Some lighter fare, for a change, in this special time of the year.
An Israeli website (re)posted a link recently to a niggun attributed to R. Boruch Ber Leibowitz, Kamenitzer Rosh Yeshiva זצ"ל, to the famous words from שיר השירים of קול דודי דופק פתחי לי.
On the other hand, one of the oldest and most famous Chabad-Lubavitch niggunim, going back to their first Rebbe, is set to those words as well.
If you listen to the two, they are both songs of yearning, not so different from each other (just sharing the impressions of a non-music professional).
On a related note, someone once heard a Misnaged singing the tune to a Hasidic song, and expressed wonderment. The Litvak replied that he is being מעלה the ניגון, raising the niggun, the argument that Chasidim have made when using non-Jewish melodies. Although caution is necessary with Hasidic songs, particularly when they are attached to questionable, objectionable lyrics, limited use may perhaps be made of them under controlled circumstances (this is not a general psak, which I leave to regular halachic decisors), exercising caution. If a shinui is made in them, an alteration, that could be grounds for additional leniency as well.
א גוטען שבת און א פרייליכען יום טוב
This isn't directly related to your latest posting but I'll share it anyway. The recent Jewish Action magazine(OU) featured a long article by Rabbi Genack about the relationship between the Rebbe and the Rav. Rabbi Genack gushes over Chabad and the Rebbe likely he was a Lubavicher. He barely mentioned Rav Soleveitchik in the piece. Dr. Berger expressed his displeasure with the Gedolim who failed to speak out against Chabad, but equally upsetting are all the prominent Rabbis who fawn over that neo Christian movement.
ReplyDeleteI saw the latest issue of Jewish Action (JA) recently too, and was quite surprised to see the piece by Rabbi Genack. I mean why all of a sudden, for one thing? And secondly, was there anything really new in there? It seemed to be basically a compilation and regurgitation of things we knew already, perhaps with a somewhat different arrangement and presentation.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it should be discussed in a separate post, but the key question, the elephant in the room, was not touched at all. It is like Rabbi Genack wrote that forty some odd years ago, when his rebbe went to the Lubavitch Yud Shevat gathering in Crown Heights, completely ignoring subsequent developments. I ask Rabbi Genack, what would your Rebbe, the Rav zt"l, say if he went to 770 Eastern Parkway today, as he did in 1980, and saw the giant yechi banner there, the yechi yarmulkas, the people lined up to get kos shel bracha, etc., etc.? I think it would wake him up, and he would lurch sharply to a viewpoint much more critical, like his great uncle, the Brisker Rav zt"l, who already in the 1950's discerned the dangerous messianism of Chabad Lubavitch under their seventh Rebbe, and spoke out sharply in opposition.
Rabbi Genack joins the list of prominent Rabbis who pay homage to Chabad. About seven years ago I showed my former Rosh Yeshiva a letter by Shmuel Butman that was printed in the Jewish Week.After reading it he called Butman a series of names, as I expected. I then told my Rov that But man was one of Chabad's five most powerful leaders. He countered that Chabad never heard of him. When I said that's quite unlikely since he's been on the radio for the last 20 years, he answered, "Lubavichers don't listen to the radio." From my experience Chareidim are unwilling to use their logic if they think it's at odds with their Rov or Rebbe. My former Rosh Yeshiva is brilliant, but he's a Millerite so he must accept the axiom that Chabad is perfect. My guess is that Moshiach is ready to appear and Satan is marshalling his forces.He's using leading Rabbis to promote Avoda Zara to the masses.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that some act as you describe, whether due to ignorance, naivete, desire to avoid confrontation, or other reasons. However, B"H, there are many rabbonim, roshei yeshiva, baalei batim, etc., who are steadfast in following the way of our great gedolim such as Rav Schach ztvk"l, zy"a, Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l, Rav Chaim Dov Keller zt"l, and many others, who distance themselves from Lubavitch, and teach their followers to do the same, if not actively opposing them.
