Recently, some within the Modern Orthodox camp have decided that Judaism requires the warm and passionate teachings of Kaballah/Chassidus to enliven and invigorate the Jewish world. Blogs and frequent Facebook posts are supporting this push. As a proponent of learning Chassidus and imbibing the teachings and messages, (as well as the fact that Chassidus was that which drew me to the Lubavitcher Rebbe ZYA as a child being brought up amongst the Modern Orthodox) I could feel a sense of elitism, of how the Jewish world is only waking up now to the gems and pearls that are contained within Chassidic works, and questions of why it wasnt advocated for previously. Alas, Im apathetic to such an approach. However, I do believe this could be a shift in regards to the transmitting of Chassidus and specifically the messages and teachings of the Rebbe. Chabads mission has always focused on the fulfillment of Mitzvos and Torah learning was always impelled, but Chabad may have fallen short in the stress. Not that the gauge has to only be based on those on the outside, but nevertheless Chabad is seen as the place to cater to Jewish needs while away on vacation, and/or to those who are completely unaffiliated. As mentioned by others recently, as well as in academic University papers - such as The Chabadization of American Orthodoxy, Oxford University, 2013 - even those who became religious through Chabad Houses, have often veered off to non-Chabad places of Torah learning for various reasons, which I wont go into now. What has been (until a very recent biography) barely spoken about in a formal fashion, is the formidable scholarship of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ZYA, which on top of being filled with cross references of Talmud and its commentaries, Maimonides and later major Jewish works, was also the osmosis of Chassidus within basically everything he transmitted. (In fact, in a sicha from 1965, the Rebbe explains that Chassidus isnt a 5th level of the Pardes system of analyzing a Torah text, but rather the soul of all the 4 levels. See Turning Judaism Outward page 306 onwards) I believe that this was not just an innovation, but also a prime message of the Rebbe which he wanted to transmit to the Jewish world. Historically, Chassidus was a later development in Judaism and was consequently perceived as an “appendage” to the previously received forms of wisdom. The notion that something which has only reached us recently is, in fact, the “essence” of everything that preceded it, represents a striking inversion of the generally accepted view that revelation gradually decreases with time. Traditional Judaism tends to glorify the distant past as a time of closeness between G-d and mankind, and the transmitted texts of earlier received wisdom are the source for all religious authority. The present is seen as a pitiful reflection of days gone by, and the hope of renewed intimacy with G-d is relegated to the distant future. The view of Chabad, (which comes to light powerfully in that essay) turns the picture on its head. The past was, of course, a time of great revelation, but time has brought us now to a renewed spiritual ascendance. The disclosure of Chassidus in recent generations, as the future period of spiritual bliss draws palpably close, has brought us nearer to understanding the nature of the Divine and it has opened a new hermeneutical gateway. Now that other strands of the Orthodox Jewish world are beginning to be cognizant of this, the feelings of ushering in a utopian time are conspicuous once more.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 19:30:13 +0000