Question:
I was always under the impression that Judaism firmly believed that there are no intermediaries between man and G‑d, and to pray to the deceased is blasphemous and outlawed by the Bible. If so, why is it permissible to ask the Rebbe to intercede on one's behalf at the Ohel?
Nonsense chabad necromancy article
ReplyDeleteIn depth article on related matter - nichush .
ReplyDeleteDispute between Rambam and Raavad
https://www.etzion.org.il/en/prohibition-divination-rambam-vs-sages-provence
My father, a"h, always pointed out the power of the verse "Shema Yisrael"
ReplyDeleteOne God, accept no intermediaries. Asking a Rebbe, especially a dead one, to pray on your behalf is too similar to Catholics who pray to their so-called saviour for divine intercession.
Chabad, Prayer, and Corporeality of Hashem
ReplyDeletehttps://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/104842/chabad-prayer-and-corporeality-of-hashem/
I heard that was also said by the previous Rebbe
ReplyDeletemany problematic statements in the Sefer haTanya
ReplyDeletequotes from the Zohar - if taken literally can be very harmful to your health.
One of the most influential Kabbalists, Avraham Abulafia, was "blocked" by the Holy Rashba , becasue of his use of practical kabbalah. He responded by criticising Spanish Kabbalah, and saying that the notion of 10 Divine "sefirot" is even worse than the Xtian Trinity!
I don't know that the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe said anything of the sort of thing his son-in-law proposed.
ReplyDeleteIf in fact, his father-in-law had said something similar, then the Rebbe would have noted his FIL's words, in order to support his radical position.
It’s important to note, that despite the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s indisputably vast command of Jewish sources, the Rebbe himself acknowledged that had no explicit proof for his thesis. This makes it almost futile to look for alleged “sources”, when the Rebbe himself admitted that he had no parallel source that he could point to.
The Ramban, Arizal, R'Chaim Vital, Gra, and R' Chaim of Volozhin, all validated the teachings of Kabbalah. So I think that it's pretty presumptuous of you to assume that you know better than them, when you don't come to their toenails in knowledge of Torah.
ReplyDeleteYou lack a fundamental understanding of Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, and you should not slander a part of the Oral Torah, which was given by Hashem, and is intended to be studied only by people who are on an extremely high spiritual level.
Your argument against the Sefiros is a rehash of an ancient "rationalist" slur against Kabbalah, which is quoted in Shut Rivash (157)
וכבר שמעתי אחד מן המתפלספים מספר בגנות המקובלים והיה אומר הע”ג מאמיני השלוש והמקובלים מאמיני העשיריות.
Here is one resource to help further your education:
https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/8920/why-isnt-the-kabbalistic-doctrine-of-sefirot-considered-shittuf-if-the-christia
Rav Aharon Kotler ztl tok issue with the previous rebbe, for making the Ein -sof-in-Rebbe claim. When I was pro-Lubavitch, this is what Rav Mordechai Becher (then at Ohr sameyach) told me. Then this current (deceased) Rebbe said he is at one with the previous rebbe.
ReplyDelete"He died in 1950 and was buried at Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York City.
ReplyDeleteHe had no sons, and his younger son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel
Schneerson ("The Rebbe") succeeded him as Lubavitcher Rebbe, while the
older son-in-law, Rabbi Shemaryahu Gurary continued to run the Chabad Yeshiva network Tomchei Temimim. After Schneersohn's passing, his gravesite, known as "the Ohel," became a central point of focus for his successor, who would visit it regularly for many hours of prayer,
meditation, and supplication for Jews all over the world. After his
successor's passing and burial next to his father-in-law, philanthropist
Joseph Gutnick of Melbourne, Australia, established the Ohel
Chabad-Lubavitch Center on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Queens, which is
located adjacent to the joint gravesite."
Rav Aharon Kotler had his own issues with the Frierdike Rebbe, during WW2. However I believe that either you or R' Becher are confused about the timeline of RAK's alleged objection about the idolatrous Rebbe claim. The last Lubavitcher Rebbe made this claim after his father-in-law's passing, which was several years before RAK passed away. I have seen no record of the Frierdike Rebbe making a similar claim, and/or that RAK took him to task for it.
ReplyDeletePossible!
ReplyDelete