כ״ח אלול ה׳תשפ״ו | September 10, 2026
Chassidus Misapplied: The Dangerous Reinvention of Chassidus
“A new discussion has emerged around the application of Chassidus and making it more practical and meaningful in our daily lives. On the surface, this would seem like a welcome endeavor: to translate the ideals of Chassidus into actual practice. Unfortunately, this is not what we are seeing.”
By Rabbi Sholom Kesselman – Los Angeles
Since the founding of Chabad Chassidus, there have been two general groups of Chassidim who devoted themselves to Chassidus and Avodas Hashem.
There were Chassidim who were known primarily as maskilim, and others who were known primarily as ovdim. Both served Hashem with selfless dedication, but they differed in their approach.
For the maskilim, the primary focus was on learning and understanding Chassidus in a deep and intellectual way, delving into its concepts and gaining a profound comprehension of Elokus.
For the ovdim, the emphasis was primarily on Avodas HaTefillah, iskafya, and the ongoing work of refining and perfecting one’s character and middos in the service of Hashem.
The maskilim would admonish the ovdim: You are not applying yourselves deeply enough to understanding Chassidus. You are not studying, contemplating, and plumbing the depths of its ideas as you should.
And the ovdim would admonish the maskilim: What good is all your understanding if it does not translate into avodah? You know Chassidus, but are you actually applying yourselves to the avodah that Chassidus demands?
Of course, in truth, there is no real contradiction between the two.
In a world of perfect truth, haskalah and avodah are perfectly compatible. They are not competing ideals; they are two sides of the same coin. The understanding of Chassidus is meant to lead to avodah, and the avodah of Chassidus is meant to be rooted in a true understanding of what Chassidus teaches.
But we do not live in a world of perfect truth.
We are feeble, fallible human beings. And as human beings, we tend to gravitate toward one side or the other. Some of us are naturally drawn to understanding, analysis, and intellectual depth. Others are more naturally drawn to emotional engagement, personal transformation, and practical avodah.
As a result, finding the proper balance between haskalah and avodah has always been something Chassidim have had to work at.
Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we don’t. That is the way it always was.
“New Age Chassidus”
However, in recent times, we are seeing this age-old saga take a turn in an entirely new and foreign direction.
A new discussion has emerged around the application of Chassidus and making it more practical and meaningful in our daily lives. On the surface, this would seem like a welcome endeavor: to translate the ideals of Chassidus into actual practice. One would expect this to result in increased limud haTorah, davening ba’avodah, careful observance of Shulchan Aruch, and a greater commitment to refining one’s character and middos.
Unfortunately, this is not what we are seeing. Instead, the primary focus of this new approach to Avodas HaChassidus has become all about human psychology, mental health, personal growth, self-development, and emotional healing.
There are some very gifted scholars and thinkers who, having become familiar with the language and insights of modern psychology, are using these ideas and this language to translate and explain Chassidus.
In the name of avodah, (and often quoting phrases such as ועבדהו בלבב שלם), they argue that authentic Chassidus cannot remain confined to the realm of intellectual study, elokus or avodas Hashem. It must be applied to “real life”. It should speak to questions of human growth, emotional development, relationships, mental health, and healing.
While there is certainly value to this approach, and there is no question that it has helped many people, unfortunately, the project has gone off the rails and has evolved into something that has very little to do anymore with Chassidus and genuine Avodah.
What began as an attempt to make Chassidus more accessible and applicable has become a wholesale reinterpretation of Chassidus, until what emerges bears little resemblance to the Chassidus taught by the Rebbeim.
The truth is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding in this new approach of what it means to bring Chassidus down into Avodah.
When the Posuk says, “דע את אלקי אביך ועבדהו בלב שלם”, or “וידעת היום והשבות אל לבבך,” it means that the haskalah of Chassidus must lead to enhanced Avodas Hashem. It must translate into greater Ahavah v’Yirah, Bitul, Kabolas Ol, Simchah, Ahavas Yisrael, midos tovos, Avodas HaTefillah, and every other dimension of serving Hashem.
Never in the history of Chassidus did “ועבדהו בלב שלם” mean translating Chassidus into psychology, self-help, or human development and growth. The purpose is not to bring Chassidus “down” simply into the heart, into the realm of the human psyche. That is a fundamental distortion of what the Posuk is saying. The objective is not the development of the lev as an end in itself. The objective is ועבדהו to serve Hashem (with a full heart).
What is happening today is no longer the age-old debate between haskalah and avodah, it is a distortion of the very definition of what עבודת החסידות is.
In that debate, there was a clear consensus as to what avodah meant. Bittul was bittul. Kabbalas ol was kabbalas ol. The same was true of iskafya, hisbonenus, ahavah, yirah, and the other fundamental concepts of Chassidic avodah.
Of course, there was always a lively discussion and debate among Chassidim about how best to implement and practice these ideas. Different Chassidim understood and expressed them differently, each aliba d’nafshei. But the discussion took place within a shared framework.
The language was the language of the Rebbeim. The concepts were the concepts of the Rebbeim. The arguments, even when they were sharp and nuanced, were firmly rooted in the words and teachings of the Rebbeim.
The disagreement was over the details, emphasis, and application, not over the fundamental vocabulary and values of Chassidus and avodah.
What we are seeing today, however, is something fundamentally different. We are seeing an entirely new language, along with an entirely new set of values and ideals, originating outside the world of Chassidus; often ideas that are fundamentally at odds with Chassidus, being superimposed upon Chassidus.
Self-worth. Self-esteem. Self-healing. Presence. Mindfulness. Trauma. Abuse. Holistic well-being. Inner peace. Inner alignment.
These and similar values are increasingly being presented as the yesodos, the foundational principles, through which we are now expected to learn and interpret Chassidus.
And, in the name of “healthy” bittul and “healthy” kabbalas ol, we are told that these concepts do not mean what they have always meant.
Bittul, for example, is now about “…(fill in the blank).” Kabbalas ol becomes – “…(fill in the blank).” And the traditional vocabulary of Chassidus is emptied of its original meaning and recast through an entirely new litany of values and ideals.
