6 Elul 5774 (Unless they do teshuvah.) This is a very, very severe sin. Most people are lenient with themselves and others on this, but Hashem is not so forgiving when it comes to His sovereignty.
I am astounded, everytime Rabbi Mizrachi gives a Torah lecture! I wonder, if Rabbi Mizrachi... could be Moshiach? I do not know any other Rabbi, who is so truthful and honest, and not afraid to tell Klal Yisrael.
It is very sad that the whole of Chabad has become smeared by these idiots bowing down to an empty chair. Please know that there exist many Chabadniks who DO NOT do this, and who function fully as orthodox Jews, without all this nonsense. The ones mentioned in this shiur are a breakaway movement, and should not tar the name of the entire Chabad communities.
Does this only refer to (a certain branch of) Chabad, or also to other branches of Chassiduth. or to other basically Torah-abiding variations of Judaism?
Like Breslev Chassiduth, just for example?
I know nothing about the bowing-down-to-a-chair business, but I have heard clearly from Breslev (and all its spelling variations) that they believe in connecting to Rebbe Nachman to reach HaShem, and justify this with the verse in the Torah that says "and the people believed in HaShem and in Moshe His servant..." (I translated this myself, but I remember from ulpan that "l'ha'amin" (where "emunah" comes from) with the preposition "b-" (which can also be pronounced "v-") after it means TO BELIEVE IN or HAVE FAITH IN...and only refers to HaShem - as in "v'ya'aminu baShem uv'Moshe avdoh" - transliteration from my siddur - so, by extension: When the Torah itself (last phrase in Exodus 14:31, in parashath Beshalah) says this about Moshe Rabbeinu, in this special way, can it be said that that HaShem wants us to believe in him the same way as Him or not? By the way, my ulpan teachers were native Hebrew-speaking Haredioth.).
Perhaps R' Mizrachi can explain this to us, as a native Hebrew speaker. After all, he made it clear in English that if we worship any human being, we are acting as idol worshipers, and I am sure that somehow he took this grammatical expression into account. I would just like to know how.
I apologize for any confusion this post may cause. Obviously I am not a native Hebrew speaker, or even close. But I would like to know, and I understand that Devash herself may not be able to answer this question. It's a toughie!
He's also clearly referring to Breslov's assertion that we can only connect to Hashem through Rebbe Nachman and he includes any other smaller sects who teach similar things. Kol Hakavod Lo for having the integrity and courage to speak of it openly.
I'll add here that I received a personal email several years ago from a major rabbi of the Breslov persuasion in Jerusalem who told me that he was no longer looking for Mashiach, because for him Mashiach had already come - his mashiach was Rebbe Nachman.
Just a few points of clarification on the Breslov topic. The Rebbe himself never claimed he was mashiach. He apparently thought that his son was going to be the Mashiach and therefore named him Shlomo Efraim (i.e. ben David and Ben Yosef), however when he died at a young age the Rebbe said that because of the spiritual opposition and machloket from the rabbinical leadership the Mashiach now wouldn't come for another 200 years (maybe 100 but I think he said 200). As far as connecting to Hashem through the Rebbe what he talked about was connecting through "the Tzaddik." Many in Breslov take this to mean the Rebbe himself, however not all do as he may have given hints but in general left the term open ended. Either way, it does NOT chas v'chalila mean that you use an intermediary. It means that you go in the path of the Tzaddik's teachings to get to Hashem and use his spiritual power to help piggyback your own avodat Hashem.
BTW, this concept doesn't originate with Breslov - it's a continuation of the Baal Shem Tov haKadosh and also I won't get into the whole drash right now but even the Ari brings down an idea that once a tzaddik comes into the world it's harder (or maybe impossible) to connect to Hashem without going in the path he taught.
