The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

The Rebbe’s approach to building an elite religious society – the Rebbe’s first book, written around 1920

Source 0: From the publisher’s introduction – insight into the intended audience for the monograph
Suggestion that the author only intended it for an elite audience and not for general consumption, but that
the proliferation of contraband copies and the needs of the time justify a wider circulation

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 1: Objectives of the society (pg. 7)

Nothing new – to serve God in a complete way; insufficient to be a servant, but need to feel a desire to come
close to God at every moment

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 2: Content of the society (pg. 8)

1: not for political purposes, no leadership structure; 2: care not to alienate those who are not members; 3:
group must consist of people who share a concern for their spiritual growth

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 3: Who qualifies? (pg. 10)

1: one who feels distant from God and is distressed by this feeling; 2: somewhat of a scholar; 3: a working man
who can attend at least three times a week; 4: stable; 5: honest

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 4: The first two main paragraphs (pp. 11-12)

1: forgetting God is the cause of distance, need to gain a sense of proximity to the Divine; 2: growth of the
religious thought processes occurs in an ‘upward’ direction

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 5: Final paragraph of main text (pg. 47)

Entire purpose of society is to elevate its members from servants to princes, to become servants of God and
not just serve God!

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

Source 6: Excerpts from ‘Rules in the matter of the society’ (pp. 54-59)
Need to create a society rule-book: I commit myself to a process of self-improvement and purification; I invoke
God to help me no matter the circumstances and to carefully scrutinise all of my deeds and thoughts

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

When we gather, we won’t chat idly, but study; sometimes; we won’t glance at ideas that deal with self-
improvement, but study them carefully

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 The Piacetzner Rebbe – Beney Machshavah Tovah

The society is based on three principles: companionship, love and connection; the need to connect to the ideals
of the society even when occupied at other times

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