Maamarim (Chabad)
Encyclopedia
Maamarim/Ma'amorim in Chabad
Hasidism are the central format texts of in-depth mystical investigation in Hasidic thought by each of its 7 leaders.
Maamarim build upon the founding intellectual Chabad method of the Tanya
by the first Rebbe, each subsequent Rebbe developing the thought in successive stages, to seek broader explanation, communication and application. Chabad texts tend to systematic characterisation and presentation compared to the more homiletical-faith aims of most Hasidic literature. Particular themes of focus emerge in the teachings of each subsequent leader according to the mystical and social circumstances of the times. In the last generation, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, while developing the Maamar in Chabad to its cumulative conclusion, made its in-depth Kabbalistic exegetical method secondary to the newly emphasised Chabad format of informal analytical Likkutei Sichos
talks, his central teachings, to enable greatest application of Hasidism to tangible spirituality and outreach. Chabad Maamarim are usually named after their opening quotation
from Scripture, though are sometimes arranged as Kuntreisim studies or collected Sefarim books. From the 4th Rebbe onwards, Maamarim often comprise extended Hemsheichim series on a theme.
Select classic examples of Maamarim in English translation, published by Kehot Publication Society
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Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Hasidism are the central format texts of in-depth mystical investigation in Hasidic thought by each of its 7 leaders.
Maamarim build upon the founding intellectual Chabad method of the Tanya
Tanya
The Tanya is an early work of Hasidic philosophy, by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad Hasidism, first published in 1797. Its formal title is Likkutei Amarim , but is more commonly known by its opening word, Tanya, which means "it was taught in a beraita"...
by the first Rebbe, each subsequent Rebbe developing the thought in successive stages, to seek broader explanation, communication and application. Chabad texts tend to systematic characterisation and presentation compared to the more homiletical-faith aims of most Hasidic literature. Particular themes of focus emerge in the teachings of each subsequent leader according to the mystical and social circumstances of the times. In the last generation, the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, while developing the Maamar in Chabad to its cumulative conclusion, made its in-depth Kabbalistic exegetical method secondary to the newly emphasised Chabad format of informal analytical Likkutei Sichos
Likkutei Sichos
Likkutei Sichos, lit. "Collected Talks," is an anthology of essays by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, relating to the weekly portion of the Torah and special occasions in the Jewish and Hasidic calendar....
talks, his central teachings, to enable greatest application of Hasidism to tangible spirituality and outreach. Chabad Maamarim are usually named after their opening quotation
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
from Scripture, though are sometimes arranged as Kuntreisim studies or collected Sefarim books. From the 4th Rebbe onwards, Maamarim often comprise extended Hemsheichim series on a theme.
English bibliography
Studies on the successive development in Chabad thought, represented in each Rebbe's Maamarim:- Communicating the Infinite: The emergence of the Habad school, Naftali Loewenthal, Chicago University Press 1990, ISBN 0226490459. Academic study of the distinctive emergence of Chabad from general Hasidism by Shneur Zalman of LiadiShneur Zalman of LiadiShneur Zalman of Liadi , also known as the Baal HaTanya, , was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia...
, and its methodological clarification between Dovber SchneuriDovber SchneuriDovber Schneuri was the second Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lyubavichi , the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named...
and Aharon HaLevi of StrashelyeStrashelye (Hasidic dynasty)Strashelye, is an extinct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism, named after the town Strashelye in the Mohilev Province of present-day Belarus, where its leader lived...
in the second generation - The Seven Chabad Lubavitch Rebbes, Chaim Dalfin, Jason Aronson 1998, ISBN 0765760037 Anecdotal and sourced study from Habad tradition of the developing nature of thought of each Rebbe
- Heaven On Earth: Reflections on the Theology of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Faitel Levin, Kehot publications 2002, ISBN 0826604889. A study of the cumulative development of Chabad thought in the last Rebbe's Atzmus-Dirah BeTachtonimAtzmusAtzmus/Atzmut meaning "essence", is the descriptive term referred to in Kabbalah, and explored in Hasidic thought, for the Divine essence....
theology, contrasted with previous Habad thought. The relation of Hasidism to Mashiach and Atzmus begins to emerge in later Chabad writings, but is embodied fully in the 7th generation
Select classic examples of Maamarim in English translation, published by Kehot Publication Society
Kehot Publication Society
Kehot Publication Society and Merkos Publications, the publishing divisions of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, were established in 1942 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn...
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