In 2015 (5775), I a shliach in Bais Menachem in Wilkes-Barre, PA. There, while learning with young men who were thirsty for Chassidus, I noticed several issues. Firstly, most English translations at the time (and still today) had used a language that is terse and technical. A lot of these translations were catered to college and university students and not to Lubavitcher bochrim. Words like, “level,” “essence,” “emanation,” “influx,” “effluence,” “drawing,”—”ex nihilo” (which is Latin!), etc. became overused and abstracted from their meaning. The simplified versions I came across were too simple and left out the scholarly aspect of Chassidus. Many terms used in Chassidus were distorted—words like, “chassidish,” “baaley battish,” kabolas ol,” and “frum”—had lost their meaning in our Yeshivos, shuls, and homes. These warped definitions of meaningful words of fundamental importance to our culture, heritage, spiritual life were replaced with ideas that are lacking.

We can reclaim our literacy and gain the ability to discern between authenticity and the opposite. We shouldn’t throw the metaphorical baby out with the bathwater either. By understanding Chassidus on our own, we can take ownership of our Divine service and free ourselves from chitzoniyus (vanity).