There may be truth and value in some of these ideas. Some may even provide useful tools for helping particular people. But when these concepts become the foundational vocabulary through which Chassidus itself is defined and understood, something very different is taking place.
Chassidus is no longer simply being applied through a modern psychological lens. It is being reinvented through that lens.
Is There No Place to Use Chassidus for Personal Development and Healing?
Of course there is.
But there is an integral point which must be clarified first.
Chassidus is not inherently a system of human healing and personal development.
Chassidus is Yedias Elokus. It is Chochmah Elokis. It is the study of Hashem, Seder Hishtalshelus, Achdus Hashem, and the entire spiritual reality that Chassidus seeks to reveal.
And the avodah of Chassidus is likewise not self-help, it is avodas Hashem. It is about how to serve Hashem, fulfill His will, and live with the awareness of Elokus. It is not simply about human healing and wholesomeness.
Taking care of our mental and emotional wellbeing is certainly necessary and can be an important, even holy, endeavor. But wellbeing and avodah are not the same thing. Wellbeing concerns the health and functioning of the person; Avodas Hashem concerns what the person does with himself in the service of Hashem. Thus, working through emotional difficulties, developing healthier patterns, or seeking psychological healing may be entirely necessary, but these activities should not, simply because they improve the person, be labeled Avodas HaChassidus. Avodah means applying the teachings of Chassidus to serve Hashem, to cultivate bittul, strengthen one’s connection to Elokus, improve one’s middos, and change the way one thinks, speaks, and acts as an eved Hashem.
The goal of Chassidus is not simply to produce healthier, happier, more emotionally integrated human beings. The goal is to create real Ovdei Hashem.
As an example:
Consider the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s discussion of happiness and sadness in Tanya, beginning in Perek 26.
The Alter Rebbe begins a lengthy and important discussion about how a person should deal with sadness and how to cultivate joy. At first glance, one might be tempted to read this as a discussion of emotional health or psychological well-being.
But notice how the Alter Rebbe himself introduces the subject.
He writes:
“But this must be made known as a cardinal principle: It is with the service of G-d just as it is with a victory over a physical opponent, for instance, two people who wrestle with each other, each striving to fell the other. If one of them is lazy and sluggish, he will easily be defeated and will fall, even if he be stronger than the other, since his laziness and sluggishness prevent him from revealing his strength. Similarly with the conquest of one’s evil nature. It is impossible to conquer the evil nature with laziness and sluggishness, which stem from sadness and a stonelike dullness of the heart, but rather with alacrity, which derives from joy and an open, i.e., responsive, heart that is unblemished by any trace of worry and sadness in the world.”
There is a subtle but extremely important point here.
The Alter Rebbe is not discussing happiness because he is a psychologist who wants to help people become emotionally healthy.
That is certainly a worthy goal. There are professionals whose expertise is precisely in helping people deal with emotional and psychological difficulties. But that is not what the Alter Rebbe is doing. He is interested in avodas Hashem. Period!
His starting point is that a person cannot successfully wage the battle against the yetzer hara when he is weighed down by sadness, laziness, and sluggishness. To defeat the yetzer hara, a person needs zerizus, and zerizus comes from simchah and an open heart. Therefore, the Alter Rebbe now turns to the subject of sadness and happiness.
The distinction is critical. He is not saying: Human beings need to be happy in order to be emotionally healthy. Therefore, let me teach you how to achieve happiness. He is saying: A Jew needs to overcome his yetzer hara and serve Hashem properly. Sadness makes that avodah impossible. Therefore, let us understand sadness, its causes, and how to overcome it, all in the context of avodas Hashem.
Tanya is filled with profound insights into human psychology. It speaks about emotions, motivation, self-perception, inner conflict, thought patterns, behavior, and the human condition. Much of this can be remarkably relevant to modern discussions of psychology and emotional health.
But that does not make Tanya fundamentally a book about human development and healing.
The Alter Rebbe is not trying to create emotionally healthy human beings for the sake of being emotionally healthy. He is trying to create an oved Hashem.
Someone who is suffering from sadness, anxiety, or emotional pain can absolutely take the Alter Rebbe’s teachings and find profound help in them. But the ideal form of healing comes when those teachings are embraced for what they truly are: a path to bittul, living achdus Hashem and genuine Avodas Hashem. By becoming less self-focused and more deeply devoted to Hashem, a person naturally becomes less consumed by anger, anxiety, resentment, and other forms of self-preoccupation. The emotional healing that follows is not incidental; it is a natural result of genuine avodah.
If, however, a person takes the same teachings merely as psychological tools for feeling better, they may still gain something from them and experience temporary relief. But they will miss the deeper transformation, and ultimately, the fullest form of healing that comes from authentic, meaningful avodas Hashem.
The fact that the Alter Rebbe’s teachings can heal the human being does not mean that healing the human being was the Alter Rebbe’s primary objective. His objective was avodas Hashem. The emotional insight is in service of the avodah. The psychological discussion is in service of the avodah.
Consider a simple example.
A pen is a writing instrument. But if you need a bookmark you can also use your pen to mark your place in a book. The pen can serve that purpose quite effectively.
But you wouldn’t conclude from this that a pen is a bookmark. It isn’t. A pen is a writing instrument, but you are using it for another purpose because it happens to work for that purpose as well.
The same is true with Chassidus.
Chassidus can provide extraordinary insight into the human being. Its teachings can be applied to questions of personal growth, emotional development, relationships, healing, self-understanding, and many other areas of human life.
But that does not mean that Chassidus is a system of human healing, development, or self-discovery.
It is something much greater. It is Divrei Elokim Chaim. It is about knowing Hashem. It is about making Elokus real in our lives. It is about realizing אין עוד מלבדו. And yes, it is about real bittul.
Meshalim Are Only Meshalim!
It is true that, in explaining matters of Elokus, Chassidus frequently uses mashalim drawn from human experience: מבשרי אחזה אלוקה.
But the purpose of these discussions is not to remain with the mashal and make it the ikar. The mashal is a vehicle through which we can understand the nimshal, a spiritual truth about Hashem and our relationship with Him.
