Chabad - Why Chabad frightens me

The following reasonable and sensitive comment by Rabbi Oliver asks for my personal response. I will take a reluctant stab at answering because it is actually asking a very hard question - Who are you? - as if this were relevant to these issues.

I am first of all an observer and a participant. I have meaningful friends and interactions with a wide range of people with a wide range of beliefs. I have focused for many years on understanding the meta issues of the Jewish people and to be able to articulate the processes which lead to success and those which lead to disaster. If you peruse my seforim - Yad Moshe - the index to the Igros Moshe, Yad Yisroel - the index to the Mishna Berura and finally Daas Torah - the range of legitimate hashkofa views. You will notice that I am providing an interface - for others - to be able to quickly gain access to information of our gedolim regarding a wide range of issues. As I wrote in the introduction to Daas Torah - I was advised by the great talmid chachom and baal machshava - HaRav Moshe Shapiro, shlita - to let the texts speak for themselves without interjecting myself into the issues. Thus I try to stay in the background - but at the same time I try to make things happen as a catalyst for others.

The issue of Chabad is a very troubling one. The most frightening thing in the world is not a monster but something familiar - someone you love who might be corrupted and is out to destroy you. For example a husband or wife who becomes mentally ill and it is difficult to know whether their thoughts and actions are healthy or sick. A child who is a drug addict. Cancer is the most frightening disease because it turns your own healthy body into a destructive and deadly force. The communist scares of the McCarthy era was that maybe your best friends or your father was a communist. The horrors of the Inquisition were the result of the fear of the goyim that those who had converted were not sincere and so they did horrible tortures on people to try and clarify whether the converts were friend or foe. Fat people, mental ill people or the handicapped are discriminated against because they are distortions of what a person is supposed to be. The Fifth Column or traitor is the most frightening enemy.

I once talked to a chabadnik who lives in Crown Heights and asked him how he could live with the low life muggers and drug addicts that surrounded and permeated his neighborhood. He said ,"I can live with that because it is obvious that they are the enemy and they have no influence on me or may family. I could never live in Flatbush or some other nice quiet neighborhood because I would constantly be explaining to myself and my kids why that saintly apikorus or Christian is somehow inferior because they don't have Torah. I would be in constant fear that my children would fall in love with wonderful Reform or Conservative Jews. - who have more sensitivity than their chabad teachers. In Crown Heights I know who I am and I know who I am not."

Chabad elicits primal fears because they are in many ways the ideal of what a Jew is, at the same time they seem to do or think such grotesque absurd things or even heretical ideas that the cognitive dissonance drives me crazy. Therefore whenever Chabad says, "Look at all the mitzvos we do, look at our mesiras nefesh, look at all the people are frum because of us." It doesn't advance their cause it makes it worse because the dissonance becomes stronger. Whenever a chabadnik says, "Well on the surface what we say and do might seem problematic but if you learn to think like us by years of study you will agree that there is no problem" also increases the problem. If I, after years of Torah study or the talmidei chachomim I know and respect are upset about what they hear and read about Chabad - it doesn't help to say that my role models of Torah don't know what they are talking about. The "Just trust me" of the chabadnik is scary. After all isn't that what the Wolf said to Little Red Riding Hood?
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Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver has left a new comment on your post "Chabad - Daas Torah Blog is "Pure unadulterated ha...":

I actually thought his mention of your sincerity was a backhanded compliment. Whatever.

Rabbi Eidensohn, just as you say that Chassidei Chabad should understand where you and your colleagues are coming from, so should you try to understand where Chassidei Chabad are coming from.

The relationship that a Chabad Chossid has with his Rebbe is a very deep relationship. It's not just about learning Torah. It's a deep personal feeling, and it's supposed to be (see, for example Kuntres Hishtatchus from the Mittele Rebbe). What if someone would start a blog badmouthing your father, would you respond dispassionately? I don't think anyone would. And if you didn't, would that reflect badly on your character? Nope.

So when you come on here, for all to see, and in essence attack Chassidim and even the Rebbe, albeit in a scholarly sounding way, it's very upsetting. We know that these claims come from misquotes, exaggerations, third-hand reports, etc. Take your post right here. Is it really fair to jump to a conclusion that one hostile post tarnishes the entire movement? I think not. We also know that some claims have some truth to them, albeit exaggerated as if these are faults of everyone or most, when in fact it's only a small minority or even a handful. You see, we know that these are exaggerations.