Also Devash - I don't know who this Rav was or how exactly he phrased his email to you, but originally the phrase "My Mashiach has already come" is from Reb Noson - Rebbe Nachman's main disciple. This is not mean to insinuate that the Rebbe was Mashiach - he himself said, "My fire will burn until the coming of the Mashiach" so he himself didn't think Mashiach had come yet. What the phrase is supposed to mean is that while Galut and Geula are spiritual realities, they are also states of mind. If you are tapped into Hashem, connecting with Him and serving Him and always live your life like that then you are essentially already living in the times of Mashiach before he has even come (think what Chazal say that tzaddikim don't die but rasha'im are already dead during their lifetime). What Reb Noson meant was that by following and living the Rebbe's advice and teachings he was living with such a connection to Hashem that it was like he already was personally in geula - whereas the worldwide eternal geula would still require Mashiach to actually come. If you read through the prayers that Reb Noson wrote (Sefer Lekutei Tefilot) he constantly asks Hashem to send Mashiach, so obviously the "my Mashiach has already come" thing is an abstract term not meant to be taken extremely literally.
Devash - ain baya :) I truly appreciate being allowed to clarify. One of the first Rabbis I really got into when I started doing teshuva was Rav Kahane zt"l HY"D. I talked to a multitude of people about him and virtually everyone who knew who he was had quite a strong opinion on him either one way or the other. However I found that 90% of people who had what to say had never actually read a single book, chapter, or essay he had ever written! And the stronger their opposition to him, the greater the chance they never read any of his books. I even once was talking with some leftist off-the-derech Israeli and she raised an argument about the Arabs that was almost a precise word for word quote from the Rav. When I notified here that he had the same kushiya has her almost down to the letter as she had said it she was shocked as she claimed to despise him and everything he stood for. B'kitzur it was a huge lesson for me in the importance of learning things on the "inside." I'm often shocked at the difference between what I've heard in someone's name (even by those who claim to follow that person) and what they themselves actually wrote in their own sefarim.
Israel Tachlis, so interesting what you wrote in your last comment above. Believe that these left minded people (some very well-read and intellectual), have a set mindset,i.e., it sometimes is almost an impossibility to get across truth to them when you speak to them; it's like their thinking and views are set in stone. But, if they are intelligent enough, where they actually read non-fiction, they can be persuaded by the written word to understand more than by a 'right winger', according to them, telling them the facts/truth. The outright media attacks and hatred for HaRav Meir Kahane, ztl, H'Y'D, were so vicious and widespread; that's how they get these people to believe all the lies.
I am astounded, everytime Rabbi Mizrachi gives a Torah lecture!
ReplyDeleteI wonder, if Rabbi Mizrachi...
could be Moshiach?
I do not know any other Rabbi, who is so truthful and honest, and not afraid to tell Klal Yisrael.
It is very sad that the whole of Chabad has become smeared by these idiots bowing down to an empty chair. Please know that there exist many Chabadniks who DO NOT do this, and who function fully as orthodox Jews, without all this nonsense. The ones mentioned in this shiur are a breakaway movement, and should not tar the name of the entire Chabad communities.
ReplyDeleteThis was very good, emes.
ReplyDeleteDoes this only refer to (a certain branch of) Chabad, or also to other branches of Chassiduth. or to other basically Torah-abiding variations of Judaism?
ReplyDeleteLike Breslev Chassiduth, just for example?
I know nothing about the bowing-down-to-a-chair business, but I have heard clearly from Breslev (and all its spelling variations) that they believe in connecting to Rebbe Nachman to reach HaShem, and justify this with the verse in the Torah that says "and the people believed in HaShem and in Moshe His servant..." (I translated this myself, but I remember from ulpan that "l'ha'amin" (where "emunah" comes from) with the preposition "b-" (which can also be pronounced "v-") after it means TO BELIEVE IN or HAVE FAITH IN...and only refers to HaShem - as in "v'ya'aminu baShem uv'Moshe avdoh" - transliteration from my siddur - so, by extension: When the Torah itself (last phrase in Exodus 14:31, in parashath Beshalah) says this about Moshe Rabbeinu, in this special way, can it be said that that HaShem wants us to believe in him the same way as Him or not? By the way, my ulpan teachers were native Hebrew-speaking Haredioth.).
Perhaps R' Mizrachi can explain this to us, as a native Hebrew speaker. After all, he made it clear in English that if we worship any human being, we are acting as idol worshipers, and I am sure that somehow he took this grammatical expression into account. I would just like to know how.
I apologize for any confusion this post may cause. Obviously I am not a native Hebrew speaker, or even close. But I would like to know, and I understand that Devash herself may not be able to answer this question. It's a toughie!
