All is God and God is All

A guest at my Shabbos table told us of a religious Jewish professor who sat next to him on a flight from Israel. This Jew began philosophizing about the powers of God. He engaged questions such as, "What could God do and what could He not do", or "Where could God be and where can He not be". Our young Chassid guest said he wanted to jump out of his skull but hung on tightly to his seat, shuddering all the while, to let this man unload his nonsense before answering him.

Are God and the universe two separate things? The answer is a resounding and definite "No!". Most Gentiles (except for Noahides) and even some religious Jews, such as our professor, still make this mistake.

When Torah tells us God created the universe, this universe is real insofar as it becomes our frame of reference, for such is as we can make it out to be, but to believe it is actually apart from its Creator -- is heresy!

One of our opening daily prayers reads "אדון עולם". An incorrect interpretation of these words would be "Master of the universe". For that, proper Hebrew would read, "אדון העולם". The correct interpretation is "Master - universe", or "Master [is the] universe".

God, as it were, attires Himself for us to see as the universe. One is not separated from the other. We must understand, despite our perceptions, "I God do not change." (Malachi 3:6).

Anecdote: A Chassid applied for the position of a rabbi in a town full of Misnagdim. During his interview with the electing committee he was asked, "What's the difference between Chassidim and Misnagdim?" He said, "Misnagdim always think about God; Chassidim always think of themselves."

His answer appealed to the committee and they proudly hired him. Later one of the committee members approached the new rabbi and asked, "What did you mean?"

The Chassid explained: Chassidim know for sure nothing in the world exists but God. Therefore this leaves them always thinking "So am I real, or am I not real?" - thus they always are thinking of themselves. Misnagdim, on the other hand, feel certain they themselves are real, so perforce they keep asking themselves, "So is God also real as me, or maybe not?" - thus always thinking of God.

Two realities exist, one higher than the other. There is the absolute reality of God, which comprises the core of Jewish belief.

Then there is a relative reality, that which we humans sense and interact with. But while this second reality is our 4-dimensional frame of reference in which we operate, we know this reality is subordinate to the absolute reality that is God; Except that we, as mere products of God, can never really fathom the real truth of Our Creator. Any time God wishes, He can simply turn the entire universe "off".

In the middle of our prayers too we say, "אפס בלתך" - "There is nothing but You!";
"גדלו וטובו מלא עולם" - "His greatness and goodness fill the universe";
"מלא כל הארץ כבודו" - - "The entire world if filled with His glory";
and, of course, "שמע ישראל ד‫'‬ אלקנו ד‫'‬ אחד" - "Understand Israel God our Lord that God is One". This last statement means that everything is God and God is everything.

We conclude every daily prayer during עלינו לשבח with this quote from Torah (Deut. 4:39), "God is in the heavens above and on the earth and below - there is nothing else!".

(For those who understand Hebrew, this 1-minute video illustrates the Chassidic concept that despite the differences we ourselves see, God remains unchanged.)

The Chassid-Misnagid Barrier is Melting

What differentiates a "Misnagid" from a "Chassid"?

Both Jews can be G-d-fearing, careful in observing even the minute requirements of law. Both can sit and learn Torah day and night. And both can open their hearts to do good deeds and charity. If so, at what point do their paths diverge?

The answer relates to what King Solomon said (Koheles 3, 11), "He [G-d] made everything perfect for its times...". That is, whatever G-d reveals, He reveals at its appropriate moment in history.

For example, no raw material we have today went missing in the times of our forefather Abraham. Had he been privy to technological knowhow we have today, he too could have built a motor car. But G-d did not reveal this knowledge then. He preferred, for His own reasons, people then commute by camels and mules.

Similarly with all sorts of knowledge. Each has its own time and place for discovery and application.

The 6 sets of Mishna appeared during the era of the Tana'im. Why? Because their predecessors had no need for them. Two hundred years later, the Bavli and Yerushalmi Gemoras came into existence - something the earlier Tana'im initimately understood and had no need for in print. But once this knowledge surfaced as literature, no man could claim he knew as much as his predecessors without availing himself to Mishna or Gemora. For surely, were one to study this way, he'd be left wanting or lacking something he'd otherwise never know.

Similarly with Chassidus. Until 1732, when it was publicly first revealed, those who learned Torah missed nothing in the course of their studies. But those who came thereafter, no matter what aspect of Torah they would study without this new light, would overlook the important Chassidic contribution.

Chassidus is where the Chassid and Misnagid part their ways. The Misnagid rejects this new revelation. He prefers to remain in the same place as his predecessors; Just as they did without Chassidus, he too, he asserts, can delve into all aspects of Torah without Chassidus. Why should he go on a foray on a path his forefathers never took?

But here is his mistake. He does not realize he is missing what his predecessors did not miss.

There's another issue to be reckoned with. As sure as a body needs a head to function, so too the Jewish people require a Moses to be at the helm in every generation. There is no Jewish people without a head. And every Jewish leader has a unique agenda to fulfil, which may well be quite different from that of his predecessor (See Rashi, Deut. 31, 7). Chassidus intimately understands the concept of a "Moses in every generation", although the Misnagid may not appreciate it. By fixating in the past, he spurns the directives of the leaders of current generations, as well as the Torah light they divulge.

Originally, Misnagdim had good reason to reject Chassidus (although their hostile behavior was unwarranted). They suspected Chassidus diverted Judaism towards false illusions, such as did the sordid Shabtai Tzvi affair. But today they certainly can have no such suspicion. If anything, those who keep Judaism as it should be, like not shaving, like drinking milk and bread from Jewish producers, like donning Rabbeinu Tam tefillin - are Chassidim. So they have no good reason today to bear antagonism to Chassidus.

So, in a sentence, why did Chassidus arise in recent history? To shine a new light into the world - to elevate it, to remove the anti-Messianic trance it was in, so as to permit the Jewish people to usher in Moshiach's soon-to-be-revealed new utopic era. From what I see about me, it seems even non-Chassidim sound more and more like Chassidim because Moshiach's imminent arrival seems to be anticipated also by them. We have to greet Moshiach as one, close family.