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Category: Concepts In Chassidus

Z’eir Anpin (Z”a)

Z’eir Anpin (Z”a)

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Z’eir anpin literally means “small face,” and refers to the six emotions. That is, after the intellectual attributes: chochma, binah and da’as, there are six emotions until malchus. They are chessed (loving kindness), g’vura (severity, discipline, strength), tiferes (beauty, compassion, sensitivity), netzach (victory, perseverance) hod (glory, loyalty), and yesod (foundation, attraction). The first three or higher emotions (chagas) are pure emotions and are the motivators behind the second/lower three (nehi). The lower three are more concerned with practical application and…

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Roots, Sources, and Hishtalshelus

Roots, Sources, and Hishtalshelus

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There is a general principle regarding roots, sources and their place in existence. The lower something finds itself on the Hishtalshelus hierarchy, the higher its source before Hishtalshelus, that is, in Tohu and the like. For example: someone maybe the the student and another the teacher and although in our experience of things, the teacher is higher ranking, the student’s source is higher which is why the teacher gains more than the student. Another example is when Chassidus peaks about…

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“Higher” and “Lower” Anything

“Higher” and “Lower” Anything

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Simple. Usually the higher version of anything, i.e., fear, bittul, love, etc., is essential. That means it shakes the person to their core and is usually experienced only by tzaddikim. The reason for this is that a person cannot transform themselves into something greater than themselves. They don’t have the “materials.” “Lower” anything means it is: 1. Externally motivated (chitzonius’dik). 2. Fleeting.  3. Characterized by beinonim. 4. Limited and by limited beings and therefore: 5. High-quality. “The greatness of light…

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Ahava Rabba, Higher Love

Ahava Rabba, Higher Love

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Ahava rabba, or “great love,” is “higher” love. Chassidus usually (if not always) defines love as a longing, yearning, desire, attraction, to be one. Ahava rabba, as with all emotions, is a result of will. Will is a result of contemplation and the contemplation is on that which is beyond understanding. For example: one may think about the fact that G-d cannot be understood, or that there is no place where He is not, etc. This type of love is…

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Bittul: HaYesh and B’Metzius

Bittul: HaYesh and B’Metzius

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Note: I refer to bittul to a cause or to G-d. Bittul is a behavior and/or state of being. As such, one can have bittul to any activity one is involved in. That means, that if one is married, for example, one can exercise bittul by deferring to the wants of one’s spouse. That deference can either be an act of self-control or a sincere expression of love, i.e., how “one” the couple has become.   To make something bittul,…

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Shabbos x2: Shabbos Tatto’oh and Shabbos Ilo’oh

Shabbos x2: Shabbos Tatto’oh and Shabbos Ilo’oh

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The gemora in Shabbos 118b says, “If only the Jewish people kept two Shabbosos according to halocha—they would immediately be redeemed!” The gemora Yerushalmi  in Taanis (chapter 1, at the end of halocha 1) says, “If the Jewish people kept one Shabbos properly, the son of Dovid (i.e., Moshiach) would come.” The seeming contradiction is resolved in Likkutei Torah (Behar 41a, from the Zohar vol. 1,) that says that there are two types of Shabbos: 1. “Lower” Shabbos: the type of…

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Eternal Love, Ahavas Olam

Eternal Love, Ahavas Olam

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Here, the Alter Rebbe explains how to have ahavas olam, eternal love. The general definition of ahavas olam, is a love that it’s based on one’s understanding of the greatness of G-d, that is, His Creatorship, Kingship, etc. Since it is a love based on understanding, there are two (basic) ramifications: 1. It is limited, like the mind from where the love was born and the subject which was contemplated (existence). a. Subject to change, for better or for worse. 2. It is…

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Love,

Love,

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This is an explanation from the Rebbe in this week’s parsha in the sixth aliyah. The first possuk was, “Sh’ma Yisroel…”  arguably the most important possuk in the entirety of Torah, Jews, monotheism, etc. The second possuk is, “VeOhavto es Hashem Elokecho…(And you shall love Hashem, your personal G-d).” The Rashi explains that a person who serves their teacher/master out of awe does so in a stressed out way: he’ll bring whatever his teacher/master wants and departs immediately. The Rebbe explains further, adding that the…

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If There’s Anyone Whose Opinion We Can Trust, It’s Moshe Rabbeinu

If There’s Anyone Whose Opinion We Can Trust, It’s Moshe Rabbeinu

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Likkutei Sichos, vol. 19, page 42 “And the man Moshe was extremely humble, more than any person on the face of the earth.” Beha’alos’cha, 12:3 If the prerequisite to learning Torah properly is humility, and Moshe was the most humble of all men, then Moshe Rabbeinu learned the Torah the best. So, when Moshe Rabbeinu transmitted the Torah to us a second time from himself (“mipi atzmo”), not as a direct transmission from G-d, we know that his understanding and his…

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