אָמַר אַאַמוּ"ר: חֲסִידוּת מְשַׁנָּה אֶת הַמְּצִיאוּת וּמְגַלָּה אֶת הַמַּהוּת. וְהַמַּהוּת שֶׁל הָאִישׁ הַיִשְׂרְאֵלִי אֵין לְהַעֲרִיךְ וּלְשַׁעֵר, כִּי הוּא חֵלֶק מִן הָעֶצֶם, וְהַתּוֹפֵס בְּמִקְצָתוֹ כְּאִלּוּ תּוֹפֵס בְּכוּלּוֹ, וּכְשֵׁם שֶׁהָעֶצֶם אֵין לוֹ שִׁעוּר כַּךְ הַחֵלֶק אֵין לוֹ שִׁעוּר, עַל דֶרֶךְהַכָּנָף מִין כָּנָף — עֶס אִיז מעֶהר נִיט וואָס עַצְמוּת האָט בּוֹרֵא געֶוועֶן אַ נְשָׁמָה אַז זִי זאָל זַיין אַ נִבְרָא — וַחֲסִידוּת מְגַלָּה אֶת הַמַּהוּת.

My father, the Rebbe [Rashab], once said: Chassidus transforms one’s existence, and reveals one’s essence.1 The inner nature of a Jew can be neither appreciated nor fathomed, for it is part of [G‑d’s] Essence,2 and when one grasps part of the Essence, it is as if one has grasped it in its entirety. Just as [G‑d’s] Essence has no limits, so too, this “part”3 has no limits. It is like tzitzis, which must be made of the same material as the corner of the garment [to which they are attached].4 It is only that G‑d’s essence created the soul as a created being5 — and Chassidus reveals its inner nature.6

Probing Beneath the Surface

A shaliach once asked the Rebbe what was the fundamental message he should communicate to the Jews he met. The Rebbe told him: “Teach them that they have a soulthat is ‘an actual part of G‑d.’7 Once they understand that, everything else will come as a matter of course.” Once a person understands that his soul is G‑dly, he will not be satisfied until he gives it expression through the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos.

And how does a person become aware of the stature of his soul? By studying Chassidus. Since Chassidus is the innermost dimension of the Torah, it can bring out the innermost dimension of every individual.