"Today a blessing and a curse"
You should see yourself as if just today you began a new to serve with both the traits of love and fear of H'shem
Blessing alludes to love, and curse alludes to fear
Noam Elimelech
Mipeninei Noam Elimelch
The Bal'a Shem Tov asks on the mishnah "הוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות"
"Judge evey person favorably"(Avos1:6)
Is every person supposed to make himself a judge? Who appointed him and gave him semichah? The answer is that yes, he is a judge by viewing his friend favorably, he is passing judgment on himself."
(When one judges others favorably, the heavenly court judges him favorably as well, and the opposite is also true)
HaRav Yakkov Galinsky V'Higadeta
Once, on a Motzoei Shabbos, the chasidim were sitting in the bais medrash of the Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a for Melave Malka. Suddenly, the Rebbe opened the door of his room next to the bais medrash, stood at the entrance, and said, “The Baal Shem Tov was not a deity, and the zaida, the Magid, was not just an ordinary wagon driver. And once, when the holy Baal Shem Tov prayed, his talis fringe fell out of his gartel and dragged on the floor. The Magid approached, picked it up, and put it back in the gartel, but he was trembled with such tremendous fear that he fainted and his life was in danger. They were compelled to rouse the Baal Shem Tov from his deep dveikus in order to calm him.” He then added, “I told you that the Baal Shem Tov was not a deity and my zaida, the Magid, was no wagon driver. Still and all, when he touched the Besht’s garment, he fainted from fear. The entire world is Hashem’s garment. How much fear must we feel to touch this world!” May the memory of the...