DeleteAnon,
DeleteRather often you keep condemning through painting with a broad brush. There are very few like that. Probably a handful or less. Might as well come out and explicitly say the names rather than insinuate a broader spectrum
I don't think this subject has been discussed in your blog. I had Sukkot meals in a Chabad Sukkah. The Rabbi told those assembled (mostly Russians who know almost nothing) that each night there's an Ushpizin, but there's also a Chassidish ushpizin. He elaborated as follows: There are 9 Chassidish ushpizin the Bal Shem, Maggid of Metzrich, and the 7 Rebbe's. The Friediger Rebbe is the Ushpizin of Shmoni Atzres and he comes to the Sukkps in Chutz Laaretz. And then the Rebbe is the Ushpizin for Simchas Torah and he comes to every Jew's house. My question is when did Chabad come up with this
ReplyDeleteFor someone who despises Chabad you seem to mooch from them a lot of meals and other benefits. Tashmishe AZ are ossur behana'ah!
DeleteMr. Gold. I don't despise Chabad, I simply repudiate its theology, which puts the Rebbe at the center of the religion instead of Hashem. As for your allegation that I'm a schnorrer, I happen to be a valued member of the shul which I attend daily except Shabbos. Why do ostensibly observant Jews extend so much effort to malign Torah true Jews such as myself?
DeleteI would like to share another story from the Sukkah. At one of the meals a non Lubavicher spoke and related the following: Hashem is our loving father, but when a father sees that his children are misbehaving, he'll give them a "Patch". At the next meal a " normal" Jew spoke and corrected the previous fellow. According to Chabad theology there is no such think as G-d punishing. I think we know who developed this approach.
ReplyDeleteMr. Cohen, I believe you're operating under an incorrect premise. You're implying that only a handful of Rabbis endorse Chabad and so their influence is minimal .Not all Rabbis are equal in their access to the public. Efrem Goldberg has a weekly column and various podcasts.He regularly waxes poetic about Chabad. If it will make you feel better I can name five other prominent Rabbis off the top of my head who go out of their way to sing Chabad's praises wherever possible. Gedolim hold less sway for the masses than Rabbis llke Hersch Tzvi Weinreb who is also a doctor. This is reality.
ReplyDeleteUnderstated with regards to that.You are more than correct, unfortunately.
DeleteWas referring those of who you termed Millerite in specific. And I am personally familiar with much of that crowd.
In the Zchus of Sukkos let's see if we can make peace. Yes I've been critical of Rabbi Miller and his acolytes in the past, but this doesn't mean that we're on opposite sides of the fence. I have tremendous respect for Rabbi Miller and all that he accomplished, and I too, know and like many of his followers, having spent 30 years in Yeshiva Zichron Eliezer. What troubled me was being told what's right and wrong and not being allowed to offer counterarguments. I assume you're one of Rabbi Miller's adherents and you're probably in the majority who feel that he never made a mistake, but you have to admit that his ringing endorsement of Chabad is a problem. In contrast, while I have several Lubavich friends, I consider their brand of Judaism to be a severe deviation from the norm. Yes we do the same Mitzvohs and they do them very well, but our belief systems are polar opposites as their focus is on Kiddush Harebbe. When I began at Yeshiva Zichron Eliezer I told the Rosh Yeshiva that there are Talmidim and Chasidim. A Chasid blindly accepts his mentor's every word(according to this definition you can be a Litvish Chasid) while a Talmid listens respectfully to what his Rebbe(Rosh Yeshiva) says and never contradicts him. However a Talmid then investigates whether what he was told is the truth. Then I added, "I'm a Talmid and not a Chosid."(even though my family members were all Galytzianer Chasidim.) Now why don't you share your point of view so we can have a meeting of the minds. That's far more productive than meaningless name calling. I'm a very nice person, but people don't like the fact that I make them think, which means to reevaluate those axioms that they've adopted as truth(s).
ReplyDeleteMuch of what you said is correct and some do take it to extreme. For the record, I am not one of his adherents per se, and agree that some of his recent posthumous weekly publications convey a potentially inappropriate message as I observe from my own children and extended family who regularly peruse them
DeleteEverything must be taken in proper context. Which is the reason when I pick one of those weeklies I first turn to the back to see which number tapes it was taken from. That is to give a sense of year ,and which background , it was being said and extrapolated from
Dear commenters - We try to allow for discussion of important issues here, within proper boundaries, but please understand that not all submitted comments are fit for a public forum, especially when names of people that are not high-profile public figures are included.
