Chassidic Quotes

This stratification of Judaism is confusing, so I'll explain it as it relates to bacon. In Judaism the major players are: Reformed eat bacon and love it; Conservative- eat bacon only in diners; Orthodox-never touch bacon but secretly wonder what it tastes like; Ultra Orthodox--no way, feh, it's treif, and Chassidic-what is this bacon of which you speak?

The Rebbe Maharash once said:119 “Of what use is Chassidus and yiras Shamayim, fear of Heaven, if the main thing — ahavas Yisrael — is missing?” A “chassid” is one who is dedicated to seeking the best for another120 and who gives up personal benefits for another’s good121 even when personal gain is not assured and the benefit for the other is doubtful.122 As

It’s a sad paradox that while they adhere so strongly to the fashion in clothes, they have largely departed from the spirit of the movement. Chassidism was originally a kind of romantic mysticism, a movement of joy and laughter, of singing and dancing, that involved a kind of direct confrontation with God. It was a useful and necessary reaction to the meticulous observance of religious regulations that was characteristic of the time. But now it has come full circle, and this group is the most pedantic in its strict adherence to the letter of the law.

Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Ari, said,8 “Whoever does not shed tears during the Ten Days of Repentance—his soul is imperfect.” The simple meaning of this is that during these days G-d is close to every Jew9 with, in the Chassidic phrase,10 “the closeness of the luminary to the spark.