Our generation's test

I have just finished watching the webcast My Life: Chassidus Applied, by R' Simon Jacobson. I think that A Groiser Yasher Koach is deserved. I am a subscriber to his Omer and Elul daily email program and though I have learned a lot I don't faithfully carry out the program (perhaps it is too much for me, everyday working on another level, I like to go slower).
After the initial feeling of enjoyment, I felt a little sad (I had always looked down upon the generation which had Torah and/or Chassidus in the early twentieth century and to a large extent discarded it for a passing fancy of Communism or Socialism and to an extent Zionism which are less than a pale comparison to Torah and Chassidus. I have had a very strong education of the values of Chassidus, Rebbe and Kabolas Ol and feel sad when I meet or read about people which either didn't have as strong an education as I did or didn't accept theirs or rejected theirs. After watching this webcast I began to feel that this is our generations true test and that it really is no different than the early twentieth century test. The medium and symptom, that became the alternative, was that which was popular then, but the cause was the sensing (incorrectly) that Torah/Chassidus didn't apply (because it didn't have the answers) in a time of upheaval (or nowadays, it might be said that it is too lofty).
I was wrong to look down on that generation.
I watched the webcast with much delight as I felt that it answered that generation's, as well as this one's, main issue, How is it (Torah/Chassidus) applicable to me?
On another note, I feel that the role R' Jacobson, as well as R' Manis Friedman, have taken is the role of Mashpia. I sense and have heard that many people, including myself, are not able to find a Mashpia and it feels to me that that is the role this webcast has taken on. I look forward to watching more videos with great interest. I sense though people will have specific questions that can not be answered for a general audience and people will feel a void and also eventually become a little frustrated when they see the path tantalizingly in front of them but then they are not able to actualize it (which I think is the greatest reason that the inspiration of our youth has been extinguished. We ourselves (not someone else) extinguished it when we felt that we are not attaining it and do not want to deal with the failure).
And this brought me to another thought (in general I do not like trying to find explanations for why something is the way that it is, I find them usually pointless and generally wrong and slanted to our preconceived biases on how we see the world. But with that disclaimer), I sense that the reason so many people do not have a mashpia is not the way I used to, and so many others, think because no one has time or other similar explanations, rather it is that we want to find someone who understands our derech or where we are in life and that is very hard to find when one is looking in middle of one's life as opposed to someone who has known you since you were younger.
So if so many people enjoy these webcasts how can there be enough time to answer everyone personally? I propose that if there are like minded individuals that understand Chassidus similar to R' Jacobson and have clarity of thought to how it pertains to everyone, a list can be drawn up (hopefully 20 to 40) and people will feel comfortable going to them for more personal direction being as their outlook on life is similar to their own.
I know that this is quite far from being actualized, which led me to another thought. (As a personal note, sometimes I would feel down (either because of the matzav Ruchnius of myself or the world) and this feeling usually ends up as questioning, is the whole thing worth it? The best answer was watching the Rebbe say the Haftorah from a fast day, Dirshu, specifically the words Ki lo Machshivosay machshivoseichem v'lo darcheichem d'ruchoi, n'um Hashem), I think that utilizing the Omer and Elul framework of R' Jacobson can empower people to find that direction. I think that it should be structured as courses more than classes and the courses should be by topic so that people can choose that which they are looking for. And the course should be structured with explanation on the topic but together a significant part should be actual text and not just a snippet but a whole maamar or something of that length, it should be a curriculum of maamorim with explanation in between to internalize and actualize it and not let it remain as luft verter.
I think some of the topics should be Kabolas Ol, Ahavas Hashem, Yiras Hashem, Shlichus, Hashgocah Pratis etc. And in the course on Kabolas Ol, for example, we can have mamorim from the Alter Rebbe (Tanya. L"T) and other maamorim e.g. Achrei Havaya from the F"R, I think in '96 or '97, interspersed with activities that are grouped by categories that people are looking for (and here is primarily where one could utilize the framework of the Omer) e.g. people who are looking for help in their marriage relationship, or relationship with parents or bosses or G-d or children or any of life's different situations and they could be elucidated as how they pertain to a specific sefirah. And these activities would be a vital component to how Chassidus is relevant. The other vital component would be the Chassidus text itself seeing as Osios Machkimos and a lot of questions will fall away automatically (like my doubts when listening to the Rebbe. (which can lead to a component of multimedia to the course like listening to a specific shtikel fabrengen or a specific nigun with the biur of how this nigun pertains to a particular struggle.))
I see such courses filling a part of the vital need of a mashpia.
But b'ikar, Yisron HaOr m'toch HaChoshech.

