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Chassidus Perspective

Independent Decisions

A yid is not supposed to fulfill mitzvos merely with kabbolas ol. He should try to understand whatever he can, so that his intellect will be elevated to the truth of Torah.

When a person goes beyond the letter of the law and strives to study Torah and fulfill mitzvos behiddur, the dirah betachtonim he creates is truly part of him.

Sparing Them Disgrace

The yidden didn't request permission to bring the Korban Pesach throughout all the years in the midbar although it had great relevance to them. Moshe and Aharon also remained silent about this, as not to embarrass the yidden further.

Accepting the Torah

At Matan Torah the Jews achieved a new level of refinement (Tachtonim Yaalu Lelyonim). This enabled them to establish a second day of Yom Tov, bringing Kedusha to the mundane.

Not Man-made

At the time of Matan Torah the Jews were batel to Hashem at the highest level they could possibly attain. Yet Hashem still "held the mountain over them". He wants to be connected to us in unbreakable bond, beyond even our high level of commitment.

A Silent Message

Moshe’s silence is not to be understood as a lack of preparation; this itself was the way he prepared the yidden, by showing them that the essence of Torah is beyond human comprehension and preparation.
Hashem doesn’t want this level to remain separate from a yid; He desires that the unlimited depth of Torah should penetrate the human intellect.

Able to Cleanse

When one performed a basic teshuvah as required by halachah, consisting of a simple resolution to refrain from transgressing the aveirah again (teshuvah tata’ah), the sin has been removed completely and effectively. 

Every Jew A Tzaddik

Techiyas hameisim is much higher than gan eden. How can it then be that not everyone merits gan eden, yet every Jew has a portion in techiyas hameisim? 

The Psychology of Sin

When someone performs a deliberate sin, it does not necessarily mean that his character is faulty. After all, a person has free choice; it’s possible that his midos are by and large the way they should be, but at that specific moment he succumbed to his desire.

Seeing in the Dark

Hashem merely wants us to create a levush in nature, but the source of one’s sustenance is beyond nature and is based on one’s connection to Hashem. 

A Dedicated Place

Why must our spiritual tefilos be focused towards the location of the physical Beis Hamikdash?

Torah Ethics

One is supposed to integrate the wisdom of Torah into his own intellect. Yet, he strives to understand only because it is the will of Hashem that he should understand. 

Yud Shevat

The maamar of Bosi L'gani emphasizes that world was originally Hashem's garden, hence the importance of (re)making it a dwelling for Hashem. We were ultimately chosen to serve Hashem in a physical body using our maximum effort to spread G-dliness throughout the world.

Not Just Aware

Both he who possess proofs and he who lacks them are in fact equal in their disconnect from the actual matter. To be persuaded of something is to be detached from it, bereft of the straightforwardness of plainly seeing it.

The Feet’s Edge

Using oil on the foot signifies that proper bittul should be supplemented with what oil represents. When coupled with understanding and emotion, the ‘foot’ absorbs the ‘oil,’ and the kabalas ol is infused with excitement and delight.

Not Confined to Rationalism

“If the Jews wish to kindle the menorah, to illuminate the world with their wisdom, we’ll allow it, even if we believe our intellectual tradition to be superior, but to do so with ‘pure’ oil?”

Countering the Scoffers

When the identity of a Jewish child is at stake, when the ‘scoffers’ seek to sever his connection to Avraham, it is specifically Yitzchak, gevura, that which is concealed, that Hashem renders into Avraham, revelation.

Just One Small Room

Mesiras nefesh isn’t measured by its scale but by its essential quality. To spend even a single minute on something for no purpose other than for Hashem is therefore reminiscent of the akeida.

Seeing Solutions

The Frierdiker Rebbe once said that when cleaning a precious object, one doesn’t exult in finding more dirt but in rendering it pristine.

Unity in Practice Too

One can learn Tanya which explains that we’re only divided by our bodies but our souls are all united with Hashem, and proceed to love everyone as disembodied souls. But that’s not enough.

The Path to Achdus

Every Jew has his unique advantage, an area where everyone else acknowledges his superiority, and that is why as a spiritual arev, a simple man being motzi a tzaddik actually does possess the more favorable dynamic.

The point is for the underlying oneness to translate into a reciprocal society, not ignoring worldly divisiveness, but tackling it and literally assisting each other on the basis of our true unified nature.

 

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