Note re: Rabbi Brandwein discourse at Carlebach posted below
Regarding the post below of Rabbi Avraham Brandwein’s talk at the Carlebach Shul:
The key to this discourse is that our awareness and knowledge of Hashem determines our ability to accomplish Avodah, our spiritual work of development and progress, with joy and pleasure. Accepting the yoke of Hashem’s Kingdom and Torah can feel like a great burden and troublesome to accomplish.
Many people prefer an unburdened spirituality, which asks little of them. They just want to enjoy their spirituality without the responsibilities and laws. Many teachers and centers for such spirituality are readily available.
But as Rabbi Brandwein explains, this is Avodah Zarah, normally translated as idolatry, but literally means the foreign Avodah, since in such spirituality, Hashem is really foreign to the worshipper.
If one turns to Hashem and His Torah, then the Avodah is at least focused on selflessness in attending to the Will of Hashem, but, at first, it is a hard burden to carry. Only by putting out the effort to know Hashem and to attach to Hashem through Torah and mitzvos, especially through the inner light of Chassidus and Kabbalah will one come to recognize Hashem, where the Avodah is transformed into a service of joy and pleasure.
Much of the posted teaching is based on a discourse by Rabbi Ashlag called V’Zos Lihudah. Around 1930, Rabbi Avraham Brandwein’s father Reb Yehuda Hirsch (Yehuda Tzvi) Brandwein took out a loan and opened a publishing house for Rabbi Ashlag called Yehuda Virushalayim. At the time, Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Brandwein, who was very poor, would send letters to the wealthy, asking for donations. It was customary to include some gift with the Tzedaka request letter. So, Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai Brandwein came to Rabbi Ashlag (the Baal haSulam) and asked him to write a commentary to the Haggadah of pesach. Rabbi Ashlag agreed and wrote the commentary entitled V’Zos Lihuda. Thereby, Rabbi Yaakov Mordechai had what to include with his Tzedaka letters. V’Zos Lihuda was then published by Rabbi Yehuda Hirsch at his publishing house of Yehudah Virushalayim. Rabbi Yehuda Hirsch told over that our Holy Rabbi, the Baal HaSulam came himself to the publishing house and there he sat and wrote the commentary on the Haggadah of Pesach. (These facts come from the Hebrew biography of the Baal HaSulam written by Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Gottleib.)
Please see the next post, which is the discourse itself.