to understand chassidus you need to change the way you think, feel and act.
though chassidus is a philosophy and can be understood even by a non believer and unrefined person however to grasp its true character which is is g-d liness one must dedicate himself not only to a life of Torah and Mitzvot but as well to a life of "avoda" .
Continuously working on oneself towards improving in all areas of self. meaning beside strenuous effort in trying to understand the concept intellectually the person must improve them selves in general and more specific their , character and behavior, one cannot remain a person who desires to have all things their way and indulge in all desires and hope to understand chasidus at the same time.
secondly being that chasidic philosophy is a g-dly study you need to redefine what it means to understand. meaning in every study in order to understand you need to be ready to redefine terms you have used before that will now be used in a different way.
the same word will mean a different thing, hence in order to understand the new study you need to understand the new definitions of how each world will now be used.
you also need to enjoy intellect...as u enjoy food ...music...etc ...you need to enjoy using the mind...thinking. in addition in chassidus you must be constantly aware of the point the subject is going to...to understand that which is infinite and beyond comprehension. g-d liness. this is very important to insure that not only you learn with bitul.. but it reflects in the intellectual character of the concept itself.. when studying chasiidus to actual understand anything at alll here you need to know that g-d liness is being studied here.
not science, nature or any thing that has been created or part of creation.
source in chassidic writings ( hayom yom 4 Adar I) :
The initial preparations for delving into deep intellectual concepts, especially concepts of G-dliness, are (a) a strenuous effort of the body to be rid of one's delight in worldly matters, and (b) a strenuous effort of the soul to stimulate delight in intellectual pursuit in general, and in G-dly matters in particular.
story:
there is a story of the koznitzer magid zt"l who when near his passing from this physical world said to his son
present there ; " i do not feel my guf- body any more" his son who was holding him said to his father ; " however tatta- father i do feel your body!? to which the father responded : " if you are touching me with your body you will feel body"!
the idea in this story is as explained above; in order to sense a higher understanding you need to raise your self up to that very dimension or at the very least unshackle your self from a contradictory one.
you cannot understand or experience g-d liness if your approach is through the physical sense. the same with the concepts explained in chassidus; the rules and definitions that are used to explain and understand other fields of intellect will not do for chassidus which is divine knowledge.
new definitions and approach are needed for each and every concept explained
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