In these times of uncertainty it’s easy to be pessimistic and despondent. No one can seem to figure out the economy. Israel seems increasingly in peril. Jewish culture and identity appear to be in serious decline. Not to mention our personal struggles. How can we be excited?
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This Shabbat marks the eighteenth of Elul, the birthday of the Baal Shem Tov (founder of the Chassidic movement) and the birthday of the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman, founder of the Chabad movement). Not coincidentally, they both were brought into the world on the day signifying life (the numeric value for Chai/Life is 18).
What type of energy did they bring with the advance of Chassidism?
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I am often asked what is the main contribution of Chassidism to Jewish life and practice. Ultimately, Chassidus did not come to add to Torah, nor to reinterpret Jewish tradition. Rather Chassidus simply illuminates that which already exists. In a dim room everything seems dull and lifeless. When the lights are turned on all the existing features suddenly come to life.
This is the meaning of the rebuke in this week’s parsha of Ki Tavo, “Because you did not serve G‑d, your G‑d, with joy and gladness of heart.” Studying Torah, honoring one’s parents and hearing the sound of the Shofar might be equally performed by a happy fellow and a depressed person. But the energy invested in the deed is incomparable.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman teaches in his masterpiece Tanya, that if a strong – but sad and lethargic – person is wrestling a weak – but happy and enthusiastic – individual, the feebler one will likely prevail.
A famous Chassidic saying declares, “Although depression is not a sin per se, it leads to the worst of sins.”
To serve G-d properly and to take control of our lives requires a bold, joyous approach. The challenges may be identical, but in the darkness and dullness of melancholy they seem monstrous.
Studying Chassidus infuses us with a passion and invigoration that puts David in the driver’s seat and Goliath in the dustbin of history.
Try it. You may enjoy the sunlight.