I recently saw a new music video by well known, talented singer Yehudah Green being promoted online, which caught my attention, but some time passed before I actually played it.
The song is entitled "Yehuda Green - Di Rebbe Iz Do | יהודה גרין - דער רבי איז דא" ("The Rebbe is here"), and the words sung are mostly in Yiddish, with some Hebrew tacked on near the end.
But what type of רבי is meant? First I thought it might be a yeshiva rebbe, like a teacher of לימודי קודש in a classroom. But I quickly realized that was not the case, when the song made reference to Chasidim vis-à-vis the Rebbe. Obviously it was a Chasidic Rebbe, an אדמו"ר that was meant. But still, I was wondering about the background of the song. From the lyrics one understood that the song was addressing Chasidim gathering in the (physical) absence of their Rebbe, that were comforting themselves by maintaining that the Rebbe is nevertheless with them, despite not being seen. But I was still wondering about where the song was coming from. A clue came from one of the words used in the (predominantly) Yiddish section, קיבוץ (gathering), a word used by Breslover Chasidim for their Rosh Hashana gathering in Uman, which is otherwise not heard much in such context among חרדים (perhaps because over time it came to be commonly associated with a different type of kibbutz). I also recalled the Breslov roots of the singer, Yehuda Green, and a previous song of his with an undisclosed Breslov background that we posted about here a number of years ago.
To try to confirm my hunch about the song, I did some searching online, and guess what, voilà! I found a comprehensive report on the background of the song at a Breslover website. According to it, the song came together around this past ראש השנה תשפ"א, when many Breslovers could not go to Uman, due to the COVID-19 situation, and some instead gathered in Ramot, ירושלים עיה"ק. Along with the video of the Yehuda Green version of the song, it has a recording of an earlier (or the original) version of the song, in which the Breslov context and background of it is explicit. In that earlier version, the lyrics state that at every kibbutz of Breslover Chasidim, the Rebbe (R. Nachman of Breslov) is there, as R. Nosson (R. Nachman's student/successor) said. In the later Yehudah Green version, on the other hand, it just says Chasidim סתם, and 'as the תלמיד said' instead of 'as R. Nosson said'.
As with the earlier song mentioned, evidently with the latter as well, an effort was made to obscure the Breslov background of the song in the Yehudah Green version, to give it greater appeal to a broader audience.
Due to the commonalities between the two cases, my verdict remains the same as previously stated: Not for Litvaks. :)
א גוטען חודש
I don't think you needed to get so Lomdish in your analysis of Yehuda Green's song. There's a common denominator which links Breslov, Chabad, Weinberger's neo Chassidus and most Kiruv workers. Rather than stress the need for introspection and self improvement they just look for ways to "party." The Gemara says that all lies must have a leg of truth. These counterfeit forms of Judaism argue that the religion emphasizes the need for Simcha, but Simcha doesn't imply dismissing the underpinnings of our faith.
ReplyDelete@Unknown
DeleteWow...you managed to be motzei shame ra on thousands upon thousands of people in just one sentence.
He is pointing out that this entire new way of avodas hashem is misguided. Avodas Hashsem is inherently not easy. Adherenys of these movements are too cowardly to buckle up and do the hard thing, so they conveniently do fun things, like song dance and merriness and claim it to be Judaism. And to add insult to injury they claim this is the true avodas hashem, to the exclusion of the old way which they claim is too dry. Olam hafuch.
DeleteThe song (musical part) is nice, it's the words and the background of the song that give me pause. I wonder how many people enjoying the song understand the words and the context of it. The lyrics of the previous song written about a few years ago here were a lot more Hebrew language, and significantly less Yiddish.
ReplyDeleteSeems like a whole bunch of Litvishe bochurim there. This genre of Judaism is really penetrating the Litvishe circles.
ReplyDeleteThe video is a production, an act, with a relatively small group of varied individuals. The participants are likely people who were already into Yehuda Green type music, and the "Chasidic music" scene in general. So the idea of drawing great conclusions from it about the impact of Breslov in Litvishe circles in general is questionable. Some (all :) bochurim need a break, they can't learn 24/7, they get into music. For many or most, this is a general song, rather than a Breslov song. Without the post above, it is doubtful that the casual person out there will realize the Breslov background of it, as outlined above.
DeleteGood to see BFG is back in the fold, but this time I'm siding with Old Litvak. All these deviations from conventional Yiddishkeit Chabad, neo Chassidus, Breslov must be viewed as a new strain of Reform/Conservative Judaism. No its proponents don't advocate violating our tenets but they do something which is almost as egregious. They posit that Judaism, as presently constituted, has no appeal to the masses and it should be replaced by their mutant strain. I believe that this is Mr. Litvak's concern and therefore when he alerts us to potential dangers we can't simply dismiss the warning(s) by pleading Motzi Shem Ra. This said, I do agree with BFG that we have to be careful not to go over the top with our criticisms. A few years ago some gut wrote a booklet which was a screed against the Jewish music scene. He railed at MBD and Avraham Fried as if they were Hitler and Stalin. Sadly some of the fools in the Yeshiva world accepted this nonsense as if it was Torah Misinai.
