Those like myself who don't have any contact with Hasidic Judaism have only a superficial idea of what it is. We may have seen movies which take place in that community, but the movies seem to emphasize the idiosyncratic aspects of the sect: the insular culture, the quaint dress, etc. We don't often get an in-depth view of the teachings.
So, I was rather surprised to read in THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS the following summary of the theology:
", , , God's essence dwells in the here and now, and the encounter with God consists of the conscious realization of his veiled immediate pressence. . . .[E]very particular entity draws its vitality and existence from the essence of God that dwells at its core."
--- from "The Dance Goes On,"May 24, 2018, p. 32, by Moshe Halbertal, summarizing from HASIDISM: A NEW HISTORY, by David Biale, et all.
I expect some experts may define Hasidism differently and I also expect that some might say that nonduality comes from a certain Indian tradition and those who are not in that lineage can't be said to be nondual. It's all about labels, isn't it, though? I consider a line of thinking nondual if it leads to the understanding that nothing is separate, that that which animates all things is also their essence and not separate from them. The implication of that, of course, is also that no manifestation is ultimately separate from any other since all are of the same essence.