For example, we know that the vast majority of Lubavitchers are very nice people, and the earlier post where you quoted something impolite that a Lubavitcher said to you really comes off as a totally unfair misrepresentation, when we know that it's not so. Also, we know that there exist some regrettable faults in certain individuals over which we don't have much control, and quite frankly, that also causes us pain.

This upset feeling is all the more intense when we as Lubavitchers know that a claim, certainly the one concerning revelation of Elokus in Tzadikim, is simply not factual.

I personally have been so upset that I've had to make a tremendous effort not to go there, and stick to the issues in a more understated way, because that's the way I'm going to have some constructive impact. I think that Hirschel's post wasn't constructive, but personally, I can relate to Hirschel's sentiments. And I know other Chassidim who are so upset when they see the distortions and exaggerations, etc., that they just can't handle it, so they avoid such sites and interactions altogether.

I don't know you personally; I'm still trying to figure you out from your blog, but there definitely exist people who have a sick, malicious agenda to attack everything about Chabad, one driven by far less than pure motives, even if only subconsciously. Everything they can get their hands on that sounds disparaging, they post, and all in the name of "exposing the truth." That's sinas chinam because although there are pretexts for the hatred, at the core those are not the reasons, and this is just evident in the way they talk. They are out there, and everyone knows the names of their blogs. Is it so far-fetched for someone to confuse you with them, that you should be surprised at a hostile response? (By the way, I'd appreciate a response, instead of just reposting my post for others to respond.)

Chabad - An angry screed with some good points

The following angry screed is being posted simply because R' Bergstein does make some valuable points which have been ignored up till now. However, his knee jerk fury is apparent from the fact that he is responding as if Prof. David Berger has been participating in the discussion when in fact it is Rabbi Micha Berger - founder of AishDas Society - who has devoted his life to Ahavas Yisroel and is a mumche in Machshava.

I have attempted to be even handed in the presentation - and most of the feedback I have seen indicates that I have succeeded in keeping things well within acceptable bounds. This is not a debating society to score points but simply a forum to have an intelligent discussion with people you would not be able to interact with otherwise. These issues are not ivory tower academics or theological hairsplitting. These are real concerns for frum yidden and the future of our people.

R' Chaim Moshe Bergstein (Farmington Hills Michigan) comments to "Chabad - Faith or Text Based Hashkofa?":

again david berger [sic] you spout your nonsense as if you really care.how many people have you gone out of your way to bring into Yiddishkeit? and if you do care why don't you concentrate on the Jews who don't keep Shabbos and get them to keep Shabbos?

you are now a big-shot in YU. The Rav was a personal friend of the Rebbe and came to his 80th birthday. the sicho that is in your craw was said in 1950 and was widespread. 32 years later the Rav comes to greet your apikores in his building?! so what can the casual observer say ?? that the Rav found a way to interpret that Sicha in a kosher way.

The same for Reb Moshe who was a personal friend of the Rebbe even while he disagreed with some of the Rebbe's ideas. If this is so blatant then how would Reba Moshe have the audacity to address the Rebbe as Hagaon HaKodosh in the Igros Moshe?-well after 1950!

your interpretation is consistently weighted to the bad side when it can be equally translated differently from your silly conclusion even in this tzitut that you quote.There are many dargos of what is called Atzmus Umehus including the esser Sefiros and many dargos in OHr ayn sof. furthermore the concept is based upon memutza hamechaber-not a new idea but the biur of Shchina Medaberes Bigrono Shel Moshe by the Rebbe Rashab in resh nun tes.(1899) if this was so awful how was Reb Chaim so close to such an Apikores????chas vesholom! the Rebbe Rashab was a gaon and a Kodosh as was our late Rebbe ZTL and you are the opposite.

use the word memutza hamechaber as a wire for electricity and there are no shaalos except what you would like to place because of your sick need to kick someone around.

you will say no-you want to save the generation-save the jews in YU that they shouldn't do non-tznius things , that they should never become Rabbis in conservative shuls,that they should not endorse the zoologist Slifkin, that the girls in Stern's college should have a dress code according to the Shulchan Aruch, that the thousands who are frieing out in front of you should pause and reconsider.

instead all of your energies are focused upon blackballing Jews who are more religious than you and for a great part more knowledgeable than you and enjoy their religion more than you. this is really a great thing you are doing-for the Satan!

