Rosh Hashanah 5659 (CHS) | Divine Speech | Forces of Creation | Power of Return

Product Description

On the second of Rosh Hashanah, 5659 (1898), Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn, fifth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch, delivered a Chasidic discourse, and with it began a series of discourses. In the course of the High Holidays, Rabbi Shalom DovBer delivered another two discourses, building on various points in the first discourse. Over the course of Sukkot and the ensuing weeks, the Rebbe continued delivering further discourses in the series. The series contained a total of eight discourses.

A collection of 3 chasidic discourses by Rabbi Shalom DovBer Schneersohn. The discourses in this series are among the first with which students of Chabad Yeshivot are initiated into more complex chasidic texts, and the current work presents an English translation of the first three discourses in this classic series.

From the Inside Flap

The Jewish mystics and philosophers call m an "the medaber," the speaker. The capacity of speech is uniquely human, and we make use of it, for better or for worse... The first discourse in the present work - Divine Speech - ...asserts that the capacity of speech stems from a deeper place in the soul than the feelings and ideas it contains. To all appearances, speech seems to be subservient to thought, since without prior thinking, speech has little to say. Thought is also far more intimately entwined withthe soul, and when a thought is finally hauled through the strictures of speech it seems cramped, its luminance clouded. Yet, verbalizing an idea ... seems to elicit a deeper understanding of the idea than thought can achieve. From where does speech derive such potency? The discourse turns to explore the power of speech and the attribute of malchut (sovereignty...), while introducing some of the basic concepts of Chasidism and Kabbalah... Continuing the discussion initiated in the first discourse, Forces in Creation focuses on the divine sefirah of malchut. Through an engaging analysis ... the Rebbe demonstrates how it is precisely malchut - the lowest sefirah - in which G-d's creative energy is invested. This, he maintains, is true in every relationship: the more passive element, termed "recipient," has in truth a deeper, more intense energy, just waiting to explode to the surface, and it is the role of the more dominant element to trigger this release. In addition, the Rebbe applies these principles to procreation, to coronatoin, and finally, to Torah study. In The Power of Return, the Rebbe explains that in order to realize our essential connection with G-d and enjoy the infinite love it yields we must first make a detailed and honest examination of our character and spritual standing...

Publisher:

Kehot Publication Society

Pages:

328

Date Published:

2015