If Chassidus explains a particular aspect of Elokus by using an idea from human psychology, the point is ultimately to understand the Elokus that the psychological analogy is helping us grasp.
We should not get stuck only with the Moshol and make that the primary focus and goal.
Unfortunately, what we are seeing today is a total inversion of this principle. Instead of the focus of learning Chassidus being the study and understanding of Elokus, with the human being used only as a moshol to help explain those concepts, the opposite has increasingly become the goal.
The purpose has become to uncover psychological ideas, insights, and methods about the human being, while the discussions of Elokus are adopted as the moshol and the means toward that end. In other words, what was once the nimshol has become the moshol, and what was once the moshol has become the nimshol.
The Danger of Misapplied Chassidus
Someone might still want to argue: But what is the big deal? So what if Chassidus wasn’t intended to be a work of self-help? It works. It’s healing me. It’s alleviating my struggles. So what if I use a pen as a bookmark?
The truth is that there is a very real danger here.
The difference between Chassidus and modern-day psychology can be summed up in one line: In modern-day psychology, the person is at the center. It’s all about “me”: my self-worth, my self-esteem, my healing, my mental and emotional well-being, etc. In Chassidus, Hashem is at the center.
The purpose is bittul and mesirus nefesh. It is about prioritizing the truth over the self.
When Chassidus is misapplied, the danger is that instead of being about selflessness and dedication to the emes, it becomes another sophisticated tool for the perpetuation, and even glorification, of the self.
This is not merely a misunderstanding of Chassidus. It is the exact opposite of what Chassidus is about.
The solution to abstract Chassidus is not to turn it into a glorified self-help manual that subtly feeds the sense of self and the ego. Rather, the solution is to explain why learning authentic Chassidus and developing true bittul will make you a much better oved Hashem, which is the purpose of our existence.
Chassidus Is Too Abstract and Doesn’t Seem Relevant to My Life
One of the common pushbacks against authentic Chassidus is that it is too abstract and doesn’t seem relevant to everyday life.
Many people genuinely want to learn Chassidus. But when the subject is a lengthy pilpul about the three levels of Or Ein Sof shelifnei hatzimtzum, Atik and Arich, or Akudim, Nekudim, and Berudim, they simply don’t find it meaningful or relevant to their lives.
Then someone comes along and explains that these ideas are really about something taking place inside of you, a personal struggle, an emotional experience, or some psychological process, and suddenly, it becomes meaningful and relevant. The same concepts that seemed abstract and remote now feel directly applicable to one’s life.
This, of course, is part of the reason that what we might call “New Age Chassidus” has become so popular. It makes Chassidus feel relevant, accessible, and alive.
But while the goal is noble, and I appreciate the attempt to find a solution, in truth, the method is totally mistaken.
The problem has not actually been solved. Yes, it can be difficult to see the relevance of an abstract passage in Chassidus. But explaining that passage as a psychological phenomenon does not make Chassidus relevant. It simply reinvents Chassidus and transforms it into something else.
You have not succeeded in making Chassidus meaningful. You have transformed Chassidus into psychology.
And yes, psychology is meaningful. It can be enormously helpful and relevant to our lives. But that is not what we should be aspiring to when we learn Chassidus.
Do not confuse this attempt with bringing Chassidus down into Avodah, or with “ועבדהו בלבב שלם.” It can only be called Avodah when it speaks directly to some aspect of Avodas Hashem. Simply addressing matters of the heart, emotional struggles, or mental well-being does not qualify as Avodas Chassidus.
Our goal should not be to make Chassidus relevant by reinterpreting spiritual ideas as psychological ones. Rather, our goal should be to explain to people why these spiritual ideas themselves, as they exist in their purity and holiness, are relevant to their lives and can transform them.
Don’t take Atik and Arich and explain why they are meaningful because they correspond to some psychological counterpart within a human being.
Make them meaningful by explaining the truth of what they actually are, and then explaining why knowing that truth can change a person’s life.
Explain how understanding Chassidus makes a person more refined. Explain how it makes Elokus more real to them. Explain how it helps them see that nothing truly exists besides Hashem. Explain how the neshamah and one’s emunah become spiritually nourished and healthy through knowing and contemplating these truths. And explain how that spiritual health ultimately translates into an actual love for Hashem, excitement about Yiddishkeit, and a deeper and more genuine relationship with Him.
You don’t make something relevant by explaining that it is something else.
You make it relevant by discovering the relevance of the thing itself, without watering it down, without diluting it, and without transforming it into something it is not.
Now, it is true that if someone doesn’t particularly care about Avodas Hashem or about developing a relationship with Hashem, they may struggle to find Chassidus meaningful. But of course that is going to be the case. Chassidus is fundamentally about Avodas Hashem. In order to find Chassidus relevant, one must, at some level, care about the very thing Chassidus is trying to accomplish.
Making Chassidus into a form of self-help and divorcing it from genuine Avodas Hashem simply so that it can be made meaningful to people who otherwise have little interest in Avodas Hashem is not a solution.
It is simply not Chassidus.
How to Learn and Teach Chassidus
Considering all of the above, when learning Chassidus, and certainly when teaching it, it is imperative to preserve the proper seder.
First and foremost, we need to understand the idea as it was intended. If the subject is something in Elokus: an olam, sefirah, partzuf, dargah in Keser, or any other concept in Seder Hishtalshelus, we must first understand what it actually means l’maalah.
If Chassidus gives us a mashal, we need to understand the mashal, but we cannot stop there. We must return to the nimshal, using the mashal to understand the spiritual reality being described.
Likewise, when Chassidus discusses avodah, we first need to understand how Chassidus itself defines that avodah. What does bittul mean? Kabbalas ol? Iskafya? Hisbonenus?
Not, what we would like these concepts to mean. Not, how we can reinterpret them through whatever psychological trend happens to be popular today. Rather, we must ask: What does Chassidus itself mean by these concepts?
And then, of course, we must practice these ideas and incorporate them into our daily lives—והשבות אל לבבך. It is not enough simply to know what bittul or hisbonenus means. We must actually put these ideals into practice and allow them to shape the way we live. המעשה הוא העיקר!