Big Brother in Beitar III - Undesirables in Beitar are frum yidden

Anonymous comment to "Big Brother in Beitar":

There is a clear distinction between Lakewood and Beitar in that the "undesirables" in Beitar are sincere frum people who have issues such as being baalei teshuva, kids off the derech, not dressing according to the charedi mold, etc. If they can't live in a frum neighborhood then they have no other choice. Plus, it could happen to anyone with teenagers, no matter how frum the rest of the family is. Though the people who are bullied and intimidated and discriminated against are usually davke the loners and weak people who can't take it and either suffer or just leave the community - these people are not illegal aliens and drug dealers. If anything it's the establishment here that acts like thugs. Everyone here accepts in theory the concept of controlled demographics, but the problem is the discriminatory, corrupt, mafia, big brother, etc methods. and that there is a built in system for neighbors to use loshon hara and even motzei sheim ra to label someone as a pariah, without clear guidelines and due process to determine the truth and the proper way to resolve the issues. This system is the background to the ultimate result of a 14 year old girl being reported on, tracked, and attacked with acid in her face, though they had harassed and threatened her older sister. This is clearly antithetical to the beginning of the Tur's choshen mishpat. [quote] not to mention all of the mussar values of the Torah way of life. I am sure the Chofetz Chaim is rolling over in his grave that this is what passes for "chassidus" and "kedusha" nowadays.

Chabad - Daas Torah Blog is "Pure unadulterated hatred" (Hirschel Tzig)

Hirschel Tzig has strongly criticized my integrity on his blog. He "proves" my lack of sincerity by the obvious fact that I do not publish anonymously. Only anonymous bloggers are sincere since their sincerity endangers them. Since I am apparently not concerned with being personally attacked that "proves" that I am not genuine and am merely a purveyor of hatred against Chabad. I would not be making this a post except that he is an influential blogger and a self proclaimed defender of Chabad. His style of defense is perhaps stronger proof than all the erudite and sensitive comments of Rabbi Oliver that there is something seriously wrong with Chabad today. He wrote the following on his blog - Circus Tent in a post title "Not-so-brave man"

I was recently made aware of the DaatTorah Blog. In a nutshell; the blog can be defined in one word: Hateful. In a scholarly, "We're concerned about the problematic teachings and sichos" kind of way. Which is kind of like the white supremacists pointing out the "problematic passages in the Talmud." If you have a problem with Jews then you'll believe anything. The same goes for Lubavitch, a microcosm of the entire Klal Yisroel. What DaatTorah is, is basically rehashed Areivim posts and thoughts by some of the shining stars who post there, Mr. Eidensohn included. One thing did surprise me, the fact that he put his name and picture up for all to see. His name is on all his comments on Areivim, but the picture adds a nice touch to it. Makes it a very open exchange of ideas and of opinions, and shows that he truly believes in what he opines, and is willing to put his face behind every comment.

Why does that surprise me? After all, it's only the ones who show the hypocrisies of the mainstream that need to worry about their safety and the education and marriage prospects of their children. They're the ones who are terrified of people finding out who they are and phone calls made to their childrens' chadorim and schools that the ____________ kids are not be allowed there anymore. Not that I think I need to worry about THAT aspect of it, or at least that's I'm told, but I do need to worry in general, you never do know which zealot can decide that I offended his something or other and deserve to be hurt or my property damaged. So we live in anonymity, and the Eidensohns of the world are out there for all to know, maybe even thinking of themselves as respectable gentlemen doing what's right ------ fighting the evil empire, Chabad.

C'est La Vie.

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Hirshel Tzig comment to "Chabad - Chasidim - not just Litvaks - are upset":

The Rebbe was referring not to "a drunk shliach" but to a Yid, a Baal Mesiras Nefesh in Russia, who made a statement, not disrespectfully I might add, about the Chazon Ish. The Chazon ish of 1954, not the Chazon Ish of 2008. By that I mean that his reputation was not what it is today.

I have issues with people who like the anonymous commenter you quote who make statements about groups they know VERY little about, and do not have the intellectual capacity to understand what they mean.

I'll reiterate the statement I made on my blog: This is nothing but pure unadulterated hate towards Chabad, albeit in a suit and tie. Sorta like Joe Kennedy's anti-Semitism, very refined, but still the same thing, if not worse.

Chabad - Chasidim - not just Litvaks - are upset

Anonymous comment to "Chabad - Faith or Text Based Hashkofa?":

I have long been very open minded and accepting toward Chabad. As a chussid, I have been raised to love every yid, no matter what.

