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.

Flames of Faith

Flames of Faith
Author: Zev Reichman
Publisher:
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2014
Genre: Hasidism
ISBN: 9780692024546

The secrets from the inner meaning of Torah form the soul of the Chasidic movement's thought. They inspire, revive, and inflame Jewish souls with a passion to constantly increase observance and devotion. For more than two centuries it has inoculated millions against the ravages of secularism and preserved the spiritual life of the Jewish nation. Chasidus emerged as a protection from the storm winds of modernity. Today's Jewish community might benefit from a new look at the Chasidic movement's beginnings and reflections. Even those Jews who fulfill their religious obligations frequently perform rituals in a lifeless and superficial way. Were we to discover the depth and soulful vitality that fill Chasidic literature, a renewed passion might flame our faltering Jewish experience with the warmth of Torah. Unfortunately, for many of my contemporary American Jews, access to the gem-stones of the Chasidim has been denied. Chasidic works are overwhelmingly in Hebrew, and few good translations exist. This book provides an introduction to the basic terms and ideas of Chasidic texts. It is written for the interested lay reader who may be new to Torah study, as well as the yeshiva student who is knowledgeable about Biblical narratives and Talmudic law but may be new to the world of Chasidus.

Selections from תורה אור ולקוטי תורה

Selections from תורה אור ולקוטי תורה
Author:
Publisher: Sichos in English
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2011-07-15
Genre: Fasts and feasts
ISBN: 9780826601087

Selected discourses from the founder of the Chabad Chasidic philosophys great works: Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah. This bi-lingual, Hebrew/English, rendition focuses on Rabbi Schneur Zalmans insights on the festivals. It has been the custom for Chasidim to study the discourses in Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, affectionately known as the "Chasidic Parsha," weekly and at festival time.

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.

A Chassidic Journey

A Chassidic Journey
Author: Shalom Meir Valach
Publisher: Feldheim Publishers
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9781583305683

This book traces the Polish Chassidic Dynasties of Lublin, Lelov, Nikolsburg, and Boston. Based on the Hebrew, Shalsheles Boston, this fascinating and uplifting book includes the biographies of the major Polish Chassidic figures and their teachings. With a foreward by the Bostoner Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz.

The House of Rizhin

The House of Rizhin
Author: Menachem Brayer
Publisher: Mesorah Publications, Limited
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2003
Genre: Hasidic parables
ISBN:

The Holy Rizhiner - that is how chassidim referred to Rabbi Yisroel of Rizhin for over 150 years. He was a grandson of the Great Maggid of Mezritch, the successor of the Baal Shem Tov and the man who taught, inspired and guided the founders of th

Rescuing the Rebbe of Belz

Rescuing the Rebbe of Belz
Author: Yosef Israel
Publisher: Mesorah Publications
Total Pages: 568
Release: 2005
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781578190591

Recounts the Holocaust experiences of the Belzer Rebbe, Aharon Rokach (born in 1880), and his brother Mordechai, the Bilgorai Rebbe, who shared his fate. They fled from Belz (in Ukraine) to nearby Sokal and then to Peremyshliany, where several family members were killed. They found temporary refuge in Poland, in Wisnicz and then in Bochnia and Kraków, in both of which the rebbes were interned in the ghettos. In Bochnia the Belzer Rebbe survived in the guise of a "master tailor", while preserving, as he did throughout the Holocaust, his devotion to a life of Torah. After an escape to Slovakia failed, one to Hungary succeeded. In Budapest, the Rebbe was able to publicly lead his followers and other ultra-Orthodox Jews. At times he was sought by the Gestapo, but he was also respected by some Nazis as a "wonder rabbi". Efforts to rescue him centered in Eretz Israel, but also involved Belzer hasidim around the world. In Hungary, the Rebbe attempted to encourage rescue efforts for the remnants of Polish Jewry. In Palestine, Berish Ortner convinced Jewish religious and political figures to grant an immigration certificate to the Rebbe, who then made his way to Palestine. There he and his brother made strenuous efforts to inform the Jewish community about the dire situation in Europe and how they might still save part of Hungarian Jewry. Includes many examples of total religious dedication on the part of the Rebbe and those inspired by him to the point of martyrdom. The last chapter recounts the rescue activities in the Bochnia ghetto-labor camp of Eliezer Landau, who used bribes and cleverness to save the lives of thousands of his fellow Jews.

Sacred Books; Secular Books

Sacred Books; Secular Books
Author: Kalman Dubov
Publisher: Kalman Dubov
Total Pages: 214
Release:
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

The ultra-orthodox Jewish world divides the world into two distinct realities; the sphere within and the sphere without. The internal sphere, which I refer to as the Sphere of Holiness is maintained in a sacrosanct manner so that the Sphere of Secularity does not intrude and contaminate the other sphere. The range of figurative walls maintaining these two spheres affects the consciousness and reality of every ultra-orthodox Jew so that this construct is continually brought to conscious awareness. Every member of those who maintain this lifestyle is urged to continually be reminded and reinvigorated in this awareness. Examples of such awareness begin with ultra-orthodox schooling. A child begins religious studies that are exclusive with secular studies either ignored or completed in a way that denies credence or importance. In New York State, the education law contains vague language regarding how a child is to be educated. This vagueness allows those in charge of that school to largely circumvent traditional pedagogy. As the child advances in religious studies, the lack of external exposure coupled with the intensity of study requirements ensures the young man does not stray into forbidden areas that might endanger his sacred standing in the community and be enticed by the larger world. Such study intensifies with each passing grade and year until he is fully conversant with ancient Jewish law and traditions after nearly twenty years of such study. At the same time, however, he will a functional illiterate in the lingua franca of his home country. His female counterpart will not be exposed to such traditional studies because her role is to be the mother and home caretaker, not the scholar. The Jewish tradition not to teach girls and women similar to men derives from the Talmud and the legal determination of Maimonides. This mindset has continued for hundreds of years and is unlikely to change. Despite this limitation on women's education, through Jewish history, exceptional women achieved a high scholarship to the acclaim of their entire community, including men. In fact, one woman, a singular exception, became a Chassidic Rebbe amidst fierce opposition. A modern exception to such a study curriculum is Chabad. Because it has a messianic outreach program, the Chabad couple who establish a Chabad House in diverse cities and countries and are often the only ones running the program, the woman must have the training to lead and know the deeper aspects of Judaism. This book is not only about women's education, but it represents the larger dynamics in how the ultra-orthodox Jewish world bifurcates the reality of its members so that any intrusion from that external world remains in place. An example of such limitation is the ultra-orthodox public denunciations against the use of the internet, use of computers, as against the smartphone unless these devices are programmed so that 'surfing' is not possible. The future of these communities, on a trajectory of high fertility, ensures their future growth. As they populate the United States and other countries, replenishing the numbers lost in the Holocaust, their exposure to and awareness of the world at large will remain extremely limited.