The Baal Shem Tov, or Besht —  the founder of Chasidism — 
met the soul of the Messiah during an ascent to heaven. 
The Besht asked him, "When will the Master come?" 
The Messiah answered, "When your wellsprings break forth to the outside!" 
(from a letter written by the Besht to his brother-in-law about one of his soul ascents) 

X-O

X-O = ex-Orthodox – slang coined in New York for the chevre who party with the homeboys and homegirls of Borough Park and Williamsburg: refugees, doubters and seekers from the hood. Some of them still wear the black hat or the long skirt, a kind of underground network of folks who show up at Madagascar, or stay up all night on "Chulent Thursdays" talking, singing, smoking and meditating. We're talking Corporate Raiders, a certain naked Chasid chasing the water truck at Burning Man, Pitzu'ei Nachal, "Trembling Before God," the ex-Yeshiva-niks annual ball, and the reason why Orthodoxy won't ever become the only form of Judaism—v'hameivin yavin.

Design in progress © Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg 2006