Then, and only then—after we have understood Chassidus as it was taught by the Rebbeim, and after we have brought those teachings down into real avoda—Avodas Hashem—and are actually living and practicing authentic עבודת החסידות, only then may we move on to applying the principles of Chassidus to other areas of life.
At that point, there is certainly room to say: “By the way, this idea can also be helpful in addressing a particular psychological struggle.” Perhaps it can help someone with low self-esteem, sadness, anxiety, relationships, trauma, or emotional development.
But this cannot be the starting point. We should not approach a text of Chassidus and immediately process it through the language, assumptions, and values of modern psychology, as though these constitute the fundamental meaning of the text.
When appropriate, such an application can certainly be made, but only after we have first learned Chassidus as Chassidus.
Even then, however, we must be clear about what we are doing.
We are no longer defining the Chassidic concept itself. We are taking an idea from Chassidus and applying it outside its primary context. We are taking the pen and using it as a bookmark.
This approach allows us to accomplish both things. We preserve the emes of Chassidus, its definitions, language, priorities, and framework as received from the Rebbeim, while still allowing its profound truths to illuminate and even help heal the human experience.
How We Got Here
I don’t know this as a fact. But if I had to offer a theory for how we arrived at this point, I would suggest the following.
Unfortunately, there are people who have been through traumatic experiences and are dealing with very real nafshiyos’dike struggles. For some of these people, because of their sensitivity and fragility, there may be a genuine need to avoid focusing initially on concepts such as bittul and kabbalas ol.
It is not difficult to understand why. How do you speak to someone about bittul when their very sense of self is broken or severely compromised? How do you speak about kabbalas ol to someone whose life experience has associated submission and authority with an abusive or controlling figure?
For such a person, these concepts may not be productive at a particular stage. They may even be harmful. In such cases, it may be necessary to make an exception and to present certain ideas differently, in order to help the person heal and eventually become a keli for more.
If, for a particular individual, speaking about bittul in its traditional formulation is likely to trigger something destructive, perhaps it is appropriate, in that person’s case, to explain bittul in terms that first help restore a healthy sense of dignity and stability. But that is an exception.
Many of the scholars and thinkers at the forefront of what might be called the “New Chassidus” are deeply involved in working with people who are struggling with various forms of emotional and psychological distress. They are doing great work in this area and they deserve tremendous credit for that.
But it is certainly possible that there is a natural sampling effect at work.
Someone who spends much of his time working with people who are emotionally or psychologically struggling will, understandably, encounter a very high concentration of people for whom traditional formulations of bittul, kabbalas ol, iskafya, and similar concepts are difficult.
If almost every person one encounters struggles with these ideas, it can begin to feel as though the concepts themselves must be the problem. And perhaps, therefore, they need to be redefined for everyone for a “healthier” bittul, and a “healthier” kabbalas ol, and so forth.
But that conclusion does not necessarily follow. There are legitimate reasons why these concepts may be difficult for certain individuals. That does not mean that the concepts themselves have become inappropriate for the klal.
We do not need to change the fundamental language, definitions, and values of Chassidus wholesale, because there are individuals for whom a different approach is necessary.
As far as the klal is concerned, we need to remain faithful to the authentic language, definitions, and values we received from the Rebbeim.
Boruch Hashem, there are thousands of Yidden today who are perfectly capable of learning and practicing genuine Chassidus, as the Rebbeim taught it, in the same language and with the same values that our grandparents learned it, and in the same tradition that Chassidim have carried forward all the way back to the Alter Rebbe.
There is no need to reinvent Chassidus for the klal. And there is certainly no need to misapply it to the klal just because certain individuals require a different approach.
For those individuals, however, we should do everything necessary. If a person needs a different formulation, a different emphasis, or even a different path altogether in order to heal and eventually become a keli for Chassidus, that is important work. We should approach it with sensitivity, wisdom, and compassion. But it should remain what it is: an exception to the rule, not a redefinition of the rule.
As a klal, Chassidus is and must remain about Elokus, avodas Hashem, and bittul. It must never be allowed to become the latest psychological trends dressed up in Chassidic language.
COMMENTS
Agree with everything and hear your pained voice through this.
One important note is there is of mental sickness, where a person actually needs to see a doctor. You can’t solve serious mental health problems through avodah, while actual character trait refinment is a different matter.
So very true
Thank you for writing this up.
Incredible article—so pertinent, accurate, and clearly written by someone who truly ‘gets it.’ It speaks volumes about where we are today, the distortion of Chassidus, and its true purpose. I truly hope this inspires and enlightens a wide audience.
BH
Thank you for bringing up such an important discussion and taking the time to wrote this and share this so beautifully.
As I was reading I had a few questions.
Firsy, I was wondering how you understand the quote from the Rabbei’im כל ענין החסידות לשנות טבע מדותיו?
Second I was wondering, who is the appropriate person to identify the goal of Chassidus? should it be us, or should we seek by the one who wrote it what was his goal?
Third I was wondering,
Is it difficult to serve Hashem when you are depressed?
Is it difficult to serve Hashem when you were abused? with a broken sense of self?
So what did the Alter Rebbe mean when he said that the Tanya has ALL answers to ALL question to ALL difficulties in Avodas Hashem?
Thank you.
לשנות טבע מדותיו doesn’t mean to dwell on your own wills and be more of a yesh! It means to change your selfish habits and inclinations and elevate yourself to serve Hashem.
It’s incredible how something so simple and obvious can be misunderstood.
כל ענין החסידות לשנות טבע מדותיו means that even the very nature of the middos should be for hashem not just using your nature rather changing the very core of those feeling as explained in many places (mentioned in “koontris inyana” for example) a very deep idea
As a preface it must be clear that to even enter this conversation one must have learnt kuntres inyana shel torah hachassiduss properly. Most of your questions will be automatically answered after you have learnt the above well.
