I came across some very interesting things a few days ago online.
At the Kavannah blog there was a series of posts recently consisting of interviews with a Sephardic student of Kabbalah. In the second of the posts, the talmid relates how Rav Kaduri z"l sliced out the entire Tanya , along with sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, from the Chitas that he owned, after asking and obtaining permission from him to 'fix mistakes' in it.
The talmid goes on to inform us that great Sephardic mekubbalim (he names eight of them, including well known giants like the Ben Ish Chai, and Rav Kaduri, as well as other names not as well known to the general public) held that the Tanya contradicts the עץ חיים of the אר"י ז"ל (Rabbi Isaac Luria, the great, overwhelming master of Kabbalah from about five centuries ago). Also, great Sephardic mekubbalim instructed their students not to learn Chasidic sefarim!
Sometimes people assume that Sephardim and Chasidim are basically in agreement theologically. But the truth may be more complicated than that. Quite interesting.
Update: Learned from a comment at another blog that the matter is more complicated - see more here.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Bikur Cholim in America - pre & post WWII: Who Were The Pioneers? Setting The Record Straight
Bikur Cholim is a great mitzvah, which many Jews have excelled in for a very long time. But sometimes people forget our long background in it and get confused.
The Claim - Founded By Survivors
One occasionally hears or reads claims in frum circles like 'The (Holocaust) survivors started bikur cholim in America'. The explanation of the claim is based on their founding of a number of well known Bikur Cholim organizations, such as Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, Satmar Bikur Cholim in New York, and others.
But is this so? Was there no bikur cholim before the end of WWII in the USA? Is bikur cholim a mitzvah performed only by ultra Orthodox or Hassidic holocaust survivors?
What Does Bikur Cholim Really Mean?
To answer the above, we must first examine the meaning of the term ביקור חולים. Many people today think it translates simply into 'visiting the sick'. However, in reality, it means much more than that. It means to see that a sick person's needs have been taken care of, as seen in an article by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Kaganoff here. That encompasses a range of activities, from creating hospitals and clinics and treating sick individuals (which seems to be a major and greater fulfillment of the mitzvah), to providing them with support, such as by visiting, and providing food, encouragement and davening for them.
Pre WWII Bikur Cholim
In the pre WWII period, many Jews were active in working to erect Jewish hospitals, in various parts of America. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, sixty Jewish hospitals were established in twenty four US cities between 1850 and 1955. Such institutions enabled Jews (as well as others) to receive vital competent medical assistance, while at the same time getting kosher food and not being subject to Christian symbols and proselytization, which was a great threat in those early days in other hospitals (yes, America was different then than it is today). Great, sustained, and mighty effort, together with much Jewish funds, brought about the creation of great institutions to help the sick. Keep in mind that at that time the great level of government support for healthcare that we have today did not exist, making the feat all the more impressive. It wasn't like getting a government funded clinic for needy people set up nowadays. It was much more difficult. What a great fulfillment of ביקור חולים!
There are also old Shuls in various places with ביקור חולים in their names and constitutions, obviously something they were very concerned and involved with.
This is in addition to other types of bikur cholim, as discussed below, of course.
Post WWII developments
After WWII, various refugees migrated to the United States. They perhaps had not seen and were not aware of the herculean efforts made by earlier arrived Jews to set up the great Jewish hospitals in previous years. Where and how they thought the hospitals had come about, whether they thought they just appeared miraculously, just fell down like manna from heaven, or otherwise, I don't know. Nevertheless, they came and sought to perform bikur cholim in other ways, such as by visiting patients, bringing them hot food, such as chicken soup (I suspect it started out as a service for Hassidic patients who didn't trust the kashrus of the hospital food, and then branched out to others as well), among other things, in already existing institutions. Some Hassidic Rebbes, such as the Skvira of Brooklyn and Bostoner of Boston, famously got involved in referring patients to specific hospitals and doctors, who they believed were better than others. Nice and important things to do. But mostly in the category of supporting the ill, rather than directly being involved in treating their illnesses, which was taken care of by the hospitals brought about by earlier immigrants.
Conclusion
Different Jews made different contributions in the area of bikur cholim. Some were more active in building hospitals, while others were more active in support services after the hospitals already existed. Can the latter group then seriously claim that they were the pioneers in the area of bikur cholim in general, as if they invented it? Of course not. The lion's share of credit belongs to those who toiled mightily to create the great institutions.
To this day we see Jews, of various backgrounds and levels of religiosity, being leaders in the area of helping the ill (another way of saying bikur cholim), as donors of large sums of money, medical personnel such as doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators, as well as by providing support for the sick and their families with meals, apartments near hospitals, and otherwise. We are a merciful people. רחמנים בני רחמנים. This great mitzvoh is done by many types of Jews, not just one type.
So the answers to the questions we started out with are all definitively no. Bikur cholim is a mitzvah engaged in and shared by many types of Jews and is not owned by one group or another.
Just to set the record straight and put things into perspective. למען האמת.
