Chabad Niggunim

Like many other Hassidic sects, Chabad-Lubavitch has its own unique niggunim, or traditional melodies. Chabad niggunim were either composed or taught by the Rebbe of Chabad or their Hassidim. Niggunim are used to aid for meditation during Chasidic prayer or Torah study, as well as during farbrengens. some of these ancient Chabad melodies have recently made their way into mainstream music.

Chabad niggunim are admired across Hasidism for their intellectual content, expressing the aim in Chabad to investigate Hasidic philosophy using the mind as the route to the heart. The second Rebbe, Dovber Schneuri, distinguished between mainstream Hasidic emotional "enthusiasm" in worship, that is fostered outwards, and the Chabad ideal of inwardly created "ecstasy". His "Tract on Ecstasy", an unusually personal mystical account in Judaism, guides the follower in the meditative stages of the Chabad approach to Dveikus (fervour). In this ideal, ecstasy is an inner emotional expression, and can remain concealed in the warmth of the heart. In Chabad terminology, the aim of this is to reach "Pnimius" (inward Ohr) over "Hitzonius" (outward light). The fundamental Chabad text, the Tanya, articulates this method in Jewish meditation of "hisbonenus" (contemplative understanding). In classic Chabad thought, externally inspired emotional worship is considered a distracting path from deeper content, though this idealistic aim requires time to contemplate that may not always be available. In the present generation, more emphasis has been given in Chabad to outreach, though the classic ideal is venerated in legendary accounts of Hasidim, told in Farbrengen gatherings.

Chabad Rebbes told of two characteristic categories of follower, the "Oveid" who seeks practical Divine "service" from their mystical inspiration, and the "Maskil" whose first aim is deeper understanding of Hasidic thought. The average person can combine both archetypes in their daily life. Some Chabad niggunim are more suited to moments of inward contemplation, and others celebrate and inspire outward fulfillment. One renowned story both cautions against mixing the two necessary aspects, and also playfully recommends not to be overly concerned by their overlap:

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