2. What is Chassidus?

In this series, I would like to present a crash course in Chabad Mysticism, otherwise known as Chassidus.

So what is Chassidus?

Simply put, Chassidus is the deepest understanding of the Torah.

But what is the Torah?

Let’s go back in time and explore some Jewish history. 

Jewish tradition teaches that over 3000 years ago, The descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob  ended up in Egypt. Although they originially prospered, a new Pharoah enslaved them and made life miserable for them.. 

It was only with the intervention of G-d through Moses with 10 plagues and the splitting of a sea that the people were led out of Egypt and brought into the desert to freedom. There they came to Mount Sinai and experienced the greatest revelation of all time, G-d Himself. It was here that the Hebrews saw and heard G-d, and they were given the 10 commandments.

Over the next 40 years, Moses continued to teach the message of G-d and recorded it all in the Torah, otherwise known as the Hebrew Bible or the 5 books of Moses. (Why it is that the Jewish people are 100% confident in this historical narrative is for another class).

 Because it is authored by G-d,  it is an impossible book. In one book, G-d has somehow included all of His wisdom. Additionally, the Torah can be understood by all ages on every level of intelligence and is equally relevant in all times throughout history. Thus it can be understood on different levels at the same time. 

Generally speaking there are 4 layers of understanding the Torah:

1.       Literal

2.       Allusion

3.       Metaphoric

4.       Mystical

To understand the difference between the literal level of understanding and the deepest Mystical layer, lets compare the world to a computer. The universe is like a really complex machine. If you buy a new computer, it might come with an instruction manual which tells you how to use it. Press this button to do this, don’t press these buttons together, etc. So too, on the literal layer, the torah is an instruction manual for life. It tells a Jew what to do and what not do to run a successful and healthy world.

Going back to the computer analogy, there is another manual available for those who would like to know how the computer works. This manual would include the engineering of the computer, the mathematics behind it, an understanding of the hardware, software, coding etc. This manual would be much bigger and more complex than the instruction manual, because it helps you understand why things work the way they do.

So, too the Torah on the deepest mystical level is a manual of how the universe works, How it is made  and what its purpose is. Like a computer, the Torah on the deepest level is the coding and engineering that lies beneath the surface, we can understand why we are told to do certain things and act in certain ways, why we are put here and what the ultimate goal is. With the mystical, we can have a deeper understanding of the commandments.

There are several branches of Jewish Mysticism, but Chabad Mysticism is considered to be the deepest. Furthermore, the word CHABAD is an acronym for 3 hebrew words: Chochmah, Binah and Daas. Wisdom, Understanding and knowledge. This is because Chabad mysticism, explores the depths of reality in a way that is intellectual. It encourages the student to understand spiritual matters in rational terms.

This seemingly impossible task has caused much controversy in the Jewish world, and I hope you will appreciate the sacrifice that many have made for us to be able to enjoy it.