אִין לעֶרנעֶן אִיז דִי אִיבּעֶרגעֶגעֶבּעֶנקַייט פון מעֶנטְשׁעֶן צוּ אַ זאַך, וועֶלכעֶ עֶר וִויל פאַרשְׁטֵיין אוּן פאַרְשְׁטֵייט. אִין דאַוונעֶן אִיז דִי אִיבּעֶרגעֶגעֶבּעֶנקַייט צוּ העֶכעֶר וִוי פאַרשְׁטאַנד.

אִין לעֶרנעֶן תּוֹרָה פִילט זִיךְ אַ אִיד וִוי אַ תַּלְמִיד בּאַ אַ רֶבִּי'ן, אִין דאַוְונעֶן — וִוי אַ קִינד בּאַ אַ פאָטעֶר.

When a person is studying Torah, he devotes himself to a concept that he is trying to understand and that he [ultimately] understands. When he is praying, he gives himself over to that which transcends his understanding.

While studying Torah, a Jew feels like a student before his mentor; while praying, he feels like a son before his father.1

Living as a Chassid

Each of us comprises two elements: a Divine soul, which is an actual spark of G‑d, and an animal soul, which is rooted in our physicality. Our consciousness is born out of the interaction between these two. Divine service entails heightening our awareness of the G‑dly side, and training our animal soul to follow it.

Prayer and Torah study are the tools given us to achieve this. Prayer develops our awareness of G‑d’s presence — “that which transcends his understanding” — and allows the emotional aspect of the G‑dly soul to express itself, just as a child loves his father.

Torah study involves training ourselves (including the thought processes of the animal soul) to think as G‑d wants us to think. G‑d expresses Himself in the Torah in a way that we can understand, thereby enabling us to improve ourselves. In this case, our task is thus not to go beyond our understanding, but rather, to refine our way of thinking in the light of what we have studied and understood.