More specifically:
1)Leshonos teva midosov does NOT mean to change ones natural impulsive emotions but rather the general nature behind them which is the sense of “I” that stems from Nefesh Habehamis. (as is clear from the author of the article and as we see as a fact in life those who use chassiduss as a method of therapy etc have used chassiduss as a tool to enforce their sense of “I”. (I am not saying that therapy etc are not important but they should not be seen as anything more then going to the doctor of healing not as a sense alighment with Elokus in its literal sense) see the above mentioned kuntres.
2)see the above kuntres
3)Yes it is. the same way it hard to walk to shut on Shabbos because one has broken his leg. in such a case one does not learn tanya to heal him rather he goes to the doctor. So too one who is abused or the like needs to see professional help. What the Alter Rebbe means by the answer to ALL questions can maybe be understood that from within the lens of spiritual service and identifying the spiritual self and aligning oneself with it, the tanya answers all the questions. but as mentioned again this does not have what to do with a a mental health issue or traumas and the like.
Thank you for your questions I hope this was helpful. feel free to respond
Hard to take especially now that there are rabbis and maspiim that talk those ideas into chasidus…
Can you be a mashpia if you watch movies and talk during davening?
A mashpia is someone who lives by the ideals of Chassidus, not just a “popular speaker.”
Perhaps your comment has a certain ‘agenda’ – I’d like to address the talking during davening comment – perhaps others will read this and something good will come out of it. The talking in Chabad minyonim is terrible. Shmoozing during kaddish, hazoras hashatz etc – it’s out of control. Shmonah Esrei at the speed of light. It’s hard to bring a not yet religious Jew to these minyonim because, frankly it’s not an appropriate seviva for kedushah. I hope this year will bring improvements – and more shefa!
The opening paragraph is already contrary to truth told to us by the Frierdike Rebbe. Both Ovdim and Maskilim were deeply learned in Chasidus, and both worked on their middos and avodah. Only that the first approached learning Chasidus with an eye to Avodah, and the second through sechel.
You can’t be a chassidishe maskil of Chassidus if you don’t work on your avodas Hashem.
What exactly is the author labeling as problematic? Language? Can’t be that language is the problem, because the author himself uses language that’s different from his teachers.
Reinventing Chassidus? Why does the author teach a Tanya class if we already have the sefer Lessons in Tanya and many other shiurim? Apparently, the author has something NEW to contribute. So “Reinventing” is not the issue.
If there is a specific book, podcast, shiur, or stream of thought, come out and say it. Be specific. Be clear about why that thing is not ok. It should be as simple as: this shiur, this book or podcast does not add yiras shomayim and hiddur mitzva. It doesn’t need any long articles.
There is a completely different topic that has never been discussed here. And that is this: There are many many chassidim who learn a lot of chassidus and walk around with anger, frustration and negativity. They are not happy. Their limmud hachassidus doesn’t change their middos.
Many of these people LOVE when an article like this comes out, because now they could continue being “right.” After all, THEY don’t commit the terrible avlah of r”l degrading chassidus into real life.
But their learning of chassidus is nebach very limited. And the younger generation looks at them amd says, “No, thank you. You can have your Aibershter and your Rebbe all for yourself. Keep me out of it.”
So to everyone who is reading this, please keep making Chassidus real enough that it actually changes your middos, your habits, your moods, and your simcha. Keep learning until it gives you a happier marriage and a happier life. Because that’s what chassidus does for a growing number of chassidim.
Of course you should make Chassidus real. The problem is when it’s not Chassidus. They use words and terms from Chassidus but empty them from their meaning.
Dira Betachtonim doesn’t mean to indulge in gashmiyus; it means to use gashmiyus for Hashem. Avoda doesn’t mean self service; it means bringing Hashem into your self.
I went to Yeshiva had “great Mashpiem” which were geniuses in Chassidus but didn’t get it to put it mildly yeshiva a place to grow in one self ended up being a very text based dry competitive and selfish environment I actually listened to many podcasts and Shiurim during my years in Yeshiva and it was a breath of fresh air to actually hear someone who gets it and speaks ABC instead of the rigid molded Chassidus in yeshiva – which was interesting but not as much applicable
One of the favorite tools of the Nefesh HaBehamis is to make Yiddishkeit into a shita that helps it expand its ego by feeling better about itself and looking down on others. If our avoda isn’t helping us become more l’shma in all areas – meaning thinking less about ourself and more about Hashem and others – than it isn’t avodas Hashem – it’s the avoda zarah of ego worship that the author is acusing the New Age of. The answer is simple – EVERYTHING – can be highjacked by the Nefesh Habehamos. Chassidus can become just another tool used by the Satan to create pirud and klipa. The litmus test is simple: Ahavas Yisrael (perek 32). Is my avodah minimizing my selfish nature so that I can be more loving, patient, accepting, present, giving, selfless with myself, my family and others – or is it making me more nervous, angry, judgemental, impatient, and self-involved about my own “avoda?” And yes – although self-love can be an avodah zarah when it becomes the end-goal as in modern-psychology and New Age spirituality – it is essential in avodas Hashem; if I don’t recognize my own self worth as a Chelek Elokai Mimaal how can I begin to love others? The goal of Chassidus is to teach you to recognoize your won G-dly nature which in turn teaches you to see the G-dliness in others.
I dont remember the exact details perhaps someone knows. The story is that when askonim wanted to endow a “Chabad Mental Health Center ” in Vancouver Canada, the Rebbe’s answer was that he didn’t want the name of Chabad to be associated with mental illness.
Your comments inspired me to learn more chassidus. Lol just kidding …it actually makes me feel like the Rabbis don’t value healing and I need to find my answers elsewhere
Healing is important, but if you want a Chassidus healing, it has to be about connecting to Hashem.
If you want man made healing that comes from “self esteem” and other self-related ideas, you don’t need Chassidus.
You write:
“Don’t take Atik and Arich and explain why they are meaningful because they correspond to some psychological counterpart within a human being.
Make them meaningful by explaining the truth of what they actually are, and then explaining why knowing that truth can change a person’s life.”
I feel like this is living in la la land..
If you feel like this is something you can do, perhaps you should be investing in actually creating such content.
I’ve yet to find someone that can explain something like atik and arich – “the truth of what they are” – in a meaningful and practical way.
You claim this is what is needed.
I challenge you to practice what you preach!
