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THEMES of Featured Chasidic Masters Articles

Life in Harmony
Intermediate
Life in Harmony
Only with a balanced approach to G-d can one connect to the source of life.
G-d is the source of life; one who draws close to G-d, attaches himself to the source of life. The purpose of a Jew is to refine and repair every aspect of his soul, until each one is working together in harmony, each quality in its proper proportion.
Drunk on G-d
The Temple's sanctification required a spontaneous offering.
According to many, Aaron's sons - Nadav and Avihu - died as a punishment for entering the temple after having consumed wine. Indeed they entered the Temple after having "consumed wine", a metaphor for the secrets of the Torah.

They were "drunk" with spiritual insight, as the Ohr Hachaim explains,and their death was not a punishment but a "divine kiss, like that experienced by the perfectly righteous".
Crime of Passion
Whether the soul’s fire will be a constructive or destructive force is dependent on the person’s motivation.
When the holy Sanctuary was completed, Aaron’s two elder sons, deeply spiritual individuals, were drawn to enter the holiest sanctum on earth to bask in the ecstasy of the Temple’s pure spirit. But they erred in allowing their self-indulgent spiritual passion override their primary task to transform the world and therefore were consumed by its fire.
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