Rabbi Shmuel Wagner

Chassidus Explained

Religion EN ↓ 132 episodes

Chassidus that speaks your Language! Enjoy a weekly Shiur on a Maamar of Chassidus, with a focus on clarity and practical application. Some will be one-week Maamarim, while others will continue over three or four weeks, but each Shiur will contain in it a clear, complete, and concrete lesson, culling from the truth of Chassidus and carrying into our modern-day lives. Invigorate your week with a fresh infusion of Chassidus energy!

Author

Rabbi Shmuel Wagner

Episodes

Yom Asher Asah Hashem Lanu 5725 11.12.2022 52:24

In this 1-week מאמר, the רבי uncovers what is at the core of the celebration of י"ט כסלו, what caused it to happen, and the lesson we can all learn from it. The מאמר is based on the well-known letter of the אלטער רבי to ר' לוי יצחק of Berditchev, wherein the אלטער רבי describes his liberation of י"ט כסלו.The רבי analyzes the אלטער רבי's choice of words in recording the date upon which the salvatio...

Padah Beshalom 5739 part 3/3 (Se'if 5-8) 06.12.2022 53:41

We wrap up the מאמר by applying the three stages of נר"ן, חיה, יחידה to our day-to-day lives, thus answering the question from the beginning of the מאמר; how "פדה" and "שלום" can coexist. We first see how these three stages of war and peace existed in the lives of דוד and שלמה, giving us the three terms of "התלבשות", then "התגברות", and "מנוחה בעצם". In our day-to-day lives, these correspond to do...

Padah Beshalom 5739 part 2/3 (Se'if 3-4) 27.11.2022 52:03

We continue to describe the love of Hashem taking place during Davening and specifically during שמע. While "בכל לבבך" definitely deals head-on with the enemy, "בכל נפשך" is not either a true expression of peace, being that the enemy still exists, albeit subdued. True peace, as defined by the non-existence of the enemy, only happens in the world of "בכל מאדך", the world of יחידה, as it is nothing b...

Padah Beshalom 5739 part 1/3 (Se'if 1-3) 27.11.2022 56:40

Beginning the מאמר, the רבי points out the paradox of "פדה" and "שלום", and highlights the extreme opposites found in the two words. The topic of the מאמר is then introduced: identifying the "peace" and "war" within oneself that takes place during Davening. Loving Hashem takes on three stages. In this שיעור, we focus on the contrast between the first two: a logical debate - "war" - between the two...

VaHashem Amar 5737 part 3/3 (Se'if 5-6) 06.11.2022 1:13:26

We finish our מאמר with two different explanations of what we accomplish by doing מצות: 1) Completing Hashem's trip into our world, revealing levels connected to Hashem's journey, 2) touching Hashem's very essence, the Quintessential Concealment, through dealing with our own personal concealment. The רבי beautifully connects these two explanations to the two מאמרים of the רבי רש"ב on פרשת וירא in...

VaHashem Amar 5737 part 2/3 (Se'if 4-5) 31.10.2022 50:38

Building on the explanation of why מצות are called "Hashem's way", the רבי רש"ב emphasizes that Interstate 613 must be a two-way street. Hashem sends down תורה, and we send back our מצות. This happens when our מצות are done, not out of rote, but with self-scrutinization and pushing oneself past the comfort zone. Why is it so important that we mirror back Hashem's Light through our מצות? The first...

VaHashem Amar 5737 part 1/3 (Se'if 1-3) 23.10.2022 50:32

Welcome! In our מאמר, the רבי analyzes the differences between two מאמרים of פרשת וירא, from the years 5666 and 5667 (1905 and 1906). Although they are part of the same המשך (series) of מאמרים, they explain the פסוקים of "וה' אמר" from this week's פרשה differently. The רבי explains the concept of מצות being "Hashem's way", by way (pun intended) of an analogy: just as a physical road connects dista...