ReplyDeleteComments are the opinions of the individual posters, not necessarily the site.
Mr. Cohen, your latest posting has restored my faith in mankind. I see that you understand that I'm not anti Miller, I just disagree with some of his opinions. What we Have in common is the Ikar, that is, complete allegiance to Torah. On the other hand, Chabad is a different story. I was in Shul and absorbed the Rebbe's spin on Sukkot. He said that this is the holiday of unity, as the joining of the Arba Minim teaches that there's no difference between Jews. This is garbage, but it's the Chabad mantra, and the masses soak it up. On Yom Kippur we ask the Bes Din She'll Malah for permission to include sinners and the Rebbe posits that there's no distinction between a Rosh Yeshiva and a Rosh Gomur. Again, I greatly appreciate
ReplyDeleteMr. Cohen, your last posting was greatly appreciated. I see that you understand that I'm on the same side as Rabbi Miller, which is pro Torah, even if I disagree with some of his stances. Please continue to contribute to this blog as it helps to have additional voices.
ReplyDeleteAllow me to share what I heard at the Chabad Shul I mooch from. Sukkot is the holiday of Jewish unity. We see from the joining of the Arba Minim that all Jews are the same. The Rebbe was a populist. He told people what they wanted to hear, even if he knew it's not true. At Kol Nidrei we ask permission from the Heavenly Court to include sinners in our prayers and the Rebbe interprets this to mean that sinners are as beloved in Hashem's eyes as Tzaddikim. Nothing could be further from the truth, but the Rebbe knew that his target audience would soak up this garbage.
ReplyDeleteI assume you got last night's postings, but I'll rehash the main point. Mr. Cohen deserves kudos for taking the time to reevaluate my opinion of Rabbi Miller and his minions. For the most part we're on the same side, but on occasion I find certain comments objectionable and I speak out. As for how I can challenge someone of his stature, before I do so I speak to people I trust and only if they agree with my assessment do I go forward.
ReplyDeleteHopefully I've clarified that I'm by no means anti Rabbi Miller. In fact we're both on the same side which is pro Torah. I can't say the same for the Rebbe. For about a decade I've been receiving a periodical called "Lubavich International." It's very well written, but I don't believe I've ever seen an article which discusses any aspect of Torah study. Instead we're told about the myriad of Chabad social service agencies, their responses to natural and man made disasters and the like. Clearly their target audience is the unaffiliated Jew who will likely be impressed by the fact that such "frum" Jews are concerned for Jews of a different stripe. As I mentioned in a recent posting, the Rebbe said that Sukkos is the quintessential Yom Tov, because the binding of the Arba Minim teaches that there are no distinctions in Judaism. Yes, in his mind a Rosh Yeshiva and a Mechallel Yom Kippur are on equal footing. Where did he develop such an irrational approach? My guess is that he was influenced by the Bolshevik Revolution which occurred in his youth. He saw how this movement appealed to the masses of young Jews, who discarded their religion in favor of supposed eglitarianism. Most people who are troubled by Chabad focus on the Moshiach issue. That the Rebbe sought to downplay the importance of Torah study is at least as disturbing.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reposting Hyehudi.org!
ReplyDeleteHyehudi Editor
Great post, and great comments (although someone here has an obssesion with Rabbi Miller and somehow always drags him in (מענין לענין שלא באותו ענין ) .
ReplyDeleteThanks O.L., great to see your words again.
DeleteO.L. I second Mr. L. that it's great to have you back but I want to address your remark that I'm obsessed with Rabbi Miller. Unlike some of the others who contribute to this blog, I'm not a dyed in the wool Litvak, although I'm much closer philosophically to this than the Chassidish approach(My family were Galicianer Chassidim in Europe). What I try to bring to the group is truth based Judaism and therefore I will criticize anyone who falls short of that standard and that includes Rabbi Miller. Perhaps I'm particularly "obsessed" with him because I attended a Yeshiva run by his Talmid Muvhak for 30 years and some of his teachings must be challenged. Just to clarify I'm anti Chabad, not anti Miller, but I don't accept the iconic status that he's been accorded. I hope this clarifies my position. More to the point, please don't be a stranger to this blog. We need curmudgeons like you.
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