A place to see good, share good, and do good.

Chassidus or Chassidic Philosophy was revealed to the world by the great Jewish Sage Rabbi Yisroel Ben Eliezer better known as the Baal Shem Tov in the mid-1700's. The Baal Shem Tov never wrote anything himself but his teachings were recorded, studied, and transmitted by his students, who after his successor The Maggid of Mezritch; branched off to form different chassidic "courts", these were different approaches to transmitting and disseminating the Baal Shem Tov's teachings. Chassidus get's into the very depths and essence of the Torah (the Jewish Bible). It is a study that can enrich the lives of everybody Jewish or non-Jewish; certain subjects will pertain very heavily to Jews in particular, but it is not an exclusive subject. Many themes in Chassidus are extremely applicable to all of our lives and the links I will post below are open to all who seek this wisdom! The links I will post are coming from the "Chabad" school of Chassidic Philosophy developed by The "Alter Rebbe" Rabbi Schuer Zalman of Liadi, a student of the Maggid of Mezritch in the 1800's and transmitted and disseminated by his successors and their students. Chabad emphasizes an intellectual approach, very analytical approach, as well it is a common theme in Chabad Chassidus that the mind should rule/guide the heart.

Below is something I wrote recently based on some Chassidic themes i've been learning about the last few years, as well as some links, hope you enjoy!

We are one human being in a battle with ourself. The struggle is that once we ate from the fruit of the tree of knowledge, we became self aware. We can say "we" with regards to Adam because we were all contained "in there"; yes Adam ate from the fruit which means, so did we. We are the splintered remains of Adam's fractured psyche. Adam and Eve both ate, but prior to separation they were one human being, one form; Adam prior to separation was a composite of masculine and feminine, so just to clarify Adam includes all humanity, male and female. The self awareness that became our reality presents us with the struggle of ego and how to deal with it. According to Chassidus, the ego is not essentially evil and not something to rid ourselves of, rather it is a creation of G-d and can be utilized for the holiest and selfless of purposes and for the opposite (G-d forbid). The ego is the root and source of potential evil, yet it comes from the absolute highest place. Only one being truly can claim "I am", there is only one being, and He created a world "down here" that screams "I AM" . This physical world is connected with G-d's essence, G-d's "I AM" ; He put His "I am" down here so we could connect with His essence. We believe it to be our own "I am", each of us, and that is our struggle. When we reappropriate the " I am" back to its source we can use it for incredible deeds that reveal the ONE true "I Am " in this world!

http://www.Thewellsprings.org

http://www.truekabbalah.com

http://www.neirot.com

http://www.Chabad.org

http://www.meaningfullife.com