We are now in the month of Ellul, approaching a new year, 5784, הבא עלינו לטובה אי"ה. It is a time when there is a special and additional focus on repentance, תשובה, and מוסר, rebuke. We are also just days after the passing of a leading Rosh Yeshiva.
So it is quite appropriate to hear some strong words, powerful and cleansing, inspiring and energizing, from the late Rosh Yeshiva of ישיבת רבנו חיים ברלין זצללה"ה.
45:20 app. -
Rav Chaim Nosson Segal shlit"a relates:
"You know the Rosh Yeshiva said over once, I was driving with him somewhere, and the car in front of us littered, and the Rosh Yeshiva said to me, the breakdown of society begins with littering. When you consider the road and the world to be your garbage can, so then you have no respect for anything.
That was the Rosh Yeshiva. There was no act that could not lead us to higher levels of קדושה (holiness). There was no such thing."
אשרי אוזן שומע זאת, ויתן אל לבו, אשרי מי שעמלו בתורה ועושה נחת רוח ליוצרו
Littering, especially in its more egregious forms, such as people who eat in a motor vehicle and toss the leftover packaging from it, is a serious violation of both common mentschlichkeit (basic humanity), as well as Torah.
Rav Hutner caused a tremendous pollution of the Litveshe hashkafa. Pachad Yitzchok is littered with ideas from Chassidic sources. He doesn't quote them openly, while he does quote the GR"A and mussar sources, in an effort to obscure the chassidishe ideas. He also did a very good job of "kashering" these ideas. Of course I don't think he was ch"v doing it intentionally to pollute the mesorah but l'maaseh it did. Its clear to anyone who learns P"Y and the chassideshe seforim he got many ideas from. Of course the Chaim Berliners will vehemently deny this. And the theres the spodik and chassidishe style maamarim he and subsequent Roshei Yeshiva gave. Even the way the talmidim relate to Rav Hutner is mamash like a chassideshe rebbe.
ReplyDeleteRav Hutner was a mixture himself personally (his father was a Litvishe, mother was from Hasidic background), so it is not surprising that such mixing can be seen in his teachings as well. We did call it out here in the past (e.g. https://mrlitvak.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-missing-havdalah-of-purim.html). He also came from Warsaw, which although it had a significant Litvishe tzibur, was outside the Litvishe heartland IMHO.
DeleteIt is known however, that Rav Hutner and his yeshiva were somewhat outside of the Litvishe mainstream. You don't mention the Maharal of Prague. He was a main influence there, a pillar, greater than some Hasidic sources that may have crept in as well, such as Reb Zadok of Lublin, who you also omitted, I would say. And the Maharal was not part of the modern "Chasidic" movement.
The bottom line is, that while he may have flirted with Hasidism and Hasidim, and even adapted or adopted selected Hasidic things, at the end of the day his yeshiva still davens nusach Ashkenaz (basically), and is not considered a Chasidishe yeshiva.
"The bottom line is, that while he may have flirted with Hasidism and Hasidim, and even adapted or adopted selected Hasidic things, at the end of the day his yeshiva still davens nusach Ashkenaz (basically), and is not considered a Chasidishe yeshiva."
ReplyDeleteMaking it all the more dangerous than chassidim, Chabad & neo-chassidism. Those are clearly identifiable in every way as clearly not inline or compatible with the Litveshe mesora and hashkafa. Only people looking for the easy way out or those that are of weak mind and spirit get drawn in by what they're selling. And let them get pulled in and away. Clearly they're not cut out for real, demanding, disciplined yiddishkeit and will end up weakening & distorting the mesora eventually anyway. As did the originals generations of chassidim. Look at the destruction they have wrought.
Chaim Berlin davens ashkenaz and is not considered a chassideshe yeshiva. Correct. And that's exactly the problem. You can see clearly what this has led to. Many of the talmidim of Rav Hutner and talmidei talmidim have no problem saying "torah" from the Sfas Emes, R' Tzadok, the proponents of some of the most dangerous ideas in chassiduss.
Regarding them davening ashkenaz (basically) as you put it. I see this as a problem also. Rav Hutner took certain minhagei hatfila from the GR"A and some not. They dont daven a pure nusach HaGR"A or standard nusach Ashkenaz. The same in halacha, certain minhagim and piskei halacha of the GR"A Rav Hutner adopted and some not. Either stick to the standard Litveshe mesorah or do minhag HaGR"a. Instead what we have is a hybrid bastardization of both.
As I wrote earlier, it has been known for many years that Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin is somewhat different. This is already mentioned as an established fact in the book of Professor Helmreich, published over forty years ago.
ReplyDelete"Many of the talmidim of Rav Hutner and talmidei talmidim have no problem saying "torah" from the Sfas Emes, R' Tzadok, the proponents of some of the most dangerous ideas in chassiduss."
The Sfas Emes, much of his teaching is like old-fashioned Yiddishkeit, so I would disagree with how you classify it. Reb Zadok OTOH, I think his teachings are more Hasidic.
Re how they daven - firstly, AFAIK there was no nusach HaGR"A siddur in his days as there is today. There was a siddur with the peirush of the GR"A - אשי ישראל, but that was not concentrating on the nusach and psakim of the GR"A as later came out in the form of אזור אליהו.
Furthermore, a gadol of his level can pasken for his yeshiva, e.g. like their minhag with regard to selichos.
Also I think one needs to keep in mind that since some (or many) talmidim came from Chasidic roots or homes, the Rosh Yeshiva may have felt a need to take that into account in his hanhaga there.