Sublime

The homiletical genius of the Rebbe, a quality familiar in diverse masters, consisted of his ability to meet the moment always, to offer a genuine replication, an utterance both derivative and innovative. The reverberation, therefore, cannot simply be passed over.

In private encounters and public addresses,410 the Rebbe emphasized that only through countering default cynicism and actively embracing educated optimism can we see the true import of our lives and move toward reaching our highest potential.

exponents of Lubavitch lore—in line with other Ḥasidic masters who trace their way of thinking to the Beshṭ—have repeatedly stressed that all of reality is infused with divine light, and that the telos of human existence, which is fulfilled most perfectly in the rituals of the Jewish people, is to liberate these holy sparks from their encasement in

The sixth Rebbe deduced from this principle that Israel ben Eliezer (1698–1760), the Ba‘al Shem Ṭov, “master of a good name,” generally abbreviated as the Beshṭ, should be considered the “Moses of Ḥasidism” and Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the “Moses of Ḥabad.”

When you judge someone favorably, the Hasidic master Rebbe Nahman of Bratzlav (1772–1810) teaches, you elevate them and bring out the best that they are capable of being.

The main goal of a Jew is to serve God with simplicity and without any sophistication (Likutey Moharan II, 19).