CDG, Yerushalayim
He's also clearly referring to Breslov's assertion that we can only connect to Hashem through Rebbe Nachman and he includes any other smaller sects who teach similar things. Kol Hakavod Lo for having the integrity and courage to speak of it openly.
ReplyDeleteI'll add here that I received a personal email several years ago from a major rabbi of the Breslov persuasion in Jerusalem who told me that he was no longer looking for Mashiach, because for him Mashiach had already come - his mashiach was Rebbe Nachman.
Just a few points of clarification on the Breslov topic. The Rebbe himself never claimed he was mashiach. He apparently thought that his son was going to be the Mashiach and therefore named him Shlomo Efraim (i.e. ben David and Ben Yosef), however when he died at a young age the Rebbe said that because of the spiritual opposition and machloket from the rabbinical leadership the Mashiach now wouldn't come for another 200 years (maybe 100 but I think he said 200). As far as connecting to Hashem through the Rebbe what he talked about was connecting through "the Tzaddik." Many in Breslov take this to mean the Rebbe himself, however not all do as he may have given hints but in general left the term open ended. Either way, it does NOT chas v'chalila mean that you use an intermediary. It means that you go in the path of the Tzaddik's teachings to get to Hashem and use his spiritual power to help piggyback your own avodat Hashem.
ReplyDeleteBTW, this concept doesn't originate with Breslov - it's a continuation of the Baal Shem Tov haKadosh and also I won't get into the whole drash right now but even the Ari brings down an idea that once a tzaddik comes into the world it's harder (or maybe impossible) to connect to Hashem without going in the path he taught.
Also Devash - I don't know who this Rav was or how exactly he phrased his email to you, but originally the phrase "My Mashiach has already come" is from Reb Noson - Rebbe Nachman's main disciple. This is not mean to insinuate that the Rebbe was Mashiach - he himself said, "My fire will burn until the coming of the Mashiach" so he himself didn't think Mashiach had come yet. What the phrase is supposed to mean is that while Galut and Geula are spiritual realities, they are also states of mind. If you are tapped into Hashem, connecting with Him and serving Him and always live your life like that then you are essentially already living in the times of Mashiach before he has even come (think what Chazal say that tzaddikim don't die but rasha'im are already dead during their lifetime). What Reb Noson meant was that by following and living the Rebbe's advice and teachings he was living with such a connection to Hashem that it was like he already was personally in geula - whereas the worldwide eternal geula would still require Mashiach to actually come. If you read through the prayers that Reb Noson wrote (Sefer Lekutei Tefilot) he constantly asks Hashem to send Mashiach, so obviously the "my Mashiach has already come" thing is an abstract term not meant to be taken extremely literally.
ReplyDeleteIsrael Tachlis - Thanks for those clarifications.
ReplyDeleteDevash - ain baya :) I truly appreciate being allowed to clarify. One of the first Rabbis I really got into when I started doing teshuva was Rav Kahane zt"l HY"D. I talked to a multitude of people about him and virtually everyone who knew who he was had quite a strong opinion on him either one way or the other. However I found that 90% of people who had what to say had never actually read a single book, chapter, or essay he had ever written! And the stronger their opposition to him, the greater the chance they never read any of his books. I even once was talking with some leftist off-the-derech Israeli and she raised an argument about the Arabs that was almost a precise word for word quote from the Rav. When I notified here that he had the same kushiya has her almost down to the letter as she had said it she was shocked as she claimed to despise him and everything he stood for. B'kitzur it was a huge lesson for me in the importance of learning things on the "inside." I'm often shocked at the difference between what I've heard in someone's name (even by those who claim to follow that person) and what they themselves actually wrote in their own sefarim.
ReplyDeleteIsrael Tachlis, so interesting what you wrote in your last comment above. Believe that these left minded people (some very well-read and intellectual), have a set mindset,i.e., it sometimes is almost an impossibility to get across truth to them when you speak to them; it's like their thinking and views are set in stone. But, if they are intelligent enough, where they actually read non-fiction, they can be persuaded by the written word to understand more than by a 'right winger', according to them, telling them the facts/truth. The outright media attacks and hatred for HaRav Meir Kahane, ztl, H'Y'D, were so vicious and widespread; that's how they get these people to believe all the lies.
ReplyDelete