ReplyDelete@Yaaakov @Old Litvak
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree your points regarding partying and the like and claims that this should replace real serious avodah because that has no appeal.
I disagree with making false blanket statements about entire groups. Anyone who does that is either malicious or is ill informed and is passing judgment on entire groups based on the actions of some.
Its motzei shem ra either way you slice it.
But When R' Moshe Weinberger makes what is clearly a joke about Litvaks(which I don't agree with either) you all have a hissy fit.
"clearly a joke about Litvaks"
DeleteI believe you are in error.
Not the point.
DeleteBut once again you choose to focus on minute, insignificant details.
The point is that while some of these accusations may certainly be correct about some amongst those groups or those claiming to be part of them, you allow and promote motzi shem ra about entire groups of Jews. These generalizations include many ehrliche Bnei Torah and even big talmidei chachomim. So add bizuy talmidei chachomin to the list.
I'd like to comment on the exchange between Mr. L and BFG. Clearly Mr. L is no fan of Rabbi Weinberger and to support this thesis he noted that the noted Rabbi made an offensive statement about Litvaks. BFG came to Rabbi Weinberger's defense by asserting that his remark was clearly a joke. To this Mr. L said that BFG was making an error. Now let me state upfront that I have no personal knowledge of Rabbi Weinberger, however I generally trust Mr. L's assessment. This said it seems that BFG is giving Rabbi Weinberger the benefit of the doubt while Mr. L chooses not to. With all due respect, I would challenge Mr. L because on a few occasions I criticized Rabbi Miller and each time those critiques were duly 'farenferred." When I noted that Rabbi Miller was a fan of Chabad and the Rebbe, Mr. L said that had Rabbi Miller lived longer he would have changed his mind. To this I say,"Meihechai Teisei?"(pardon my French. The truth is that you excuse Rabbi Miller because you're a fan of his and you believe, as do many in the yeshiva world, that he can do no wrong. Well BFG probably also excuses Rabbi Weinberger because he likes him. In my opinion we can't allow personal sentiments to cloud our judgments and therefore I think that both Mr. L and BFG need to spend some time in introspection. Please understand that there's no malice in my writing. There are very few people that I would give mussar to because they couldn't take it, but I think that those who participate in this blog are the exceptions.
DeleteRabbi Weinberger is not making humorous jokes about us Litvaks. He ridicules our way of life.
DeleteI do not relate to Rav Miller z"l as a חסיד to his Rebbe. I was not part of his kehillah or yeshiva, so I do not feel bound to all his teachings. But he was a great man overall.
DeleteTo clarify, my point was not to defend, excuse or give R' Weinberger the benefit of the doubt. I was simply pointing out that there have been instances (IIRC and I could be wrong) where he made such comments jokingly and it was made into an issue here. He has made such comments seriously as well. I was simply pointing out the double standard and the hypocrisy that I see going on here.
DeleteI surely don't believe that any of the groups that we've targeted is all bad, just as I don't believe that the Yeshiva world is all good, but the reason we're criticizing the former is because it seems that they're trying to undermine the underpinnings of Yiddishkeit, by replacing introspection and Torah study with partying. This said, I'm very pleased to be part of this blog because I find all the contributors to be intelligent, eloquent and truthful. We argue but it's for the pursuit of Emes and so I'm quite certain that Hashem enjoys our offerings.
ReplyDelete@ Yaakov
Delete"...but the reason we're criticizing the former is because it seems that they're trying to undermine the underpinnings of Yiddishkeit, by replacing introspection and Torah study with partying."
Who are the "they" that you refer to?
In your initial comment you were referring to several entire groups such as Breslov.
Do you believe this to be true for all or even most Breslover Chassidim?
Is Harav Yaakov Meir Shechter trying to replace true Yiddishkeit with partying?
BFG I enjoy your combative style but I get the sense that you're a bit of a contrarian. You seem to be more intent on catching the members of the blog in a mistake than in determining the truth. The "they" I was referring to are those groups who want to replace legitimate Torah values with random partying. At the top of the list I'd place Chabad but there's a Lubavicher in LA,Rabbi Avraham Zajac, who's an extraordinary lamdan. I am sure that you'll find tremendous individuals among all these groups. The fact is that I've made it perfectly clear that I don't consider the Yeshivish world without flaws nor do I blanketly condemn any Chassidic sect. Truth be told I come from Chassidic stock, but that means nothing to me. Rav Reuvein Feinstein said that Judaism isn't so complicated. It's about being a nice person and learning Torah. Whoever follows those dictates passes my inspection. When Mr. L criticizes individuals or groups it's because he senses that their values are at odds with conventional Yiddishkeit. I'm not suggesting that you automatically accept everything he says as Torah Misinai, but you must be careful not to fall into the habit of trying to find some error in our statements which you can use to negate them.
DeleteListen guys, I try to raise important issues here that are not covered elsewhere, and allow some space for discussion and debate. But let's not have things get out of hand. If things get that way, as they have done elsewhere in the past, things could get shut down (comments blocked, severely limited, or some other action).
