by Rabbi Allen S. Maller
One of the most important teachings of Hassidic Rabbis was not to worry about the future or sacrifice present joy because you fear it will not last very long. After all most things people worry about never occur.
The Baal Shem Tov’s great grandson Rabbi Nachmann of Breslov added another guideline, “Always remember that joy is not merely incidental to your spiritual quest. It is vital.”
Rabbi Levi Yitzkhak says, “There are two types of marital sex. One type is physical sex as gratification of the husband’s passion, which means that he does not love his wife at all but loves only himself. The other type is loving his wife because she is (God’s gift) the way by he fulfills the commands of God. This is true love.”
When his wife died the Baal Shem Tov said, “I thought I could rise to heaven in a whirlwind like Elijah, but now that I am only half a body this is no longer possible.”
Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk asked, “Where can you find God? The other sages say that God is everywhere. I say God is wherever a person lets God in.”
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