How bad is it not to listen?

An answer from the Rebbe written to R' Moshe Yitzchak Hecht A"H was recently shared online. The Rebbe says, when people close to the Rebbe are happy, that makes the Rebbe happy and vice versa.

In another, now famous, answer the Rebbe tells him that before he complained his request was answered and we sent Moshe Yitzchak Hecht, you should get to know him, and quickly, and things will be much better...

 R' Moshe writes to the Rebbe and the Rebbe responds; be happy! And he writes again and the Rebbe responds; be happy!

Please check out some of the correspondence here http://chabad.org.il/Magazines/Article.asp?ArticleID=6351&CategoryID=1340.

When he passed away the Rebbe spoke about him: "חסיד ומקושר לכ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר נשיא דורנו, ששלחו ומסר על-ידו הקמת וניהול מוסדות של הפצת התורה והיהדות, והמעיינות חוצה, ובמילוי שליחות זו היתה התעסקותו כל משך ימי חייו"

"He's a Chassid, connected to the Rebbe, a Shliach his entire life" and so on.

Looking at the 'bigger picture' to me this is so inspiring! A man, a Chassid and even a Shliach who struggles with dejection, the Rebbe deals with him. Receives some of the most exceptional answers from the Rebbe. And complains again. And the Rebbe deals with it again! And then when he passes away the Rebbe speaks about how special a person he was!

We can struggle. We write in. Goes by some time and we write in again, about the exact same thing. Goes by some time and we do it again. And again.

Does that make us 'bad' Chassidim? Or is that just part of what we're doing here?

Tiferes

To add another dimension of Tiferes (after the previous post): Chesed is the desire of the Mashpia to give. Yet Chesed is too generous. If Chesed is not tempered then what he gives will be too much. That's when Gevurah slows down the Chesed. But then the Mashpia might not give enough or not give at all. Then Tiferes pulls back from Gevurah so that there will be a Hashpa'ah. And now it will be a balanced Hashpa'ah.

V'chol Banaich 5689 - Derushei Chasunah

The Middle Column

Compassion, explains the Kabbalah, is a blend between the two extremes of Kindness/giving and Strength/Judgment/withholding.

The conventional explanation is that this statement explains to whom the giving attribute is directed: kindness argue that all are worthy of receiving, Strength/Judgement argues that very few are worthy of receiving. Compassion is a blend of both perspectives. While it agrees with strength/judgment that not all are worthy of receiving, it nevertheless agrees with Kindness’s bottom line that all shall receive; for compassion applies to those who are undeserving as well.

There is however another reason why compassion is considered the “middle” and a mix of Kindness and strength, not based on to who the attribute is directed bit because of the properties of the attribute itself. Because kindness is weak. a person must have a soft spot to another in order to give. Judgment however is strong and forceful (hence the Kabbalistic name for Judgment: “strength”).

Compassion, however is a blend of the two. for although it gives - thus it is similar to kindness - it nevertheless gives with strength - incorporating and using the quality of strength into it's giving. 

(Leku"s Mikets 15 Sicha 2)

Thank You

Why are people so ungrateful? Why don't your teenage children appreciate all that you do for them? Why does your spouse take you for granted? Why do your co-workers not thank you for your important contribution to the team? It could be argued that  what strains so many of our relationships is that the person we are so desperately trying to connect to does not acknowledge our effort.

Indeed, acknowledge is the key word.

The Hebrew word for thank you, Hodaah, is the same word As acknowledge - as in 'I may disagree with your point of view but I acknowledge that you have your own perspective'.

Why is thanking so connected to acknowledgement, to the extent that the Hebrew puts them in the same word? The answer is simple, only by acknowledging the other's perspective can you truly thank her. To illustrate: my mother did and continues to do so much for me. My biggest obstacle to thanking her is that from my perspective everything she does is because, as a mother, she is supposed to, I mean isn't that her job? The only way I can genuinely thank her is if I adopt her perspective. If I can appreciate all the sacrifices she sacrificed of herself for me, all those times thy she could have taken care of herself yet she lovingly dedicated the time to me. Only when I acknowledge her perspective - "Hodaah" - can I say - "Todah" - thank you.

The same is true for our long standing dispute with G-d. Our perspective is that our life, health ,and success is due to our independent efforts, and the only person we need to thank is ourselves. From G-d's perspective, however, the entire universe is being brought into existence every moment by the word of G-d. From his perspectives the only true reality is the Godly vitality within every created being.

