נִיט הֲנָאָה האָבּעֶן פוּן עוֹלָם הַזֶּה אִין פוּלעֶן זִין, הוּא רַק הֲכָנָה טוֹבָה לַעֲבוֹדָה. עִנְיַן הָעֲבוֹדָה הוּא לַעֲשׂוֹת הַגַּשְׁמִי כְּלִי לֵאלֹקוּת.

Not to derive satisfaction from this world in the fullest sense is only a good preparatory step toward Divine service. Divine service itself involves transforming physicality into a vessel for G‑dliness.1

A Mini-Farbrengen

It is relatively easy to refrain from worldly preoccupation: one must only say No.

Now, this is admittedly an over-simplification, for not all of us can so easily control our behavior, even when we know what is right. Nevertheless, the choice really is black and white, and simply a matter of resolve: A person with a strong will can keep his desires in check and know when to involve himself in material matters and when to abstain.

It is much harder to be involved in the world and — at the same time — to thrive spiritually. This is where the contribution of Chassidus is vital. For Chassidus teaches us how to view the world as an extension of a higher, spiritual reality, and shows how the Torah enables us to connect our lives to that Divine source.

This concept sparked a turning-point in the spiritual growth of one of the giants in the chassidic gallery, R. Hillel of Paritch.

“Before I became a Chabad chassid,” he once recalled, “I considered my body to be a loathsome thing, because all spiritual woes derive from it. But when I apprehended the soul of the chassidic teaching that ‘from my flesh do I behold G‑d,’2 that the body is a magnifying glass through which one perceives G‑dliness, my body acquired standing in my eyes.”3