi Bunim's thought illustrates how the spiritual leader was able to transform Przysucha Hasidism into a genuine movement and, in doing so, become the dominant personality in the Hasidic community in Poland during the early part of the 19th century.

Chasidic Discourses

Chasidic Discourses
Author: Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
Publisher: Kehot Publications Society
Total Pages: 238
Release: 1998-11-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780826604422

Between 1941 and 1945, the years of cataclysm for European Jewry, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe published a remarkable monthly journal entitled Hakeriah Vehakedusha Reading and Holiness. A collection of discourses from this journal is published here for the first time in English translation. Many of the discourses have as their central theme the concepts of self-sacrifice for G-d and the Jewish people, repentance and strengthening the observance of Torah and Mitzvot. The Rebbe often speaks of the lessons to be learned from the earth-shattering events of that time and their connection to the coming of Mashiach. They were written for a broad audience and are accessible even to those who have never studied Chasidic philosophy.The two volumes include explanatory footnotes, a glossary of Hebrew terms, a general index and, in the second volume, an index of quotations and references for Volumes 1 and 2.

The Practical Tanya - Part One - The Book for Inbetweeners

The Practical Tanya - Part One - The Book for Inbetweeners
Author: Shneur Zalman (of Lyady)
Publisher: CM Consulting
Total Pages: 722
Release: 2016
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781934152379

An astoundingly clear adaptation of Tanya, one of the most influential works of Jewish spiritual thought ever written, penned by Chasidic Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812).

A Practical Guide to Rabbinic Counseling

A Practical Guide to Rabbinic Counseling
Author: Yisrael N. Levitz
Publisher: Feldheim Publishers
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2005
Genre: Counseling
ISBN: 9781583308349

An integral and important work for every rabbi and community leader. This book puts the essential elements of rabbinic counseling into the hands of those who need it most. Rabbis and leaders often find themselves doing formal and informal counseling--but with little or no experience, opportunities can be lost and damage can be done. Here are practical tools to facilitate better communication and assistance, user-friendly and eminently practical. Dr. Levitz is a clinical psychologist, former pulpit rabbi, and Professor Emeritus of Yeshiva Universitys Wurzweiler School of Social Work. Rabbi Dr. Twerski is a noted psychiatrist and former pulpit rabbi who has published close to fifty self-help books and specializes in addictions and rehabilitation. This book will be of interest and of essence to every rabbi, rebbe, and spiritual or community leader.

Basi Legani

Basi Legani
Author: Joseph Isaac Schneersohn
Publisher: Kehot Publication Society
Total Pages: 332
Release: 1990
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This seminal work of Chabad Chasidic philosophy is considered to be the "last will and testament" of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. The discourse was released for the 10th of Shevat in the year 5710 (1950); on that day Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak passed away. Chasidim customarily study Basi LeGani each year in honor of the yahrzeit, and each year his successor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, explained another of its chapters in depth. The Rebbe's exposition of Basi LeGani, the first Chasidic discourse he spoke upon assuming the mantle of leadership in 5711 (1951), was also a declaration of his own mission and goals. This widely acclaimed English edition will enable many more Jews to participate in the study of this important work.

The Rebbe's Army

The Rebbe's Army
Author: Sue Fishkoff
Publisher: Schocken
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2009-04-22
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0307566145

“Excuse me, are you Jewish?” With these words, the relentlessly cheerful, ideologically driven emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch approach perfect strangers on street corners throughout the world in their ongoing efforts to persuade their fellow Jews to live religiously observant lives. In The Rebbe’s Army, award-winning journalist Sue Fishkoff gives us the first behind-the-scenes look at this small Brooklyn-based group of Hasidim and the extraordinary lengths to which they take their mission of outreach. They seem to be everywhere—in big cities, small towns, and suburbs throughout the United States, and in sixty-one countries around the world. They light giant Chanukah menorahs in public squares, run “Chabad houses” on college campuses from Berkeley to Cambridge, give weekly bible classes in the Capitol basement in Washington, D.C., run a nonsectarian drug treatment center in Los Angeles, sponsor the world’s biggest Passover Seder in Nepal, establish synagogues, Hebrew schools, and day-care centers in places that are often indifferent and occasionally hostile to their outreach efforts. They have built a billion-dollar international empire, with their own news service, publishing house, and hundreds of Websites. Who are these people? How successful are they in making Jews more observant? What influence does their late Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (who some thought was the Messiah), continue to have on his followers? Fishkoff spent a year interviewing Lubavitch emissaries from Anchorage to Miami and has written an engaging and fair-minded account of a Hasidic group whose motives and methodology continue to be the subject of speculation and controversy.

Rebbe

Rebbe
Author: Joseph Telushkin
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2016-06-14
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0062319000

“One of the greatest religious biographies ever written.” – Dennis Prager In this enlightening biography, Joseph Telushkin offers a captivating portrait of the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a towering figure who saw beyond conventional boundaries to turn his movement, Chabad-Lubavitch, into one of the most dynamic and widespread organizations ever seen in the Jewish world. At once an incisive work of history and a compendium of Rabbi Schneerson's teachings, Rebbe is the definitive guide to understanding one of the most vital, intriguing figures of the last centuries. From his modest headquarters in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the Rebbe advised some of the world's greatest leaders and shaped matters of state and society. Statesmen and artists as diverse as Ronald Reagan, Robert F. Kennedy, Yitzchak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Elie Wiesel, and Bob Dylan span the spectrum of those who sought his counsel. Rebbe explores Schneerson's overarching philosophies against the backdrop of treacherous history, revealing his clandestine operations to rescue and sustain Jews in the Soviet Union, and his critical role in the expansion of the food stamp program throughout the United States. More broadly, it examines how he became in effect an ambassador for Jews globally, and how he came to be viewed by many as not only a spiritual archetype but a savior. Telushkin also delves deep into the more controversial aspects of the Rebbe's leadership, analyzing his views on modern science and territorial compromise in Israel, and how in the last years of his life, many of his followers believed that he would soon be revealed as the Messiah, a source of contention until this day.

Chasidism

Chasidism
Author: Guraryeh Gurary.
Publisher: Jason Aronson
Total Pages: 220
Release: 1997
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780765759603

One of the pillars of chasidic thought is the idea that people can comprehend God better through their actions - specifically, by performing mitzvos (sacred deeds) - than by meditation. This concept is the basis for the beliefs and observances of Chasidism, founded by the Ba'al Shem Tov in the eighteenth century. Rabbi Noson Gurary discusses Chasidism in a straightforward and authentic manner, without diluting the profound teachings of this unique tradition.