In a village near Koshnitz, a dispute broke out
between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim.
The Hasidim, which was the smaller group, decided to form their own
congregation. This was made known to R.
Yisrael, the Maggid of Koshnitz. He
invited the heads of the Hasidim and said,
"There are serious punishments in the Torah for sinners, but we do
not find that we are obligated to separate ourselves from them. Only in one place in the Torah do we find
"separate yourselves from this community," and this is in the dispute
of Korah. They wanted to introduce
divisions within the camp, as it says in the Targum, "and Korah divided," and whoever
wishes to make divisions between Jews, we are commanded to separate from
him. (Ma'asey Ha-Tzadikim) Rabbi Carl Astor
“Between 1305 and the early 1800’s. the House of Taxis ran a form of pony express service all over Europe…. Its couriers clad in blue and silver uniforms, crisscrossed the continent carrying messages between princes and generals, merchants and money lenders.” –Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave We may think we are the first generation consumed by rapid communication but we are not. Throughout our history it has been a priority. Of course, now in the 21 st century we must ask: are we better or worse for it?
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