Chabad Philosophy
By zevi770 · July 6, 2012
What is Chabad?
Chabad, is it an outreach movement?
Is Chabad a religion?
Is Chabad a subdivision of a religion?
One thing is for sure, Chabad has a philosophy.
Chabad philosophy has many many components, but it cannot be divorced from Jewish philosophy.
So included in Chabad philosophy is Jewish philosophy.
- There is a God
- God created the world
- Everything the Bible says is true
- There is a deeper layer to the Bible called Chassidus, or pnyimus hatorah, the inside of the Torah
- Pnyimus hatorah begins in the Zohar, the primary book of Kabbalah
- It expands through the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov
- It is clarified through the Alter Rebbe in the Tanya
- It reaches its zenith in the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
- According to Tanya:
- 1. Everything really is God
2. God’s energy is the source of everything and continually reenergizes (like electricity flowing) everything
3. To repent, just say I am sorry for…, feel bad for the past, and resolve better for the future
4. Man is a composite of two souls, good and bad.
5. Man’s challenge is to generate enough love and awe of God, to adhere to God’s biblical commandments in thought, speech and action
6. Man can control what he thinks about, what he says, and what he does
7. Man cannot control his desires
8. God receives joy when man does not fulfill his negative desires
- The Lubavitcher Rebbe emphasizes:
- Moshiach is coming now!
- We need to be prepared (spiritually) for Moshiach
- We prepare for Moshiach through adding in Torah and mitzvos, goodness and kindness!