Lost and Found

The Tzemach Tzedek once asked rhetorically, “What did the Alter Rebbe want from Chassidim and Chassidus?” He wanted to take away what is described in the Holy Zohar as “a closed heart, covered eyes and seeing without knowing what is being seen.” Through his giving away his soul [mesiras nefesh] the Alter Rebbe was able to understand that Chassidus has the power to bring a person to a state of “an open heart, clear sight, and to know what he is seeing.”