UOJ Demands I Defend Hassidism and Gedolim Infallibility

Rabbi Dovid Eidensohn

UOJ Blog writes:

"What is very telling is what you chose not to disagree with. The Christian concepts of the Rebbe as an intemediary between Jews and God; and Gedolim infallibilty as an integral part of our Mesorah, is something I would want to hear your opinion on."

Me too, Are you up for the challenge RABBI EIDENSOHN?

DE RESPONDS

First of all I apologize to the UOJ blog for not responding to this point earlier. Actually, I had an ulterior motive for this; it was not just a lack of Derech Erets! I had thought that perhaps the energy to criticize our present Torah system in your blog might be utilized to realize how desperate the situation is and not just focus on one thing, child molesting. I believe that a huge amount of children are being molested by the system. But alas, I can't get anywhere when I try to throw a match in the gasoline! So I will finish sulking and get back to work, and find some Derech Erets and answer the above point!

UOJ and his bloggers challenge me with two issues: Hassidism and Gedolim in the Litvishe world. I will answer in that order. First, Hassidim: Is this a Christian religion where the rebbe is between man and the deity?

I have lived among Hassidim for about forty years, and don't think that anyone rates a rebbe as you describe.  As you correctly surmised Hassiduse is heavily indebted to kabbala. You will find in all Kabbala communities a great awe of a senior rabbi. Hassidim are not unique in that. Reb Chaim Vollozhner related to the Vilna Gaon, and Reb Elchonon Wasserman related to the Chofetz Chaim exactly as the most fervent Chosid related to his rebbe. Sefardim have an enormous respect for a Rov. What difference is there between any Chosid and his rebbe and a Sefardic follower of Aba Chatseiro?

This is rooted in the Talmud: "Greater is serving a rebbe than learning from him." The more we negate ourselves to our rebbe the closer we are to his source and his holiness. Reb Baruch Ber was extremely busy learning, but he traveled for many hours to faraway cities to speak to a simple Jew who had once seen Rabbi Akiva Eiger, on the chance that he would learn something new about that tsadik. For us this is extreme, but this is the way the great tsadikim were. The achieved their level through a very tight relationship and negation to a rebbe. Not everyone had a rebbe to relate to like Reb Baruch Ber or Reb Elchonon did, but the idea is surely valid that great non-Hassidim had huge awe for a rebbe.

I have always sought out a rebbe, and learned from gedolei hador. But only one person is The Rebbe, because he accepted me as a Talmid full blast on a very special level. Reb Shmuel Toledano was a mathematical genius who became a major scholar of Kabbala. Reb Kaduri wrote that his works were written with Ruach Hakodesh. He could read my mind and once told me off for thinking something egotistical. He was all of the way in the other end of his house when I was thinking that thought and I look up and see him standing in the door of my room and he says, "Yes, you did it." Wow.

When I saw what was going on I decided to get to work. I rolled out a list of my children and insisted that he bless every one of them for a good shidduch. (You can imagine who would be mischaten with somebody like me who curses out everyone in sight and not in sight.) Anyway, the shidduchim started to pop here and there.  I was once in a car with a prominent Hassidic Rov whose father is a major Hassidic rebbe. I told him my mechutonim. He knew them. They were the big rebbesheh names.

I'm not embarrassed. I say it publicly. Those shidduchim were nissim. My rebbe blessed me. Does that make him an intermediary? Huh?

Anyway, time went on and my rebbe became senile after he reached deep into the nineties. Someone offered me a lucrative proposition, to do a mitsvah and make some money. I was enthused. That night I had a dream. My rebbe came out of his room in his pajamas and said something. I knew what that meant. It meant no deal. I was so upset, but a few days later somebody calls me with a wonderful proposition. I later realized that the first deal would never have worked out, and the second deal is wonderful. I left out the part of the story that is embarrassing for me to relate. But who cares about being embarrassed when your rebbe keeps an eye on you?

Then my rebbe died. I had two sons to marry off. Was his brocho going to work like the other ones did? Wow, what shidduchim. "Greater is the tsadik in his death than in his life." Two daughters of two major Rosh Yeshivas in Jerusalem.

A rebbe is someone to fight with, but there are rules. I fought with all of my rebbes, and that is how I grew in learning. I played by the rules and besides getting my ego banged up here and there I got a lot out of it. I once met a major posek and I tried to put his shoes on for him, because he was having trouble. He refused. But I kept trying. But that has nothing to do with learning. When we spoke in learning it was fire. Of course, within rules and decorum.

To sum up: A rebbe is a repository of wisdom and kedusho and we want it. So we do the talmid thing and the rebbe does the rebbe thing, and anyone who thinks this is an intermediary thinks people like me are lazy slobs who just go for the benefits and don't work like the dickens to fight for the truth. The greater the shimush the greater the benefit, but this is simply a reflection of the rebbe's wisdom and holiness and that is all there is. You may believe that your rebbe talks with the holy spirit and if you believe that you negate your wisdom to his. Hassidim and others who have such relationships with rebbes are always talking about how they thought this and the rebbe thought that. But the rebbe was right. But the rebbe doesn't get between us and HaShem. Christianity believes in the utter decadence of mankind and therefore it needs an intermediary because the deity cannot stand people. Judaism, especially Hassidim, think that that all people however low and sinners they are have infinite love in G-d's eyes. Thus there is no place in Judaism for intermediaries. Our Father wants to deal with us, but we can get ahead by having a rebbe.

Then there is the story of a Chosid who sat among those extolling their rebbes. He told a story about how his rebbe blessed him to do a business deal and he lost his shirt. The others asked, "So what kind of great miracle is that?" He replied, "The great miracle is that I remained a Chosid."

We have elaborated on this and have not dealt with the issue of gedolim. This is an issue that deserves a column of its own, especially today when the Torah world is going against the grain of the Talmud niglo and nistor. Today what people think is Daas Torah is often the opposite. At any rate, even before I write that column assuming that I do, I make it clear that what goes on, on every level, for Daas Torah has no source in the Talmud or anywhere else, and is the figment of someone's twisted imagination. But this requires more writing than I have energy for at this point. I have heard support for this from gedolim of the past and present generation. One even gave me permission to write a sefer attacking the Yeshiva system!