To the mystic, it is the first creation, to the physicist, it is a fourth dimension, to the marathon runner, it is a hurdle to surmount. But for most of us, time is simply a faceless tyrant - an indomitable force that drives us from a receding past through a fleeting present to an ever-elusive future.

Jewish tradition offers a more intimate experience of time, empowering us to delve beyond its homogeneous expanse to behold a terrain of great diversity. A terrain marked by a weekly cycle of creative workdays and Shabbat rest; with the annual landmarks of Rosh Hashanah awe, Passover freedom, Chanukah light, and Purim joy; with designated hours for the daily prayers, lighting Shabbat candles, or the havdalah ritual. Through these and a host of other time-specific observances, we reach within time to uncover its multifaceted nature and actualize its particular potential.

Inside Time is a three-book series exploring the soul of time as defined by the Torah and as illuminated by Chassidic teaching, particularly by the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The first volume of the series includes 28 essays on the origins and characteristics of time; on the way in which living in time shapes our psyche and behavior, and on the time cycles and systems that define the trajectories of our lives: the day, the week, the month, the year, and the unique features of the Jewish calendar.