Why Chassidus?

Anonymous asks:

I'm a regular yeshivishe guy who learns mussar. Is there anything that could be attained through living with chassidus that can't be attained through living with mussar? I mean torah giants who have walked the world in recent generations such as R'schach, R' Avigdor Miller, R'Brus, R' Shmuel Berenbaum all of blessed memory. And there are many living today all of whom that are not connected with chassidus. Rather they choose mussar to live with. How in the world can we reach greater heights than these individuals?

Answer:
First of all, I'd like to thank you for asking your excellent question.

I used to take part in a chabura of yeshivaleit who would come together once a week in order to discuss chassidus. Although there was an official shiur, much of it was geared towards encouraging the participants to voice those questions which were really bothering them in Yiddishkeit. This was in order to direct the discussion in the way which would be the most meaningful to all those involved. I hope this blog will also be directed into discussions through questions such as this one.

Now let me give an answer to your question, as I have understood from my Rabbeim. But I must point out- it is only an answer. Every person approaches Torah in his individual and special way. So although I hope that my answer will be sufficient, even if you don't find it so, please keep in mind that there are many answers and approaches to every question in Torah, and there certainly is a satisfactory answer out there for you.
You are one hundred percent right, that there were, and there are, many Tzaddikim who never learned or practiced chassidus. And that does not take away at all from their Tzidkus.
But what me must understand is, that the question is not which derech will makes bigger Tzaddikim? Or do you need this to become a Tzaddik? The question is, what is the purpose of Chassidus? And will I accomplish that without it?
The Yesod Ha'Avodah of Slonim once remarked, that a Rebbe is not necessarily the greatest person, or even greater than me. But he was given the tools to accomplish what a Rebbe is supposed to accomplish, and others were not.
Chassidus, on the simplest level, is a way to bring every Jew, regardless of who he is, and where he's been, to realize the pnimiyus of the world. How Hashem truly feels about him, and his Torah and Avodah. To realize the importance of Shabbes, of davening, etc. Not just "ta'amei hamitzvos", or "hisorerus" or even "chizuk". All these things may come about through this understanding, but that's not the point. The point is a "pnimiyus'dike kook", a way of looking at the world from the inside out.
Every Tzaddik had and has his way of bringing his followers to a level of understanding. Some, like the Rebbes of Chabad, may have done it through learning Toras HaChassidus. Some taught it by emphasizing different nekudos, such as Shabbes in Vizhnitz or davening with mesirus nefesh in Karlin. Others brought it out through their chassidim spending time with them and watching the Avodah of the Tzaddik, as in Rizhin or Nadvorna. Of course everyone used a little mix of each. And even if the chassid does not know how to define what he's learnt, and he might call it just a "varmkeit", he knows that he has it, and he knows were he got it from.
What's the point of this realization and understanding? As we noted, chizuk and hisorerus you can get in many ways. But if we understand the history of P'nimiyus HaTorah, as it has been gradually revealed to us through various stages. Before the revelation of the Zohar, there were many Tzaddikim and did not know about Kabbalah and P'nimiyus HaTorah. But once the Zohar was accepted by Klal Yisroel, it is obvious to everyone the importance of its teachings and concepts, even if not everybody is fit to learn the Zohar itself. The same may be said of the Ari Z"L. Today, every frum Jew lives with the basic Hashkafa as it was taught by the Ari, even if he never opened a Kabbalah sefer in his life.
We see that throughout the generations, Hashem has been revealing more and more to us of His p'nimiyus, through P'nimiyus HaTorah. This is because, that as we get closer to Moshiach, he wants us to live closer to His P'nimiyus. The closer we come to Moshiach, and to bring Moshiach closer, it is necessary to bring out the P'nimiyus more and more. But how are we, who are not fit to learn Kabbalah in its original form, supposed to understand its light?
Hashem therefore sent us the Ba'al Shem Tov and his Talmidim to teach us how every single Jew can live with P'nimiyus, no matter who he is. Indeed, it is recorded that Moshiach once told the Ba'al Shem Tov in a dream that his coming is dependant on the spreading of his teachings.
We see from here that Chassidus is not a question of becoming a bigger Tzaddik or Lamdan, but to try to live as much as we can according to the P'nimiyus of what Hashem really feels about us כביבול. This still leaves us up to our own free will, but closer still to P'nimiyus Habriah.

I ask that anybody who has any questions or who feels that something needs to be explained better to please post a comment. Thank you.