The Day That Taught the World to Love
BS’D
There are dates on the Jewish calendar that commemorate events. And then there are dates that changed the way we experience our relationship with Hashem.
Chai Elul is one of them.
It marks the birth of both the Baal Shem Tov and Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe. Through them, Hashem illuminated a message the world desperately needed: that every Jew can live with a constant awareness of His Presence—not only in the Beit Midrash, but in the kitchen, at work, during a walk, in moments of joy, and even in moments of struggle.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that Divine Providence extends to every detail of creation. A leaf falling from a tree, an unexpected encounter, a delay, a conversation—none of it is random. Life is not a series of coincidences; it is a continuous conversation with the Creator.
The Alter Rebbe revealed something equally life-changing: the soul is literally “חֵלֶק אֱלוֹקָה מִמַּעַל מַמָּשׁ (chelek Eloka mima’al mamash)”—”an actual part of the Divine Above” (Tanya, ch. 2). If that is true, then your deepest identity is not your fear, your mistakes, or your limitations. Your truest identity is the Divine soul that Hashem lovingly breathed into you.
Perhaps that is why Chai Elul is called “the vitality of Elul.” It reminds us that teshuvah is not returning to a life of greater pressure. It is returning to a relationship that has always been alive.
This morning, before beginning your day, pause for one moment and simply whisper: “Hashem… I want to notice You today.”
That one sentence can transform an ordinary day into an encounter with the Divine.
May Hashem open your eyes to His Presence, awaken your soul with renewed vitality, and fill your heart with the joy of walking through life together with Him.
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The greatest gift of Chassidut is not new information. It is learning to live every moment in the company of Hashem.
Orit Esther Riter
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