On the street today.

I met a man who asked me are you new here? I crossed the street to speak with the tzaddik.

As we talked he asked are you a chassid? I responded, “Someday I hope just to reach the level of being a Jew. He countered “I’m tired of that shtick", "Nu what are you Breslev”, I said “I hope to be”.

So we talked and it was very friendly, I really enjoy these kinds of encounters as they always give me a chance to encourage my brothers to draw closer to Hashem. So I asked "What is being a Chassid?" and he gave the classic description of a Chassid.

But I asked is it enough to wear a certain style clothes or to davin a certain nusach?

He thought. I answered myself. I explained that it is not enough to be a baal l’vush or baal mitzvah’s or even baal l’mud. The minsha in avos “says that a chassid is one who goes beyond the letter of the Law, in all regards, not just in the length of his peyos. He grants forgivingness where the law does not require him to. As we continued, he said “the litvak Derek is a cold Derek”. I thought about the Derek of my litvishah brothers for a moment. “Ah"! it is for the head and thus in ‘his’ words colder Derek, as we know the head has to remain cooler than the body to function, He went on to describe himself in his own words as a “I’m a litvak yekah with a stickel of chassid”.

I realized that this is mamash the truth! We need to have cool heads, but what about the heart is it a furnace. So chassidus is the Derek of the heart, that we serve Hashem with all hearts. In reality we need both. For in the Shema in the second perek we say twice daily, “You shall love the Hashem with all your heart, with all your soul ‘mind, will, and emotions’ and with all your might ‘these two in unison”. For only when we bring achudus into ourselves will we be able to realize achudus in the Am and bring about the Geula.

But until then you chose? If there are two bowls of delicious homemade chicken soup on the table both the exactly the same except that one is piping hot and the other ice cold, which is the tastier of the two and which do you prefer? The hot soup or the cold soup? He said "Nu what’s the kasha?", “I will always choose the hot soup!” 

I said “Nu, My Rebbe, Rav Shalom Arush Shilta, makes a great bowl of hot soup!” He said everything you just said is the Emeser Emes!

 " So Nu Why don't you come and try some?"