Today's article is rather heavy, perhaps mainly for the more advanced, but what can we do? Tomorrow is the 18th of Elul, the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov, the Alter Rebbe, and the beginning of studies at the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Lubavitch, so there's no choice.
If you still decide to continue reading, here's my advice: prepare yourself a "kelechke," which in Yiddish means a "glezelle," which in Hebrew means a small glass. Put something a bit sharp in it, and let's get started.
There's a well-known and quite dramatic story – both awe-inspiring and sacred – told by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe (the Rayatz). It's a story that, on the surface, is hard to digest, but if we delve into it a bit, in my humble opinion, it holds something of the novelty of Chassidus in general and specifically Chabad Chassidus, as it was given to us by the Alter Rebbe, the author of the Tanya, especially in the Tanya itself.
The story is about a chassid who was a wealthy man and gave a lot of charity, but fortune turned against him, and he lost all his wealth and even became indebted. He came to the Rebbe (the Alter Rebbe) and poured out his heart with much weeping and inner anguish, saying: "If the Holy One, blessed be He, has afflicted me and, Heaven forbid, decreed poverty upon me, I accept the judgment. But how is it possible that I should remain, Heaven forbid, in debt and not repay or not fulfill the promises I made to my relatives and family, including the matter of my daughters’ marriages? After all, I promised them when I was wealthy, which according to our holy Torah, I had the right to do. If I do not fulfill my promises now, it will be a desecration of G-d‘s name."
And he wept bitterly... concluding his words: "Rebbe, I must repay all my debts; I must give to all my relatives and family what I promised them, and I must provide for my two daughters what I promised them."
Now, try to imagine the following scene:
"The great Rebbe leaned on his holy arms in deep concentration, listening to his pleas and tears. After some time, the Rebbe raised his holy head and said with intense devotion: 'You are telling me everything you need, but what you are needed for, you do not mention at all.'"
When the chassid heard these words from the great Rebbe, they penetrated deeply into his heart's core. He collapsed entirely and fainted... When he awoke, he spoke to no one, but he began engaging in Torah study and prayer with a new vitality and devotion, forgetting everything else. Though he did not speak to anyone and fasted every day, devoting himself to Torah and heartfelt prayer, he was filled with great joy, and all his work was done with fervor and uplifted spirit."
Most people understand the relationship between a chassid and his Rebbe, and indeed the act of going to the Rebbe to receive a blessing, in the typical way: a person has a problem, difficulty, Heaven forbid, some challenge, and they go to ask for a blessing. Usually, they receive one, and it's wonderful.
But then the Alter Rebbe comes along and something new is born: a chassid comes to ask for a blessing that he thinks he needs, and the Rebbe, instead of answering him based on what the chassid thinks he needs, answers based on what he truly needs, thereby lifting him to another dimension. The Rebbe suddenly tells him, "You're asking me for something that will keep you in your world, but I want to take you into mine. I want to give you a new perspective on life, to take you to a different way of living, to transform you so you live differently." And like in the aforementioned awe-inspiring story, a Jew comes with his self, as he knows it, and the Alter Rebbe, raising his head in deep devotion to his soul – the part of God within him – connects to the chassid's soul and elevates him upward, sending him into a new world. This particular chassid was a vessel for it, and indeed he became a new person. (Don't worry, there was a happy ending – he eventually received a blessing and was able to repay his debts, etc.)
This story is the story of everyone who adheres to Chabad Chassidus. In the introduction to the Tanya, the Alter Rebbe writes, "Instead of coming to me for a personal meeting, what is known as a 'yechidus,' I am giving you this book that will do the work I would have done with you in 'yechidus.'" Wait, what does this mean for me? I'm a little Zalman sitting in Basel, dealing with regular struggles like anyone else, maybe like that chassid who came to the Alter Rebbe, and he's telling me: What I would tell you in a private meeting is written in the Tanya. Okay, so I open the Tanya, and there he's talking to me about a divine soul and its garments, about an intense unity with God, about who truly serves God, about a hidden love burning inside me. In other words, the Alter Rebbe is essentially telling me: "Zalman, fly upwards! There are entire worlds you've never known, there are layers within you that you haven't met, there's an entire dimension you haven't experienced. Step out of the material and physical world for a moment and come to meet your soul, your spirit, and your essence."
Lechaim, chassidim, Lechaim,
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Zalman Wishedski