Chabad Chassidus contains an enormous body of teaching devoted to one basic goal:

Helping a person notice the deeper patterns in Torah, creation, emotions, relationships, and the human personality.

As those patterns become clearer, belief can become daas — not only knowing that the Creator exists, but feeling that knowledge as part of the reality your mind and nervous system live inside.

That felt knowing can deepen trust.

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Why does Chabad place so much importance on understanding?

This is one reason Chabad places so much importance on understanding.

The mind acts like a bridge between what the Creator gives and what the emotions are able to feel.

You notice patterns of wisdom, goodness, meaning, and purpose.

You think about them deeply.

And over time, those ideas can become emotionally real.

That is where awe begins.

What does awe feel like?

Awe is the felt awareness:

“I am living before the Infinite Creator right now.”

It contains wonder, because His wisdom and the depth of reality are far beyond what you can fully understand.

It contains humility, because you are not the Source, you do not see the whole story, and reality is not under your control.

And it contains healthy fear, because your choices matter.

Then appreciation can deepen both awe and love.

That intimacy can contain joy because some of His goodness is already revealed, and sadness because you want more of that goodness and closeness to be revealed.

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Why can avoiding challenging ideas become a spiritual problem?

This is also why avoiding ideas that challenge your personality can become a spiritual problem.

Psalm 36 describes a person who “fails to reason, to improve.”

Rabbi DovBer of Mezritch explains that the ego does not always tell a person to stop studying Torah.

Sometimes it is comfortable with Torah study as long as the study never forces the person to change.

The Meiri makes a related point:

A person can become so attached to a mistaken way of thinking that they no longer want to study ideas that could change how they live.

That is a serious danger.

A person can know enormous amounts of Torah while still avoiding the parts of Torah that would challenge fear, shame, control, pride, emotional numbness, or unhealthy beliefs about the Creator.

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Why was Chabad Chassidus developed?

Chabad Chassidus was developed in large part to make deep ideas about the Creator understandable enough that they can change how a person thinks, feels, prays, relates, and lives.

How many pages of Chabad Chassidus are published?

Its published teachings fill well over 100,000 pages.

More than 70,000 published pages come from the Lubavitcher Rebbe alone, and there is still additional Chabad Chassidus that has not yet been published.

This is not a small side collection of Torah ideas.

It is a massive system for helping belief become understanding, understanding become felt awareness, and felt awareness become awe, trust, love, and action.

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What did Rav Shach’s opposition to Chabad lead to?

I believe Rav Shach’s opposition to Chabad helped lead more than 100,000 Orthodox Jews to distrust Chabad Chassidus, and that some of his opposition reflected unhealthy emotional and theological assumptions.

I explain the evidence here:

Rav Shach misguided more than 100,000 Orthodox Jews about Chabad Chassidus

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The deeper point is not only about Chabad.

What is Torah study supposed to do?

It is about what Torah study is supposed to do.

Learning is not only about collecting information.

It is supposed to help you notice truth clearly enough that it changes how you live.

The mind notices patterns of the Creator’s wisdom and goodness.

Daas makes those patterns emotionally real.

Awe helps you feel Who you are living before.

Trust helps you remain in relationship.

Love makes you want more of His goodness revealed.

And action gives that relationship a form in everyday life.

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How to find meaning in suffering through Chassidus?  

You can have good arguments and still struggle with fear, shame, or people-pleasing

How does Chabad Chassidus explain the world of souls?

Maimonides [Rambam] describes the World to Come as fully spiritual

Chassidus was reignited by Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov (the Besht) about 300 years ago, after much of its inner wisdom had been lost to most of the Jewish people.

People who say the Rebbe is the Messiah are misguided: Some Chabad chassidim teach

Many Lubavitch chassidim misinterpret chassidus, because of emotional immaturity: Why Moses Hit the Rock

Questions people ask

What is daas in Chabad Chassidus?

Daas is belief that has become felt knowing. You do not only know that the Creator exists; you feel that knowledge inside the reality your mind and nervous system live in. Growing daas is an emotional skill: you notice a pattern, think about it deeply, and let it become emotionally real.

Did Rav Shach oppose Chabad Chassidus?

Yes. The author believes Rav Shach’s opposition to Chabad helped lead more than 100,000 Orthodox Jews to distrust Chabad Chassidus. The article says some of that opposition reflected unhealthy emotional and theological assumptions, and points readers to a separate article that explains the evidence in more detail.

Can you know a lot of Torah and still avoid changing?

Yes. Rabbi DovBer of Mezritch explains that the ego is sometimes comfortable with Torah study, as long as the study never forces a person to change. So someone can know enormous amounts of Torah while avoiding the parts that would challenge fear, shame, control, pride, or emotional numbness. Noticing that avoidance takes honest self-awareness.

What does awe mean in Chassidus?

Awe is the felt awareness that you are living before the Infinite Creator right now. It holds wonder, because His wisdom is far beyond what you can understand; humility, because you are not the Source and reality is not under your control; and healthy fear, because your choices matter. Awe is an emotional skill you practice.

“Over 150,000 pages of Chabad Chassidus teaches the patterns that lead to deeper trust in the Creator’s goodness.”