Do it.
Maybe if there was actually a real alternative, if there was a way to have”genuine Chassidus applied”, that would speak for itself and this whole debate would be futile.
Call it “reapplied Chassidus” (you’re welcome;) )
The problem is, right now only one side is presenting meaningful applied Chassidus. Someone looking for practical meaningful Chassidus, has nowhere “genuine” to turn to.
If you can’t find an esrog, are you going to take a lemon? If it’s not Chassidus, then what are you gaining?
The real thing is always harder to get. We need to work harder (avoda) to make Chassidus real for us.
I love this idea.
Instead of bashing others who are doing it the “wrong way” , lets do it the right way.
Maybe anash.org can host a weekly show, where ideas of chassidus and avodah are discussed and explained and applied in the right and holy way.
People can send in questions or topics in chassidus that they have a hard time understanding or seeing the relevance of.
I think rabbi Kesselman would be a fantastic person to take on this project.
Anash can greatly benefit from such a project. anyone who has the ability to help get this going should please get on it. Best new year resolution possible.
excellent idea, i’d love that!
This is an intriguing idea.
Maybe there is something here.
Anyone that is serious about working on a project like this, can definitely reach out to me and I will be happy to try make something happen.
I would watch such a program with great interest!
Rabbis klien, forkash, paltiel, Kaufman, all sell real, text based chasdidus with mesora from mashpiyim of yesteryear. At the same time, literally life transforming. (Im talking from personal experience).
Thank you to the masterminds behind this, headed by rabbis Klein and paltiel. The answer to twisted chassidus, is to offer the real thing!
Thank you for this clarification! I’ve been thinking this for a while and you put my thoughts into context!
There’s also this new idea of Geulah and what it means. Something on the lines of doing less so your nervous system is happy and that’s Geulah. It’s such a misconception! Geulah is so much more than you taking a break for your nervous system! And there’s podcasts about mixing therapy or psychology based on Chassidus that is so twisted and off.
We need on this topic! What is actually the vision of the Rebbe and Chassidus! Ty!
I always knew I was a little “off”. None of the drugs or therapies or fads helped so I left them behind. I was taught hiskashrus, how to learn, and how to do the mitzvos and the ways of Chasidus. I had lots of misadventures , occasionally ejected but never rejected by Anash. After 50 years the psychologists found a diagnosis and a treatment for what ailed me. I am glad the Rebbe, including his Torah and his Chassidim, gave me the strength to get to this place of wisdom as an alter yungerman. Hinsdsight shows nothing else would have worked.
Great article.
But I think you missed a crucial point.
The issue with the new trends are not only they they make chassidus into psychology, its deeper.
They’ve turned the idea of mental wellness etc into an avoda zara.
why are we so hyper focused on it. I get it that people who need help should get help, but that was always the way it was. but since when do we make such an ikkar out of it. yidden live to serve hashem. that is our focus – how to be better yidden. you don’t need to spend your time over analyzing yourself and trying to find problems so that you can fit in to the new trend. if you feel emotionally unwell, please you should definitely seek help. if not, don’t make emotional well being an avoda zara. apply yourself to avodas hashem. that’s it.
“First and foremost, we need to understand the idea as it was intended. If the subject is something in Elokus: an olam, sefirah, partzuf, dargah in Keser, or any other concept in Seder Hishtalshelus, we must first understand what it actually means l’maalah.”
No, no and no! The subject is not Seder Hishtalshelus – it’s עוה”ז התחתון שאין תחתון למטה הימנו which it – and only it mirrors atzmus – while all of hishtalshelus is a medium only likareiv el havanah, while this world, and this world alone, with all its trauma be transformed into a dirah is what it is all about.
So speaking about and to the person, and how we lowly krutzei batei chomer are able to accomplish that what the enter Hishtalshelus is unable to accomplish is what is most crucial. That is both the haskalah and avodah of chassidus, how my yesh hanivrah can become one with yesh ha’amiti. The rest is the roadmap of the stops along the destination.
Of course the point is dira betachtonim, but a dira for whom?? Not me and my taivos, bur Hashem!
You will say “obviously,” but then you’re clearly unfamiliar with the new age movement of self-absorbed indulgence and “healing.” They might borrow Lashon Kodesh terms (“etzem hanefesh” etc.), but that doesn’t make it holy.
Do more research before you defend a cause you don’t agree with.
I enjoyed the article very much until I got to the section, “How we got here”. While at first the article asserted that Chassidus should be taught “authenticly”, in the last section I saw that the point was undermined entirely and aruged that for people struggling with “bittul”, “kabblos ol”, ect Chassidus may need to be taught in way which confirms to the struggle which a person is going through.
“New Age Chassidus” is so prevalent is because so many people have real issues. Chassidus became psycology because people need real help. The author acknowledges how “We got here” and I wonder why he even wrote the the first part of article in the first place. Until people have the support they need, Chassidus will continue to be taught and learnt as an aide to mental health. Nobody is aruging that chassidus must not be taught authenticly, but the the first part of the article is undermined by the last section once we understand, “How we got here.”
The main task in our community is to address addiction, trauma, depression, isolation, ect and not the symptom which is that Chassidus is not taught and learnt properly.
That’s pessimistic.
You honestly believe that society at large are all collectively so unwell that no one can learn and practice authentic Chassidus anymore.
This might be a case of seeing everything dark because you are wearing a dark pair of glasses.
I don’t think you are right. We as a collective are not all damaged. Sorry..not sure why this narrative is so prevailing.
It’s not a symptom. That’s the illness. Maybe the author wants to ask “why wasn’t it an illness before?” And the answer is because galus is much deeper and darker now. So what was enough light before is not brought down enough now.
If I may add. All the benefits of Chassidus in personal development and mental health etc only work if we focus on the contexts of what Chassidus is really teaching us. Otherwise everything is lost also the teachings of Chassidus and also the benefits.
It makes sense that it looks scary to see something different. Until we know whether it’s safe or not. I understand why the author has conniption and doubts about the results.
Perhaps one can say that what people are truly looking for is Geula. Enough waiting. The Rebbe cried about how each of us is in our own ‘personal’ and collective galus. Our job is to turn over the world. How?
