ChabadLife.TV Street Farbrengen

What is your  framework  which contributes to  your approach to Chassidus? Is Chassidus a system of thought? Is Chassidus the system for personal transformation ? Perhaps it’s the key to being a member of your particular clan? This week”s episode of Street Farbrengen concludes Chassidus is an invitation to “meet G-d”

" That year, during Tishrei, the Rebbe was extremely joyful. He mentioned to the chassidim who were close to him that he had not yet made a seudas hoda'a for his geula, as one is obligated to do, al pi halachah. From this, they understood that the coming Yud-Tes Kislev would be something out of the ordinary.” What do I learn and use as a guide that the Alter Rebbe waited one full year to...

One generation comes and another goes. Do the expectations to be considered a chassid from one Rebbe to the next stay the same (and get increased) or is the slate wiped clean?  Reuven and Zecharia ask if the desire of the Mittler Rebbe’s stated request that he have Chassidim who when they meet will speak about Yichudah Ilaah and Yichudah Tataah (Upper and Lower Unity) is something as a relic or wh...

Is there any practical relevance to having unlimited potential when it seems that nobody has attained it? (How much do we ask  about the  relevance of Chassidus?)   Zacharia and Reuven delve into the extremely high expectations of accessing the infinite. Or are we just wasting our time?

Picking up where we  left off last Farbrengen, we  continue about living with extremes both within and on the outside . Does cancel culture apply when one side wants to sweep the other under the rug? Or is it time for them to learn how to coexist? The answer is with the one who decides......

How do you deal with the stark reality of war while miles away from the rockets and the fighting?  Do you seek  ways to explain the evils with Torah sources Moshiach mentions or Prophecy predictions? When you find them, do you feel better? Zacharia and Reuven dive into the emotional sides of "theology and reality".

The military runs “ a post mortem” report on military operations performed in battle . In this week of Ki Tetzei - when you go to battle- Reuven and Zacharia review some thoughts and feelings about  the three weeks. The focus is on breaking walls and making walls. Sometimes you just need to want to go to war!

Chassidus focuses extensively on the  emotions: How does mind interact with emotions, what is the source of mind and heart? What sort of emotional response is there in the mind itself and because of the mind? At the base of it all,  emotions have a major role in spiritual work and perhaps are the driving force of the work. Too often  the spotlight shines on ridding oneself of the  negative side of...

The hallmark of Matan Torah is the stance the nation chose na'ase v'nishma . As I prepare for Shavuous this year, in what way do I reignite “we will act and then understand”? And how do I understand the Baal Shem Tov's love of “a posheter” yid - simple can still be quite sophisticated!

The 28 Nissan Bike Ride Do you remember learning to ride a bicycle, when your coach/trainer let go of his or her grip on the seat?  " I am solo!" When you realized you are on your own, what did you do?  How did you feel? Scared?   Exhilarated?  Did you fall? Zacharia and Reuven dive into the generations' most important bicycle ride: 28 Nissan and we are up and riding.

Countless teachings of an unprecedented style and amount. Correspondence through letters are in the hundreds of thousands. Hours of private audience with people from all walks of life, Jewish and not. He even answers millions of people until today! Rabbi Adin Steinsalz once remarked that “the most remarkable thing about the (Lubavitcher) Rebbe - was his enormous drive. To always supercede oneself,...

What’s the process here? How is it that every year I feel like the last? What am I missing here? Can Pesach be more than a Jewish thanksgiving for an ancestral exodus? Reuven and Zacharia discuss Egypt, eating Cake, and Geulah in America...

Do you ever run your life like there is a mountain over your head?  Habits become the driver and routine becomes your chariot?  Zecharia want to know what's on Reuven's mind. "Purim", suggests Reuven, "is all about personal choice. Do I feel like I am choosing my life or do I go along with the flow?"

The essence of all Chassidic Red Letter Calendar dates is Rebbe and Chassidus. The two are united, as the Rebbe once said:  the spokesperson for Chabad is the Maamar.   Chassidus is life, not simply a theological or political platform of sorts. In this episode Zacharia and Reuven grapple with how to approach Chassidus as consciousness and not just information.

How do you define being a chassid? Is a chassid defined by who the Rebbe is or who he or she is? Sounds like a strange question. In truth it's important to know how you understand who you are in order to clarify who the Rebbe is! Reuven and Zacharia dive into the bitul of a Chassid in our generation as we come close to Yud Shevat. 

Hei Teves is a “red letter” date on the Chabad calendar. Its significance at the time was enormous. Many years later is its celebration simply adding to your personal library? Zechariah explains his unique understanding of what the day truly means for him and the rest of us. His opinion is a surprise, as is his custom:   “Hei Teves is not about the Rebbe!!!"

Reuvan and Zechariah are challenged to continue the conversation. Joined by Moshe Friedman who answers the question, "what do I do when negative emotions try to disconnect me from my relationship to G-d? What place do my emotions have in serving G-d and how far can we extend it?" Where is my safe space?

This week Zacharia and Reuven are with Dovid Losh, Moshpia at Achi Tmimim. How can we, as a moshpia, a parent, a friend, sit across the table without judgement and help each other move forward in life?  At what point do we stop numbing out our lives and finally say (yell, cry, scream) "I want to change!"

Zacharia and Reuven are with Eli Erenthal, Director Of Operations Director Of Operations of Our Village - Sober Living. "What needs to be done" explains Eli, "is creating a safe non-confrontational space for each other, a Community which  supports and nurtures."  Can a farbrengen fulfill the instructions of the Previous Rebbe “But this reproving at a farbrengen is only for such...

The cultural waves of interest and participation with , psychedelics, legal marijuana, and the long time acceptance of alcohol,  is now part of the Jewish religious culture in general and Chabad specifically. What fuels the increased use of mind altering substances in the community? What is found in psychedelics which cannot be experienced in Jewish and Chassidic life? Join Zecharia and Reuven in...

Reuven reaches the Big 65. He struggles with his Time Line. So many different decades all with their own color and hue. How do you incorporate your past with the present and the future? How do you connect the folly of youth with the maturity of your later years? Is it futile to live young, when as the great musical poet Leonard Cohen writes " my hair is gray and I ache in all the places I use...

Can you  evaluate performance and success without a  standard  to compare to? Can you be accountable without a system to do so?  Street Farbrengen invites you to join Zecharia and Reuven to join Street Farbrengen's Whats APP program Three 4  83 . Dedicated to support  develop  strategies and accountability for your  most successful year possible Three 4  83 i s a group of likeminded friends w...

We take an honest look at Elul/Tishrei Season. Why will this year be  different than what I did last year? Can we control the outcome better than ever?  Reuven and Zacharia grapple with  what to do to make this year's New Year season have more impact than ever. They both commit to planning  for the next year. You are invited  to join in. A Kasiva Vchasima Tova!

Zacharia and Reuven continue the discussion on Chesbon Hanefesh - evaluating who you really are is  a behavior check list or something different?  Who are we anyway? Does my behavior define who I am?  What if what I am doing on a regular basis is not who I really feel to be?  Is finding my  true identity a " Mission Impossible".

It is Zacharia’s birthday!  This means its time for a farbrengen. It is time to make decisions, soul level decisions for the next year. Time for making accounts, ‘ taking inventory’ on where you are at, and where you wish to be this upcoming year. Reuven and Zacharia take an inward dive into “ why am I here” and 'what will I now do? ‘ in real time, as Zacharia works on a birthday cheshbon han...