Faitel Levin

The far-reaching social programs of the Lubavitcher Rebbe need no introduction. He has established a worldwide network of thousands of Jewish institutions, addressing the entire range of Jewish activities from cradle to old age, in thousands of towns thro...

The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s monumental religious projects are well known, but less familiar is his formidable theological prowess and his unique theological weltanschauung that has in fact served as the inspiration for his social programs. Over the course of ...

I wish to confess to imposing a specific nuance upon the ideas associated with Dirah Betachtonim through much of this book. I do so both to caution the person who has not read any of the original literature, as well as to acknowledge to those familiar wit...

It is a basic tenet of Judaism that the death of the body does not represent man’s final demise: after this worldly life he moves on to another, eternal life. Of course, Jewish literature states time and again that the afterlife is the better life. The so...

It is now time to devote a chapter to bring the central role and spiritual function of physical mitzvot into sharper relief. We first step back to look at the views of previous thought systems. Mitzvot in Classic Jewish Writings Various classic scholars h...

Before concluding this section of the book there is a matter we must deal with, albeit briefly. What is the place of spiritual forms of worship, such as prayer, meditation, the love and awe of G-d, in the Dirah Betachtonim system? Doubtless, prayer too is...

היש הנברא הוא ממש יש האמיתי“The created something is verily the True Something”; a most significant phrase in Dirah Betachtonim. See Biurei Hazohar by Rabbi Dovber of Lubavitch, Beshalach, page 43, column 3. To gain greater insight to all of the above, we...

Perspective If the realization of Dirah Betachtonim—a this-worldly dwelling place for the Essence of G-d—is the goal of our existence and the direction in which reality ought to proceed, it follows that this must be reflected in the way history charts its...

In this chapter we will look at Dirah Betachtonim’s distinctive outlook on the human; particularly, the relative importance of body and soul, and briefly, perspectives on man and woman. The Body and Soul in Earlier Writings The purpose of Torah obligation...

What is G-d? Much time and effort has been devoted by Jewish thinkers to describing the nature of G-d. Often, from the writings of a given thinker, there emerges a more or less distinctive definition. For example, in Maimonides’ writings, G-d is portrayed...