Sunday, August 20, 2023

Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter and the sins of Gedolim - have their roots in Korach and his associates

Update: SEE posts about Breslov

http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2016/06/senior-breslav-rabbis-protest-sefer.html

http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2016/06/breslov-hashkofa-you-cant-be-saved.html

update: See my previous post
Rambam(Hilchos De'os 6:8): Therefore, a person should be careful not to embarrass a colleague - whether of great or lesser stature - in public, and not to call him a name which embarrasses him or to relate a matter that brings him shame in his presence.
When does the above apply? In regard to matters between one man and another. However, in regard to Heavenly matters if [a transgressor] does not repent [after being admonished] in private, he may be put to shame in public and his sin may be publicized. He may be subjected to abuse, scorn, and curses until he repents, as was the practice of all the prophets of Israel.

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People (especially their families and students) criticize me - how can you say they have sinned? How can you insult gedolim (which a rosh yeshiva claimed is a sin worse than adultery)?  My critics claim that what I say is impossible because they are great tzadikim! They are the gedolei hador. They have been responsible for decades of Torah development and countless talmidim? They are such nice people with exemplary midos.

How can you say that they are responsible for not only the severe distortion and corruption of the Torah and the rulings of Rav Moshe Feinstein and severe public degradation of an innocent man - but they have caused a man and woman to commit adultery! Perhaps even worse -that they have caused severe damage to emunas chochomim.

Unfortunately it is true and they have expressed no regret for their actions and have not done teshuva and apologized. Nor have they even said they have made a mistake. And apparently the adulterous relation still exists. [I am willing to publish a cogent defense of the Heter and the failure to denounce it and the failure to tell the adulterous couple to separate.]

To understand this reality one needs to not lose sight of an elementary truism - there is no man that does not sin (Koheles 7:20). However, not all men and not all sins are equal. The sins of an ordinary man are not that of a gadol nor are their consequences. The yetzer harah is very smart. An ordinary man can be readily seduced to sin by basic lusts such as money or women. For a person on a high spiritual level - the yetzer harah needs to be more creative. One of the sources for sinning unique to gedolim is in fact their high spiritual level. Starting with Adam, the most superior man of all times - sinned the first sin - in order to be like G-d. 

Korach's sins were also in the spiritual dimension. He decided with his superior intellect and logic that the Torah of Moshe was wrong and that he knew better.  Being on an elevated level he in fact had ruach hakodesh and with it he saw that Shmuel would be his descendant. That gave him additional support that his spiritual ideas were correct. However he was grossly mistaken and  he sinned in his effort to elevate the spirituality of the Jewish people and save them from what he thought were the distortions and fraud of the Torah that Moshe presented to the people.

We have also the case of Zimri who openly had sexual relations with a Midianite princess - not chas v'shalom because of mere lust - but because he wanted to accomplish the same spiritual tikun that Moshe had done with his wife. In fact when he confronted Moshe with this idea - Moshe could not reject the idea because he had in fact accomplished that which Korach wanted to do.
Rav Tzadok(Takanas HaShavim #6): Dina was incarnated in Kosbi whose father was the source of evil of Midian who wanted to destroy the Jews so that they would be like all the other nations. But Kosbi didn’t listen to her father and wanted to convert if Zimri was interested. This is the meaning of Zimri’s claim, “Who permitted Tzipora to you?” Zimri grabbed Kosbi by her hair in the manner of the Amorites while she was still a non‑Jew because he was the incarnation of Shechem and he sensed that there are souls of non‑Jews that come into to Jews and non‑Jews who have Jewish souls. He thought that by having intercourse with Kosbi he would collect the holy sparks that were in her while she was still a non‑Jew.
Rav Tzadok(Likutei Amarim #16): Zimri went to Moshe with the defense, “And who permitted the daughter of Yisro to you?” That is when Moshe married Tzipora she had not yet converted since she was under the control of her father Yisro to the degree that the Mechilta says that Yisro insisted to Moshe that his first son should be for idolatry – conversion came later…
Rav Tzadok(Takanas HaShavim #15): Zimri meant by his defense to Moshe, “And who permitted the daughter of Yisro to you?” that the children he had with Kosbi would be considered Jews. Thus he was doing a sin for the sake of Heaven which is like a mitzva not for the sake of Heaven (Nazir 23b)…
Finally we need to mention Shabtsai Tzvi and Jesus who also sinned because of their greatness. Here are the words of Rav Tzadok.
Rav Tzadok (Machavos Charutz #1):...Therefore the Torah has to command us "Be Holy" You might mistakenly think that means as holy as G-d...[See Vayikra Rabba 24:9]. When a person has reached perfection in holiness until he is comparable to the angels through his free will - the Yetzer HaRah does not leave him alone ever and seduces him with the thought that he can be as holy as G-d literally (mamash). Because of this a person can fall from the greatest heights to the lowest depths c.v. This is in fact what happened to Jesus and Shabsai Tzvi - the name of the wicked should rot. Because of their excessive asceticism their imaginative faculty grew and they thought that they could compare themselves to G-d. This all came about because they saw themselves as holy people....
The Baal Shem Tov also noted the problem
Shivchei haBesht(#66) Rabbi Joel told me… that Shabbtai Zvi came to the Besht to ask for redemption. Rabbi Joel said in these words: “The tikkun is done through the connection of soul with soul, spirit with spirit and breath with breath” The Besht began to establish the connection moderately. He was afraid as Shabbtai Zvi was a terribly wicked man. Once the Besht was asleep and Shabbtai Zvi may his name be blotted out, came and attempted to tempt him again, G-d forbid. With a mighty thrust the Besht hurled him to the bottom of hell. The Besht peered down and saw that he landed on the same pallet with Yeshu. Rabbi Joel said that the Besht said that Shabbetai Tzevi had a spark of holiness in him but that Satan caught him in his snare, G‑d forbid. The Besht heard that his fall came through pride and anger. I was reluctant to write it down, but nevertheless I did so to show to what exent pride can be dangerous. [in Praise of Baal Shem page 86-87

2 comments :

  1. Shabbetai Zvi had mental problems, was probably bipolar and some more as well. It was Nathan of Gaza that told him he was Moshiach.
    The later evil person, J. Frank was an out and out rasha. Zvi was obviously a rasha but he was totally meshuga, and had not real free choice.

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  2. the problem with attacking RSK is that he is the Gadol hador in America (Am -erva - ke)
    the Hareidi litvish world no longer has a gadol hador, or a recognized single leader accepted by all. by default, Rsk is the Zaken and posek of the generation.

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