In honor of Lag Ba’omer, Mattan Torah for pnimiyus hatorah, Conversations in Chassidus is excited to release a special episode with world-renowned mashpia, Rabbi Yossi Paltiel.

In this groundbreaking interview, Rabbi Paltiel speaks of the proper way to approach Chassidus. Rather than coming with an urge to personalize or innovate, you must first focus on just understanding exactly what the Rebbe meant.

“What I try to do… is to get into the Rebbe’s head. I am not trying to use my imagination. I’m not trying to be creative. I want to know what the Rebbe was thinking when he wrote a particular maamar… When we decide to be creative in Chassidus, we’re stealing from ourselves the little bit of integrity that we could have.”

Addressing the topic of Chassidus and therapy, Rabbi Paltiel warns that while mental illness requires medical intervention, there is a growing movement in which therapy is not just a means of healing, but an identity.

“There is this movement… who see psychology almost as a lifestyle… a person who makes psychology into a way of seeing yourself is saying, ‘I am forever sick.’”

Rabbi Paltiel voices a broader critique of the growing obsession with “self-healing.” Contemporary culture encourages people to analyze every feeling and revisit every discomfort, which can easily become a lifelong fixation.

“There is this movement of people, particularly young people, who see psychology almost as a lifestyle. And to be very blunt, a person who makes psychology into a way of seeing yourself is saying, ‘I am forever sick.’

“When psychology becomes a way of life, it means I wake up every day thinking about myself – analyzing myself, protecting myself. You think you’re defending yourself, but you’re actually building a small castle, and it’s a prison. And you don’t even realize what you’re doing to yourself.

The Rebbe’s approach, on the other hand, which can sound very demanding, is actually the healthiest approach.

“Get out of yourself! The greatest thing you can do for yourself is to help someone else. You’ll heal. The more you give, the more you live a positive life, the more healing happens naturally.”

Conversations in Chassidus Episode 11, with Rabbi Yossi Paltiel. Get the inside scoop on Chassidus!

Watch it on YouTube, Spotify or 24Six.

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