Chasidut על דברים 5:27

It is written in the book Maor vaShemesh on Parshat Titzaveh that when hasidim come to visit their rebbe, seeking the path of God, benefit accrues both to them and to the rebbe. This benefit is not only in the additional holiness added but also in new ideas in Torah and advice [etzot] and practices as to how to serve God. Their connection has an effect even after they have ‘returned to their tents,’³⁹⁷Deut. 5:27. and they are no longer physically proximate to each other. Their thoughts and will are elevated through the effect of their rebbe on them, and those of the rebbe through their effect. This is why sometimes when a rebbe says Torah, one hasid says ‘he directed these words to me’ and another hasid says the same, though sometimes the rebbe does not intend them for any particular person at all. But because their thoughts had an effect on their rebbe’s soul, the ‘shadow’ of their thoughts may be seen in his thoughts and Torah, to the point that each sees himself in them.³⁹⁸Avodat Yisrael is a work of homilies on the Torah and on Pirkei Avot, by the Maggid, R. Israel of Kozhnitz. * [Note: Avodat Yisrael on Avot 2:7 s.v. marbeh etzah].³⁹⁹In this passage, R. Israel explains how a rebbe is able to speak to the heart of his hasidim and offer guidance (etzot) on an individual basis, even if the hasid has not disclosed his particular situation to the rebbe.