ReplyDeleteKudos to Mr. L for publishing my critical posts. I certainly agree with him that Rabbi Miller was a great man. I was just making the point that his record has to be judged objectively. About a year ago someone came to my office and noted that he had discovered Rabbi Miller and this transformed his life. I mentioned some of the things that Rabbi Miller had said in the Toras Avigdor and the fellow remarked,"He didn't mean those things." I
ReplyDeletedidn't pursue the discussion any further because it was clear that he wasn't interested in the truth.
There are many gedolim, B"H. Each person is different. One person will find a good fit with one gadol, one person will find a better match with another. Rav Miller was not the most typical gadol (if there is such a thing :). Born in the USA, he went to public school in his youth in MD, then to NYC to learn, then to Slabodka, came back to America before WWII, was a Rav in MA, a yeshiva mashgiach and Rav in Brooklyn, but then he had to move elsewhere there due to neighborhood change. He lived long, he saw many things. He lived through the hard times, when Yiddishkeit was in decline among many. The things being put out now by Toras Avigdor are mostly, if not exclusively from his later years. His words reflect what he lived through, his kanaus, and originality. Definitely a unique person. It is good to understand where he is coming from, his background. I enjoy the biographical bits that make their way into Toras Avigdor, as well as the Torah and general wisdom of course.
ReplyDeleteMr. L, while I have tremendous respect for you I want to put this Rabbi Miller as a godol nonsense to rest. Let me cite the Toras Avigdor Parshas Beshalach 2020. Rabbi Miller cited the Midrash which said that the Jews traversed the Yam Suf through 12 separate channels. Rabbi Miller derived from this that diversity is a hallmark of Judaism. So far so good. He then noted that this is also true today as we have the various Chassidic sects(I don't recall which groups he enumerated.) Having said this Rabbi Miller then made special mention of the modern Orthodox. He noted that they are far from the ideal of what a Jew should be. He continued,"Since they do keep the Torah we're obligated to love them as they are our brothers, however we should think of them as brothers who have some infectious disease and stay as far away from them as possible." Good luck trying to justify such remarks.
ReplyDeleteWell, Rav Miller was a קנאי, but you have to keep in mind that in his time, especially in his earlier days, (some of) Modern Orthodoxy was a lot different than much of it is today. For example, mixed social dancing, tv, movies, etc., etc., were not unusual. Rav Miller was a Young Israel Rav in the old days (Y.I. of Rugby, which later became Bais Yisroel of Rugby), when some branches still had mixed dancing I guess. Over time, that changed, to a large degree, though remnants remain. Modern Orthodox is a large category, the left wing can be very left, to "Open_Orthodox"-Conservative, the right wing can approach Yeshivish.
DeleteYou're absolutely correct, but the problem is that the people who follow Rabbi Miller aren't able to see gradations. I showed that Toras Avigdor to Rabbi Miller's Talmid Muvhak and he responded,"I agree with Rabbi Miller 100%(what a surprise), you know what "those" modern Orthodox do, they make Brochos in front of their wives who don't have their heads covered. This statement was made in 2020. The problem with Rabbi Miller is that his adherents(Chassidim) hang on his every word and so if he said something questionable or even downright contemptible they defend it as if it was Torah Misinai. That's why Rabbi Miller's endorsement of Chabad is so troubling. Since Rabbi Miller is treated as sacrosanct in the Yeshiva world all the lemmings ape whatever he said and they continue to do so despite all the evidence to the contrary. Someone needs to step up to the plate and explain that when Rabbi Miller criticized YU he was speaking about the YU of the 20's and 30's which bears little resemblance to the current situation.
DeleteHaving said this, let me again express my appreciation to Mr. L. I know that it's not easy for him to deal with someone who's critical of Rabbi Miller still he prints my assertions. Last year I wrote a letter to the Five Towns Jewish Times which was mildly critical of Chabad. Not only did the editor not print the letter but he sent an email telling me how disturbed I was because, based on his experience, 99% of Lubavichers are perfect. I later discovered that his son had converted to Chabadism.
The point is that Mr. L's fealty to the truth is the overriding concern and that's why I'm so grateful for having found this blog. Sadly there are very few truth seekers in the world today and I include the Torah observant in that statement. By the way Yaakov and anonymous are one and the same, it just depends on which computer I write from.
That newspaper you mentioned, 5TJT, is a Chabad-Lubavitch newspaper, the publisher/editor is from a Lubavitcher family that has been so affiliated for generations, going back to Europe. A great deal of it is Lubavitch, and connected to his family, like when he features Lubavitchers from South Africa and Montana who are his relatives, along with his children. Don't be fooled by the lack of beard, and the usage of an English name.
DeleteYou're absolutely right but when I wrote to the paper I wasn't aware of this. I later spoke to my Chabad friend who told me that the Gordons were a well known Chabad family but the editor Larry Gordon and his father were, what he called, Chabad light. When I said that Larry's son Yochonon converted to Chabadism I was speaking Lav Davka. What I meant was that he had become hardcore Chabad. (edited)
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