https://60.ncsy.org/appreciation-rabbi-aryeh-kaplan/
In a sense, Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan was a meteor, a dazzling light that illuminated the darkened skies of post-Holocaust Torah learning, but burned out far too soon. With his scientific background, Rabbi Kaplan might have pointed out the inaccuracy of this comparison; more likely, his modesty and unassuming demeanor would have led him to deflect this much-deserved praise. And that, in a nutshell, is the life-story of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.
Few, if any, have had greater impact on the Jewish spiritual awakening often called “the teshuva movement.” Although other religious leaders sent out emissaries and still others opened yeshivot, Rabbi Kaplan directly and personally impacted an almost unfathomable number of Jews, primarily through NCSY, but also through his prolific writing. Rabbi Kaplan saw the teshuva phenomenon not so much as a movement, but as a perfectly natural, even inevitable return of Jews to their heritage.
Hilchot melachim, 11; 4
ReplyDeleteאַף יֵשׁוּעַ הַנּוֹצְרִי
שֶׁדִּימָה שֶׁיִּהְיֶה מָשִׁיחַ, וְנֶהֱרָג בְּבֵית דִּין, כְּבָר
נִתְנַבֵּא בּוֹ דָּנִיֵּאל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וּבְנֵי פָּרִיצֵי עַמְּךָ
יִנַּשְּׂאוּ לְהַעֲמִיד חָזוֹן וְנִכְשָׁלוּ" (דניאל יא, יד). וְכִי יֵשׁ
מִכְשׁוֹל גָּדוֹל מִזֶּה, שֶׁכָּל הַנְּבִיאִים דִּבְּרוּ שֶׁהַמָּשִׁיחַ
גּוֹאֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמוֹשִׁיעָם, וּמְקַבֵּץ נִדְחֵיהֶם וּמְחַזֵּק
מִצְוָתָן, וְזֶה גָּרַם לְאַבֵּד יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּחֶרֶב, וּלְפַזֵּר
שְׁאֵרִיתָם וּלְהַשְׁפִּילָם, וּלְהַחֲלִיף הַתּוֹרָה, וּלְהַטְעוֹת רוֹב
הָעוֹלָם לַעֲבֹד אֱלוֹהַּ מִבַּלְעֲדֵי ה'.
אֲבָל מַחְשְׁבוֹת בּוֹרֵא עוֹלָם אֵין כּוֹחַ בָּאָדָם לְהַשִּׂיגָם, כִּי
לֹא דְּרָכֵינוּ דְּרָכָיו וְלֹא מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵינוּ מַחְשְׁבוֹתָיו. וְכָל
הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלּוּ שֶׁל יֵשׁוּעַ הַנּוֹצְרִי, וְשֶׁל זֶה
הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִי שֶׁעָמַד אַחֲרָיו, אֵינָן אֶלָּא לְיַשֵּׁר דֶּרֶךְ
לַמֶּלֶךְ הַמָּשִׁיחַ, וּלְתַקֵּן אֶת הָעוֹלָם כֻּלּוּ לַעֲבֹד אֶת ה'
בְּיַחַד: שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "כִּי אָז אֶהְפֹּךְ אֶל עַמִּים שָׂפָה בְרוּרָה
לִקְרֹא כֻּלָּם בְּשֵׁם ה' וּלְעוֹבְדוֹ שְׁכֶם אֶחָד" (ראה צפניה ג, ט).
Wow so you follow the Rambam while Rabbi Kaplan follows the Ramban as does , chasidus Kabbala and Modern Yiddishkeit - So what?
ReplyDeleteWhere does ramban _Nachmanides tout pantheism, or that God is present in my Coca Cola, my Hindu Neighbor's gold idols, and my stone fireplace?
ReplyDeleteI guess you never learned about tzimtzum?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/issues-mussar-and-faith/miracles-nature-and-what-lies-between
ReplyDeleteabout it, yes. nobody seems to agree what it means. Gra, Tanya, Chaim Volozhiner, Leshem... they all have different interpretations. Rav Triebitz gives a shiur on the Leshem, and then there are peopel who dispute whether he understands what the Leshem says..
ReplyDeleteAlso , even the Holy Raavad who takes issue with Rambam, only disputes whether people whose minds were confused by midrashim are classed as apikorsim. He is not confirming that position.
ReplyDelete