The Claim - Founded By Survivors
One occasionally hears or reads claims in frum circles like 'The (Holocaust) survivors started bikur cholim in America'. The explanation of the claim is based on their founding of a number of well known Bikur Cholim organizations, such as Bikur Cholim of Boro Park, Satmar Bikur Cholim in New York, and others.
But is this so? Was there no bikur cholim before the end of WWII in the USA? Is bikur cholim a mitzvah performed only by ultra Orthodox or Hassidic holocaust survivors?
What Does Bikur Cholim Really Mean?
To answer the above, we must first examine the meaning of the term ביקור חולים. Many people today think it translates simply into 'visiting the sick'. However, in reality, it means much more than that. It means to see that a sick person's needs have been taken care of, as seen in an article by Rabbi Yirmiyahu Kaganoff here. That encompasses a range of activities, from creating hospitals and clinics and treating sick individuals (which seems to be a major and greater fulfillment of the mitzvah), to providing them with support, such as by visiting, and providing food, encouragement and davening for them.
Pre WWII Bikur Cholim
In the pre WWII period, many Jews were active in working to erect Jewish hospitals, in various parts of America. According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, sixty Jewish hospitals were established in twenty four US cities between 1850 and 1955. Such institutions enabled Jews (as well as others) to receive vital competent medical assistance, while at the same time getting kosher food and not being subject to Christian symbols and proselytization, which was a great threat in those early days in other hospitals (yes, America was different then than it is today). Great, sustained, and mighty effort, together with much Jewish funds, brought about the creation of great institutions to help the sick. Keep in mind that at that time the great level of government support for healthcare that we have today did not exist, making the feat all the more impressive. It wasn't like getting a government funded clinic for needy people set up nowadays. It was much more difficult. What a great fulfillment of ביקור חולים!
There are also old Shuls in various places with ביקור חולים in their names and constitutions, obviously something they were very concerned and involved with.
This is in addition to other types of bikur cholim, as discussed below, of course.
Post WWII developments
After WWII, various refugees migrated to the United States. They perhaps had not seen and were not aware of the herculean efforts made by earlier arrived Jews to set up the great Jewish hospitals in previous years. Where and how they thought the hospitals had come about, whether they thought they just appeared miraculously, just fell down like manna from heaven, or otherwise, I don't know. Nevertheless, they came and sought to perform bikur cholim in other ways, such as by visiting patients, bringing them hot food, such as chicken soup (I suspect it started out as a service for Hassidic patients who didn't trust the kashrus of the hospital food, and then branched out to others as well), among other things, in already existing institutions. Some Hassidic Rebbes, such as the Skvira of Brooklyn and Bostoner of Boston, famously got involved in referring patients to specific hospitals and doctors, who they believed were better than others. Nice and important things to do. But mostly in the category of supporting the ill, rather than directly being involved in treating their illnesses, which was taken care of by the hospitals brought about by earlier immigrants.
Conclusion
Different Jews made different contributions in the area of bikur cholim. Some were more active in building hospitals, while others were more active in support services after the hospitals already existed. Can the latter group then seriously claim that they were the pioneers in the area of bikur cholim in general, as if they invented it? Of course not. The lion's share of credit belongs to those who toiled mightily to create the great institutions.
To this day we see Jews, of various backgrounds and levels of religiosity, being leaders in the area of helping the ill (another way of saying bikur cholim), as donors of large sums of money, medical personnel such as doctors, nurses, technicians, administrators, as well as by providing support for the sick and their families with meals, apartments near hospitals, and otherwise. We are a merciful people. רחמנים בני רחמנים. This great mitzvoh is done by many types of Jews, not just one type.
So the answers to the questions we started out with are all definitively no. Bikur cholim is a mitzvah engaged in and shared by many types of Jews and is not owned by one group or another.
Just to set the record straight and put things into perspective. למען האמת.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Davening on Taanis Esther or Purim - Which is more mesugal, which the more auspicious time?
Interestingly, though, I noticed this year something a bit different, being promoted by the Vaad Harabbanim charity organization recently. They are promoting Taanis Esther, rather than Purim, as the special day for davening. Below is an image of their poster promoting it.
The passage of the sefer Kav Hayashar on which their poster is based, can be seen in context in that work here (starting with the top line of the page).
So which is it?
The Hassidic seforim seem to be promoting Purim day, while the Kav Hayashar is promoting the day before.
If I would have to pick one, I would take the latter.
Interesting.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
The Artscroll Revolution - The other new Artscroll video
The world renowned Artscroll publishers recently put out a video featuring their forthcoming, biezras Hashem, electronic Schottenstein version of the gemara, which has gotten much publicity online, and rightfully so.
However, they also just put out another video as well, which is also quite interesting, about 'The Artscroll revolution', in conjunction with their recent dinner, which seems to have gotten a lot less attention.
It can be see here.
Enjoy!
However, they also just put out another video as well, which is also quite interesting, about 'The Artscroll revolution', in conjunction with their recent dinner, which seems to have gotten a lot less attention.
It can be see here.