We are each allocated our own Makom Hashlichus- our own inner world. Personal reality. And Chassidus actually explains Hashem Echod- that our personal realities are truly all interconnected. What people are doing is learning Chassidus to reveal Hashem Echod within their own MINDS (haskala) and HEARTS (Avoda)- and perhaps just as there are seven Rebbeim who taught and explained Chassidus- bringing it all the way down to dor hashvii, we are now tasked with turning over the world – completing that transformation.
So it looks different. Yes- we are building Chabad houses not just on the outside- in our minds and hearts. Places where our physical reality, emotional reality, and desire to connect to with Hashem can all find a home in this world. One with Hashem. It’s going to happen. We’ll get there.
I agree that it looks especially scary when people who are stuck in ‘inner galus’ which is at war with Hashem use such language. Or try to ‘moderate halacha’ ch”v. Yes, it’s a really scary war. But see the pain. And then look through that pain and see the neshama trapped behind that pain. Teach some Chassidus- the Oneness of Hashem that they are a part of and that is also within them (perhaps through embodying it, not saying it’s Chassidus). With Hashem’s help the pain will fall away. And when it is translated into a palpable and I acted love for Hashem, Torah, Mitzvos, and Ahavas Yisroel, you will know that Hashem Echod- yes, in the human psyche too.
I think it’s important to highlight even after all this, that the FR writes and its quoted in Hayom Yom, that leading a life of Torah, mitzvos and chassidus, leads one to the best and happiest life possible in the most literal and palpable sense.
I think that at least implies that if you learn chassidus, and are “osek in avodah,” and you are a miserable, or emotionally clogged person, you are doing something wrong…
So while chassidus itself isn’t that — chassidus is certainly supposed to lead to that… !
And if it doesn’t, there’s a problem, and perhaps some concepts are indeed not being applied or internalized as the Rebbeim meant them, or being misunderstood and applied by shvere menchen…
Maybe that’s the source of the problem…
Don’t merely defend the sea. Don’t merely condemn the sea. Become a lamplighter.
Go far enough into the person’s actual reality that you can reach the neshamah there—and bring the light of Chassidus into that place.
I think the article’s central premise is simply wrong.
It keeps saying, “Of course emotional health matters, of course relationships matter, of course therapy can help,” and then quietly places all of that outside the main field of Avodas Hashem, as if it is supportive infrastructure around the real thing.
That is the error.
If a man is destroying his marriage, cannot hear his children, is ruled by fear, anger, shame, ego, or emotional dishonesty, then those are not side issues while his “real” Avodas Hashem happens in the beis medrash. Very often, that is exactly where his Avodas Hashem is failing.
And if he goes to therapy, works on himself honestly, learns how to stop hurting people, becomes capable of love, responsibility, humility, and truth, that is not merely repairing the tool so he can later return to serving Hashem. That can itself be serving Hashem.
The article tries to protect Chassidus by drawing a border between “real avodah” and the human being doing it. But Chassidus exists to destroy that border.
בכל דרכיך דעהו does not mean: live your ordinary life, fix yourself, and then use the improved version of yourself for God.
It means the ordinary derech itself becomes דעהו.
That is why the article’s repeated reassurance that psychological work is “important” does not solve the problem. The issue is not whether it is important. The issue is whether it belongs inside Avodas Hashem or outside it. The article keeps placing it outside, then granting it permission to help.
That is a fundamentally broken map.
The same mistake appears in the alarm over the popularity of teachers who speak about marriage, anxiety, relationships, emotional health, and inner life. The fact that huge numbers of Jews are drawn to that language is not proof that Chassidus has been corrupted. It may be proof that this is exactly where a large part of the generation’s Avodas Hashem currently is.
The author sees the size of the audience and concludes the message has become too dominant.
I see the size of the audience and conclude the need is widespread.
A generation does not need the same emphasis at every moment. Leadership means recognizing where people actually are and showing them how to serve Hashem there.
The article is right about one thing: psychology must not redefine Torah.
But then it commits the opposite mistake. It lets a narrow religious definition of Avodas Hashem redefine which parts of a person’s life count as serving God.
That is not protecting Chassidus.
That is shrinking it.
You’re mixing up two things. Being more patient and loving is very important for avodas Hashem, but that doesn’t make it “Chassidus.” A healthy goy and l’havdil a upstanding baal mussar also works on his character (a goy for selfish motives, and a true baal mussar lsheim Shamayim).
Chassidus means that it’s expression of a G-dly feeling and awareness. If it’s not that, then it might be good and important, but it’s not Chassidus. (If it’s for self benefit and quality of life, then it’s not even avodas Hashem.)
The Rebbe has made it clear on many occasions that the basic reason Yidden become far from HaShem and do not grow in Torah and Mitzvos is not because of false ideas and philosophies that lead to distorted emotions. Those problems belong to generations that are no longer among the living. The prescription for mental health is simply not to be זולל וסבא.
At some point in the very recent past, a shidduch was made between Chassidus and psychology. The bond has since become so strong, that people now are no longer able to see how the 2 have only recently been merged.
But unfortunately, some people are no longer able to appreciate that the 2 disciplines are inherently different genres.
Yes, it’s possible to blend them, but the relationship is not essential. It’s not definitive.
My point is in no way to minimize mental health and menchlechkeit and having solid relationships etc.
My point is to remind everyone that Chassidus is not mental health.
Chassidus is a path of avodas Hashem.
Can you marry the two together? Yes.
But the identity of one, is not the other.
We still have to be able to see them apart.
We still have to be able to see Chassidus for what it essentially was and always will be before it was made to marry modern psychology.
What is mental health?
To me, as a Yid, mental health means having a healthy way of thinking.
Healthy thinking is a way of thinking that is guided by awareness of Hashem.
Healthy thinking naturally leads to good middos, treating others kindly and respectfully, not being controlled or limited by our past or by other people and living with real simcha every day.
Chassidus is the only thing that gives us this kind of mental health. Not ONE of the things. It is the only thing.
Why are you insisting on saying that chassidus is not related to mental health?
