Open Letter

(Tales of the Hasidim p.100 "The Sign") In this tale, the Baal Shem forces an unwilling disciple to bless him, just as Peter was forced to allow Yeshua to wash his feet... p.103 "In Exile"  "The Maggid of Mezritch said: 'Now, in exile, the holy spirit comes upon us more easily than at the time the Temple was still standing.  'A king was driven from his realm and forced to become a wayfarer. When, in the course of his wanderings, he came to the house of poor people, where he was given modest food and shelter, but received as a king, his heart grew light and he chatted with his host as intimately as he had done at court with those who were closest to him.  'Now, that He is in exile, God does the same.'"  *Is the Shechinah the same as the Holy Spirit of the Christians? The Ruach HaKodesh?  *God more easily befriends the humble  https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2438527/jewish/The-Shechina.htm

Chabad, Lessons in Tanya, Iggeret HaKodesh, middle of Epistle 4:  [talking about the exile of the Shechinah as it is manifest in each soul, that is, the soul in exile to Babylon  (state of sin)]  "Of this it is written, 'And you shall excise the foreskin of your heart'... "In principle the spiritual service of circumcision is that of repentance. With regard to exile our Sages teach that 'If Israel repent they will be immediately redeemed'. Repentance thus leads to the redemption (on a personal scale) of the Divine spark within each individual soul and (on a cosmic scale) of the Schechinah, from their respective exiles. In spiritual terms, the act of circumcision likewise removes a veil of concealment and allows the innermost point of the heart to be revealed."  Now, anyone who has read the New Testament is familiar with Yeshua's and Paul's teachings on repentance and circumcision of the heart:  For a description of true holiness (circumcision of t...

From Tales of the Hasidim by Martin Buber  p. 89 Tale entitled "The Two Strangers" (about Rabbi Barukh of Mezbizh)  "In the hundred and nineteenth psalm, the psalmist says to God:  'I am a sojourner on the earth, hide not thy commandments from me.'  Concerning this verse Rabbi Barukh said:  'He whom Life drives into exile and who comes to a land alien to him, has nothing in common with the people there, and not a soul he can talk to.  But if a second stranger appears, even though he may come from quite a different place, the two can confide in each other, and live together henceforth, and cherish each other. And had they not both been strangers, they would never have known such close companionship.  That is what the psalmist means:  "You, even as I, are a sojourner on earth and have no abiding place for your glory.  So do not withdraw from me, but reveal your commandments, that I may become your friend."  (end of passage)  Ultimatel...