The only way we can thank him is if, even if we cannot fully adopt his perspectives, we are open minded enough to acknowledge that there is another perspective in addition to our own.

Simchas Torah by the Rebbe

At the Farbrengen of Simchas Torah 5727 the Rebbe tells the story of the first time the Alter Rebbe saw the Baal Shem Tov while he, the Alter Rebbe, was awake. And then quotes the Rebbeim that just like "Yehoshua never departed from Moshe's tent" so too the Alter Rebbe never departed from the Maggid's 'tent'. And asks: the Maggid was Rebbe for 13 years and the Alter Rebbe was by the Maggid for only 32 months, how is that never departing the Maggid's tent?

The Rebbe answers that when the Alter Rebbe left the Maggid he did so as a Shliach and the Meshalayach is always with the Shliach. That is how the Alter Rebbe never left the Maggid's tent.

Therefore, the Rebbe explains, there are those who aren't here by the Farbrengen because they are on Tahalucha, in other Shuls making Jews happy. Some are so far they can't even make it to Hakafos. And some can't even be here for Shabbos Bereishis. They should know that the Rebbe is with them and they can even see the Rebbe and even while they're awake!

What I "took" from this Sicha is that trying to relive the Rebbe's Hakofos, reading and studying about it, hearing about it and then picturing it, is important to know what my Hakafos should aspire to be. Yet if I want to actually be by the Rebbe's Hakafos then I must find another Jew and simply make him happy! And that's the Rebbe's Hakafos!

I had also read Rabbi Yossi Lew's description of Simchas Torah 5748. What stuck out for me was how the Rebbe encouraged everyone to dance. The Rebbe would turn to a section of the Shul till they where dancing their hearts out, then the Rebbe turn to the next section and so on. At one point the Rebbe even turned to the elderly Chassidim and didn't stop encouraging them until every single one was dancing and jumping! This is our job! Take one person and dance your heart out with them
then go to the next one...!

One thing I couldn't relate to was seeing the Rebbe while we're awake. For people like us?

Comes Hakafos I grab a Jew, that I don't really know, I can't even remember who he was, and start dancing with him. Dancing hard for a little while. We slow down and he stars gushing about what I just did for him... Thanking me... I grab someone else, dancing hard... He opens up to me... Starts telling me about himself... I grabbed a few more Jews...

The next day after musaf everyone went to eat and I'm sitting with a couple of 'anash' telling them this insight. A congregant sticks his head in and asks if he could also listen in. Sure! After I finish talking about finding a Jew and dancing with him. This person says but you didn't dance with me! So I say "let's dance now!" We get up dance hard for a while and then he got all emotional and starts crying! He sits down and it takes quite a while to he gets back to himself...!

Seeing the Rebbe while we're awake means, to paraphrase the Rebbe Maharash, literally. But it did feel real close!

A Rebbe's vort

Mas. R"H 21A

Hichriz R' Yochanan:
R"Y made an announcement; That since it takes longer for Shluchim to get the message out about the Chodesh in Tishrei than in Nissan (because there is an extra day or three some years ((R"H & Y"K)) that they are not allowed to travel on), there are some cities that are right on the dividing line of one day and two day YomTov and therefore they get the message about the Chodesh in time for Pesach but not for Sukkos, they should still celebrate two days Pesach YomTov like the rest of Galus. Why? Because they might make a mistake come Sukkos and celebrate only one day, even though they hadn't heard from the Shluchei B"D, saying our custom is just one day just like we do on Pesach and possibly come to chilul Y"T.
One time two students of R"Y were visiting such a city and they saw them celebrate only one day Y"T and they didn't protest. When they returned to R'Y he heard about it and Ikpid.
They themselves celebrated two days when they were in that city, and you can be medayek that from Rashi D"H v'avdei chada yoma. Rashi wrights Bnei HaMakom the inhabitants.
Why didn't they say anything?
Possibly, since they were just visiting they didn't feel comfortable mixing in. Maybe the city had its own Rov that they didn't want to show up. Possibly the announcement by R'Y wasn't even widely known or accepted. The city wasn't even doing anything wrong. The Shluchim had shown up and told them what day Rosh Chodesh was! Because maybe by Tishrei they would make a mistake which even then might not lead to an Issur (if they guess correct). "Let's just mix out" they might have thought.
Ikpid Rebbi Yochanan.
They as Talmidim had a responsibility to mix in and educate the community.