My Favorite Shiur 3/3

In order to fully maximize the transformative potential of this shiur, it is important to listen to the first two parts (My Favorite Shiur 1/3 and My Favorite Shiur 2/3) before continuing with this next installment.

In the third shiur, the Rebbe continues with explaining how contemplating Hashem's greatness (hisbonenus) coupled with His infinite love for each and every one of us can elicit intense feelings of love towards Hashem. Thus it is possible for one to "fall in love with" the Master of the World and to be in a relationship with Him much like the relationship between close friends or between a man and his wife. Fostering this understanding through contemplation and the power of imagination is the key step one must take to stop pouring all his energy into himself and begin divesting everything he does of personal interest.

My Favorite Shiur (Part 1/3)

While this shiur is for any time during the year, the Rebbe spoke about it now as it specifically relates to Pesach and offers a path to many of the themes of the upcoming Yom Tov.

We all know that Hashem is the source of all things, that He is good and that He loves us. We understand that we must follow His Torah and mitzvos, that He sees and knows all and that there is nothing more enriching than connecting with Him.

Knowing, however, is a far cry from integrating. Our heads and hearts act as total strangers in the majority of instances, completely out-of-sync. Each one is operating on its own without anything connecting them. That third gear which allows the brain and our real-time, actualized self to run congruently is the elusive missing link, holding up the works in every area of life. What if we could take those things that we know to be true about Hashem and the nature of His world, and really live with that understanding? In other words, what if we would actualize in practice what we already know intellectually?

Well, for starters, we would be awesome.

Yearnings Materialized

I stumbled upon an old post from A Simple Jew where he posted two quotes, one from the Rebbe of Kotzk, zy"a, and another from the Piasetzner Rebbe, zy"a. I found them both to be very connected to what the Rebbe, shlit"a, said on Shabbos about our speech effecting our commitments to change.