Enjoy!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Zayin Adar confusion on Litvishe Yeshiva calendar
Along the lines of a previous post here, I noticed on the calendar of a certain Litvishe Yeshiva the following words for today, ז' אדר. It states הילולא דמשה רבינו ע"ה, following which come the words תענית צדיקים. Interestingly, this Yeshiva is considered quite Litvish. And yet it has such a Hassidic formulation, rather than just writing that it is Moshe Rabbeinu's yahrzeit.
They write הילולא. Hillulah? Are they having a party, a special seudah for the day, with dancing and music (interestingly, even Hassidim, who are usually into celebrating yahrzeits, don't seem to do that today. Anyone know why?)? And then they immediately follow that with the words תענית צדיקים. I have difficulty understanding having both taanis and hillulah for the same day. I would think it is either one or the other.
It may seem like a small matter, but it is important. I assume that perhaps someone from the office staff, who might not have been aware of the import of the words, put them in, rather than a Rosh Yeshiva, who might have realized that that terminology didn't fit with the Yeshiva's tradition. Hopefully future editions will be corrected.
They write הילולא. Hillulah? Are they having a party, a special seudah for the day, with dancing and music (interestingly, even Hassidim, who are usually into celebrating yahrzeits, don't seem to do that today. Anyone know why?)? And then they immediately follow that with the words תענית צדיקים. I have difficulty understanding having both taanis and hillulah for the same day. I would think it is either one or the other.
It may seem like a small matter, but it is important. I assume that perhaps someone from the office staff, who might not have been aware of the import of the words, put them in, rather than a Rosh Yeshiva, who might have realized that that terminology didn't fit with the Yeshiva's tradition. Hopefully future editions will be corrected.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l seen in rare color video from last year of his life
Via Gruntig, in a new video, for the 70th anniversary of Bais Yaakov of Boro Park, in Brooklyn, New York, in the United States.
The Slutzk/Kletzk/Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva is seen at 0:51 into the film walking vigorously, and in a longer clip at 4:02 talking and gesturing powerfully. It gives us a glimpse into the passion and intensity of the renowned gadol זצ"ל. Keep in mind, that he was already over seventy years of age at the time the video was taken. How many seventy year old Roshei Yeshiva walk with such energy, and speak with such passion and vigor? No wonder that he had such an effect on people and the Jewish world.
There are photos of Rav Aharon, but this is the first video I recall seeing. I read that (as the saying goes, that one picture is worth a thousand words), one film is worth a thousand photos! So this video is worth a lot to me. So many people today never saw Rav Kotler when he was alive. Now they can get a better idea of what it was like to see him in action.
Rav Aharon maintained an apartment in Boro Park, just a few blocks from the school, so it is not surprising that he was at the event. He passed away just over two months after the video (the 50th yohrtzeit is approaching). זכר צדיק לברכה.
To supplement the video footage with some recent fine and informative reminiscences of the Rosh Yeshiva from that time and place, see two recent pieces by Dr. Marvin Schick, here, and here.
The Slutzk/Kletzk/Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva is seen at 0:51 into the film walking vigorously, and in a longer clip at 4:02 talking and gesturing powerfully. It gives us a glimpse into the passion and intensity of the renowned gadol זצ"ל. Keep in mind, that he was already over seventy years of age at the time the video was taken. How many seventy year old Roshei Yeshiva walk with such energy, and speak with such passion and vigor? No wonder that he had such an effect on people and the Jewish world.
There are photos of Rav Aharon, but this is the first video I recall seeing. I read that (as the saying goes, that one picture is worth a thousand words), one film is worth a thousand photos! So this video is worth a lot to me. So many people today never saw Rav Kotler when he was alive. Now they can get a better idea of what it was like to see him in action.
Rav Aharon maintained an apartment in Boro Park, just a few blocks from the school, so it is not surprising that he was at the event. He passed away just over two months after the video (the 50th yohrtzeit is approaching). זכר צדיק לברכה.
To supplement the video footage with some recent fine and informative reminiscences of the Rosh Yeshiva from that time and place, see two recent pieces by Dr. Marvin Schick, here, and here.
P.S. Here is a relatively recently released short video clip of Rav Kotler speaking with Rav Moshe Feinstein at a wedding, where you can again glimpse the intensity of these great leaders, זצוקללה"ה.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Jerusalem Post : The end of Hassidism?
Interesting article on Hassidic Rebbes of old who expressed the idea that the Hassidic revolution had already ended, in one way or another. Among them some of the greatest Chasidic leaders, such as R. Shlomo Zalman of Kapust/Habad, R. Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, the Divrei Chaim, and R. Shalom Rokeach, the Sar Shalom of Belz.
So when the Satmar Rebbe, R. Joel Teitelbaum (-5739/1979), the Divrei Yoel, famously remarked more recently that נשתכחה תורת הבעל שם טוב, the Toras HaBaal Shem Tov has been forgotten, he was not breaking entirely new ground.
So when the Satmar Rebbe, R. Joel Teitelbaum (-5739/1979), the Divrei Yoel, famously remarked more recently that נשתכחה תורת הבעל שם טוב, the Toras HaBaal Shem Tov has been forgotten, he was not breaking entirely new ground.
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