Crown Jewels: Expanding The Conceptual Frontiers Of Chassidic Thought: 2

The mystic secrets of the Torah have been described as G-d's crown jewels, gems of His wisdom whose light lifts us above worldly existence.& ; In the Era of the Redemption, these spiritual truths will be overtly revealed. In anticipation of this revelation, G-d has granted us a foretaste of these ideas so that we can assimilate them within our thought process, spread them to others, and in this manner, bring that future era ever so much closer.& ; This is the motif that spawned the teachings of Chassidus. The Baal Shem Tov touched the fundamental spark of G-d which every Jew possesses, showing each person that he or she has the potential to enter into a connection with G-d with the full force of his soul's fire.& ; The Rebbeim of Chabad gave us conceptual tools that empower us to extend this connection beyond the supra-rationale stirrings of our hearts and internalize it within our minds. Not only do we feel energized spiritually, we understand the source for this motivation. Such understanding enables us to mold our daily conduct to this purpose and share this aspiration with others.& ; In his teachings, the Rebbe brings this process to consummate fulfillment, explaining powerful spiritual concepts so that they can be grasped logically, applied in our lives, and spread to Jews - and for that manner, non-Jews - in every walk of life.& ; The sichos in this collection present several of these jewels, showing how the Rebbe projected radical insights into fundamental Jewish ideal