If a person learns chassidus and it does nothing for their mental health– it does not contribute to a healthier way of thinking and a happier life — did they even learn chassidus?
How could learning about Hashem be called learning if it doesn’t change the way we think? If it doesnt change how we feel and how we live?
There are people who have different definitions of mental health, unrelated to Hashem. They go to therapy, which is based on secular ideology. Then they project those secular ideas onto chassidus and say, “wow, this modality is mammish the Tanya.”
That is a disgrace to the Tanya.
But to say that Tanya and true mental health are separate?!
Respectfully, that also feels like a disgrace to the Tanya.
Thank you!!! Why I really like Rabbi Y Paltiel for keeping Chassidus Chassidus and it’s still meaningful.
The focus of Chassidus is on HASHEM.
The focus of psychology & mental health is on the SELF.
The problem is the self that’s outside/separate from Hashem. Real self (that’s described in chassidus, for ex in sichois about Moshe rabbeinu being the humblest person, har Sinai the smallest mountain etc), real self is a neshoma, a feeling of a chelek eloka mamesh inside of a person, and a real bitul is acting (and also thinking, speaking) in a way that that real G-dly self is shining through every lvl of your being. I’m not sure which modalities the author is speaking of, but I see some teachers and mashpiim that help people (from very different backgrounds) learn chassidus in a way and language that helps them not only be happier/have more inner peace, Simcha, have better relationships and etc but also keep Halacha better, grow in Torah and mitzvois and Ahavas Yisroel and live aligned with Hashem’s reality with every part of their inner world and body, if that’s not what veshochanti besoicham, then what is?
The barometer needs to be more of conscious relationship with Hashem, life that’s more aligned with shulchan oruch, more kedusha and more simcha and I’m sure there are things out there that are distorted but there are those that are wonderful and achieve real tangible results in bringing people (including anash) closer to Hashem.
Separating chassidus from inner wiring of a yid, their thoughts and emotions is what makes people feel like its irrelevant to them. Tanya speaks to every yid in every situation and is the go-to for everything in Avodas Hashem (which is every thought speech and action, b’chol deracheho daeu). I like the book Letters for Life for Rebbe letters addressing inner world and my Awesome self about living more in tune with Hashem’s reality.
People don’t buy anymore ‘im a groise chossid and speak lots of loshon horo/politics ’, I’m a known lecturer and get triggered at my children, I value rushnius-and quietly super gelous of those who can afford more than me etc etc etc. Chassidus is whichever form it is learned has to transform us and help us grow and people are looking for that
Rabbi Kesselman raises a legitimate concern: Chassidus must not be reduced to mere psychology, self-help, therapeutic language, or personal development. Its center is Elokus, bittul, and Avodas Hashem. On that point, there should be little disagreement.
But the essay repeatedly assumes what it needs to prove: that translating Chassidic ideas into contemporary psychological or universal language necessarily alters their meaning, displaces Avodas Hashem, or turns Chassidus into something else. That does not follow.
There is a crucial distinction between alteration and translation. A teacher who takes bittul, kabbalas ol, simchah, hisbonenus, or even concepts such as Keser, Atik and Arich, and explains them in language accessible to people who did not grow up immersed in Chabad vocabulary is not necessarily redefining Chassidus. He may simply be doing what every good teacher must do: building a bridge from the conceptual world the student presently inhabits to the one the teacher wants him to understand.
A bridge is not the destination. But without a bridge, many people will never reach the destination at all.
The question, therefore, is not whether Chassidus may be expressed in contemporary language. The question is whether that language preserves the original Chassidic claim, keeps Elokus and Avodas Hashem as the governing nimshal and ultimate focus, uses analogy as analogy rather than identity, and keeps the student oriented toward the sources and avodah from which the teaching derives.
Indeed, the article itself acknowledges that Tanya contains profound insight into human psychology, emotions, motivation, self-perception, inner conflict, thought patterns, behavior and the human condition, and that genuine Avodas Hashem may result in emotional healing. Those concessions make it difficult to treat psychological intelligibility itself as evidence that a teaching has ceased to be Chassidus. Avodah does not occur outside the human psyche. It engages and transforms the human being through his seichel, middos, motivations, habits, desires and emotional life.
Bad translations should certainly be criticized. A translation can import foreign assumptions, flatten distinctions, or even reverse meanings. But the possibility of bad translation does not make translation itself illegitimate.
This is also where I think the essay needs more evidence. It charges contemporary teachers with “wholesale reinterpretation,” reversing mashal and nimshal, redefining bittul, and processing Chassidus through modern psychology until it becomes something else. Those are serious claims. But the essay provides few concrete examples showing which teachings actually do this and precisely how the Chassidic concept has been altered. If such examples exist, they should be identified and evaluated. Terminology alone is not evidence of conceptual substitution.
There is also an important Chassidic principle at stake. In explaining yafutzu ma’ayanosecha chutza, the Rebbe quotes the Rebbe Rashab that before Chassidus, “not every Jew was able to grasp Elokus,” whereas “the achievement of Chassidus is that it enables every Jew to understand a Divine concept and grasp it thoroughly.”
The wellsprings must remain the wellsprings. But they must also reach the outside. The Rebbe’s metaphor of spring water captures both requirements: the water may travel far from its source and remain mei ma’ayan so long as its connection to that source remains uninterrupted. The danger is not distance. It is disconnection.
If Chassidus can be taught only in the language of those already initiated into Chassidic learning, how is the outsider ever supposed to enter?
The answer to distorted application is not to treat contemporary application as presumptively suspect. It is Chassidus properly applied. The answer to distortion is not refusal to translate. It is faithful translation.
Preserve the ma’ayan — and bring it to the chutza.
For a fuller discussion of this critique, including the sources underlying these points, I have posted my complete response here: “Translation, Not Alteration: A Response to ‘Chassidus Misapplied’”
https://isaacwiner.substack.com/p/translation-not-alteration-a-response
Is it accurate to say that a person’s humanity needs to be uplifted through Elokus- and therefore, Chassidus should be used to influence and uplift the whole person, including his complex psychological parts?