True Individuality
True Individuality
[Moses told the Jewish people that in contrast to the rebels among them, who had died out,] “all of you who are alive today are [lovingly] attached to God.” Devarim 4:4
One might think that the more we are devoted to G-d, the more our personal individuality disappears. The Torah teaches us here that the opposite is true: Our true individuality depends directly upon the depth of our attachment to G-d. What we normally mistake for our personality is really our secondary, animalistic side. Since we share the same animal drives with the rest of humanity, the personality born of these drives is, at best, a variation on the common theme by which everyone lives. Thus, the apparent individuality of this aspect of our personality is in fact an illusion.
In contrast, since G-d is infinite, the avenues through which His Divinity can manifest itself through us are also infinite; thus, it is only our Divine personality that makes us truly unique. It follows that the more we allow the animalistic side of our personalities to dissolve as we draw closer to D-d, the more we allow our unique, Divine personalities to shine forth.
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Daily Wisdom, p. 365
From a letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1977
From a letter by the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1977
"The most essential point (to put it differently): The
doctor's opinion is decisive -- according to Judaic law -- when he speaks as a
doctor (based on medical factors or life-saving measures). If, however, he
states his opinion as a state official or politician (based on political
considerations), that according to his opinion, they (i.e. those political
considerations) outweigh and eclipse the medical factors -- this is the
opposite of the ruling of the Code of Jewish Law."
kabbalah vs chassidus
An Analysis of the Authenticity of the Zohar
two quotes
for Chabad people to understand you know who
― Nikola Tesla
for chabad people to understand themselves
― Plato
Chassidus is the Only Path to Spiritual Fulfillment and Happiness Reb Yoel
https://drive.protonmail.com/urls/T70Q47ZM6C#FXCXBxzcc5Kx
rooted in the attribute of Chessed
Similarly, each person has leanings towards a different area. Some people are
more likely to be kind while others lean more towards strictness. Those whose soul is
rooted in kindness are more likely to learn Torah in a manner that will give spiritual
vitality to others, while those who are rooted in Gevurah are much quicker to establish
boundaries and make restrictive judgments. In addition, these souls are often drawn to
halachic stringencies. The Komarna Rebbe writes that generally the students of the Baal Shem Tov were rooted in the attribute of Chessed / Kindness, since their focus was
mostly on developing love of Hashem. (There were some notable exceptions, however.)
Rav Yitzchok Morgenstern, commentary on Tanya
Not a tested or proven medicine
2 Nissan 5712
Peace and blessing!
[This is] in response to your letter from 23 Adar, in which you wrote to me that you had read in the newspaper that a new medicine for paralysis has been developed in the United States, discovered by a certain doctor in St. Louis, and you asked my opinion about this.
According to what I was able to find out, this is not a tested or proven medicine. And in fact, it's not [really] a medicine, but only eases the symptoms. There is also room for concern since these are potent injections which carry possible risk of injury, etc.
Based on this, it is my opinion that it is not worthwhile to rely on the information we're hearing and take measures which entail the aforementioned concerns.
G-d will send healing through another medium, and you'll soon be able to send me good tidings about this.
With blessings for the Passover holiday to be kosher and truly happy, both for you and for your whole family, especially your grandson and parents, may they all live [and be well].
M Schneerson
Want to learn chassidus?
On numerous occasions, Chabad chassidim have offered to "learn chassidus" with me. They do that because the Rebbe directed his chassidim to spread chassidus. But that's where the idealism ends. At that point, they just want a chavrusa. What they should do is determine where the invitee is holding in chassidus, with Hebrew, with Judaism in general. What part of chassidus might he like to learn? A first grade teacher does not teach calculus to her students. She teaches 1st grade math. But that's not usually happens when somebody learns chassidus with you. What happens is that you watch him learn chassidus. He just seeks to satisfy his interests, picks something he wants to study, and proceeds as if the other person is his equal in learning. He doesn't want to be bothered with actually working with the other person on his level, with tutoring, with stepping slowly through the Hebrew if they are going to learn it in Hebrew (which is not a requirement actually.) You'll have to pay him for all that. So his chesed wasn't really chesed. It was a shallow offer, an empty gesture. That may not always be the case, but it often is. What they really would say if they were being honest is, "Do you want to watch me learn chassidus?"