Chassidic Texts

Written by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), the founder of Chabad. The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G‑d, the human soul, the world and our place in it.

Selected discourses from the founder of the Chabad Chasidic philosophy's great works: Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah. This edition focuses on Rabbi Schneur Zalman`s insights on the festivals. It has been the custom for Chasidim to study the discourses in Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, affectionately known as the "Chasidic Parsha," weekly and at festival time.

One of the earliest Chassidic texts, Tzava'at Harivash, is actually a manual of Chassidic directives, insights and guidance for deveikut, communion with G-d, culled from the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov and his successor, Rabbi Dovber of Mezritch.

Derech Mitzvotecha dives into reasons behind mitzvot such as tzitzit, tefillin, prayer, belief in G-d, loving a fellow Jew, starting a family and many others. Five generations later, the author`s grandson and successor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, has often advised those seeking to begin study of Chasidic philosophy to study this fundamental work.

Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov entered a chilled, dreary world and set it afire. He taught that even the simplest soul can bond to the Infinite Creator with love and joy . . .

Hayom Yom: From Day To Day …"its every day is indeed a day." A treasure of aphorisms and customs for every day of the year.

"Flames" focuses on the multiple images of the lamp; the oil, the wick and the different hues of the flame, in order to express profound guidance in the divine service of every individual: Just as the oil fuses flame and wick, so does the performance of practical mitzvot keep the radiance of the soul kindled upon the body.

One of the classics in Chasidic literature, "Veyadaata" is renowned for its simple yet profound explanation of the oneness of G-d, while at the same time focusing on the challenges of day-to-day living, exploring ways in which one can receive the inner G-dly light that is invested in the physical world.

Although "Love your fellow as yourself" is, as Rabbi Akiva taught, the great underlying principle of the Torah, actually achieving this love is a profound challenge for most people. Human personality is instead, often given to baseless hatred. This discourse deals with the spiritual roots of such hatred, its practical consequences, and the remedies for it.

Shortly after founding Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim, Rabbi Shalom DovBer delivered this discourse to help his students, past and present, nourish the spiritual fire within. From the mysteries of the first days in Eden, the Rebbe extrapolates a set of standards for a student's learning goals and schedule, personal conduct, prayer, and appearance.

This remarkable document is, in great measure, a treatise on education and child-rearing.

The official maamar (discourse) recited first by the fifth Chabad Rebbe and since then by all Chabad boys on the occasion of their Bar Mitzvah, translated and annotated in an accessible format, with additional chapters on customs relating to a Bar Mitzvah

A Collection of discourses by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe. Written during the turbulent years of 1941-1945, many of the discourses focus on self sacrifice, repentance, and strengthening Judaism, often speaking of the lessons to be learned from the earth-shattering events of the time and their connection to the coming of Moshiach

The first discourse delivered by the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe after succeeding to the mantle of leadership in 1920. It was first heard in the midst of the bitter civil war that shook the cities of Russia in the aftermath of the 1917 Revolution and the First World War.

A trilogy of Chasidic essays by Rabbi Yosef Y. Shneersohn of Lubavitch including: Some Aspects of Chabad Chasidism, On The Teachings of Chasidus and On Learning Chasidus.

Originally written as an educational guide for two venerable mashpi'im (spiritual mentors) in the original yeshivah in Lubavitch, this treatise by the sixth Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch has since serve as a classic definition and elucidation of what "education" truly is