I learned about Chabad in a kind of backwards fashion. I asked Chabadniks both in person and on the net for explanations. And I started to become increasingly alarmed not merely about the irrationality of some of their beliefs, but also of the utter hatred they have toward others. A Jew who did not learn Tanya is not learning an integral component of the Torah!!! The Rebbe actually stated this to justify the remarks of a certain drunk shliach which amounted to, "The Chazon Ish is jealous of any young boy learning Tanya in Tomchei Temimim." Once I saw this for myself, I started really questioning the Rebbe. The Chazon Ish was quite close to the Vizhnitzer Rebbe, and I, as a Vizhnitzer Chussid, always had appreciation for the way the Chazon Ish talked about the Ahavas Yisroel, zy"a. My Rosh Yeshiva, the great gaon, Rav Rafoel Schorr, shlit"a, introduces us to the method of the Chazon Ish. As you can imagine, I love his seforim. To read this comment and the tortured logic used in his justification shook me up considerably. I later found several blogs on the net which is seething with hatred toward litvishe gedolei yisroel, replete with lies. The vehemence of their rancor toward Rav Shach knows no bounds--and facts and honesty don't get in the way, either. Reading the well known comments you are grappling with leads me to conclude, like my father always said, that the Rebbe was an incredibly great man who simply said things which were, at times, off. Much worse, I think, are those who call themselves Chabad chassidism who have brought so much hatred for anyone who is not like them in this world. I am not saying everyone is like this, c"v. On the contrary, I have met some genuinely lovely people from Chabad. But others like Ariel Sokolovsky and those who post on theantitzemach.blogspot.com have genuine issues with halacha, hashkafa, and other yidden. And that, I think, is something which would cause their Rebbe pain.

Its a real shame things ended up like this.

Chabad - Current generation misunderstands Kabbala?

LazerA comment to "Chabad - Tzimtzum - literal or figurative?":

Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver said...
"Excuse me, LazerA, who won't answer the question about his or her kabbalistic knowledge, exactly which kabbalistic concepts do you claim "Chabad" has "misunderstood"?"

At no point was I ever asked about my kabalistic knowledge, nor would I have bothered answering such questions. This discussion is not about me, nor, quite frankly is it relevant what my personal knowledge level might be. None of my statements have depended on substantive kabalistic knowledge.

In this entire discussion, I have focused on two points:
A) That the concept of figurative tzimtzum that is well-established in Chasidic thought (incl. Chabad) is also accepted by non-Chasidid sources, such as the Nefesh Hachaim, and, in fact, may be the opinion of the Vilna Gaon as well, as per R' Dessler. (R' Dessler was a brilliant talmid chacham with VERY substantive knowledge of kabalalistic sources. His opinion cannot be simply shrugged off as ignorant.)

B) That the dangers associated with kabalistic knowledge are real and have not disappeared simply because the gedolim have determined that that knowledge should be revealed.

Neither point is one requiring great kabalistic knowledge on my part.

As for Chabad, my criticism is restricted to "current Chabad". Clearly, the Baal HaTanya, the Tzemach Tzedek, and other Chabad rebbes were Torah giants and masters of kabalistic knowledge of the highest caliber.

Current Chabad, however, is rife with amateur "mekubalim", many with minimal Torah knowledge. I am personally aware of a number of ridiculous teachings emanating from classes taught by Chabad teachers based upon superficial readings and understandings of kabalistic ideas presented in the Tanya. There is no benefit in detailing these, as the specific errors are not representative of the movement. They do, however, indicate an openness within Chabad to kabalistic study and teaching by individuals that are clearly not qualified.

As for the movement as a whole, the biggest single issue is that many Lubavitchers have become very confused by kabalisitic concepts that identify a tzadik with Hashem. (Such ideas are also found in non-kabalistic sources.) This has led many Lubavitchers to identify their late rebbe with Hashem Himself, in varying degrees of literalness. This problem is widely recognized throughout the Torah world, but Lubavitchers continue to deny that the problem even exists.

Chabad - Faith or Text Based Hashkofa?

Rabbi Micha Berger comment to "Chabad - can only be understood from inside by tho...":

This marks the end of my 5th attempt to get you to explain how the rebbe's words say what you claim they do that just caused Rabbi Oliver to criticize my ability to read the words myself. My citing phrases from your source text didn't help elevate the plane of conversation. I am forced to conclude that he does not in fact have an actual explanation, that it's simply a faith decision that the rebbe couldn't have possibly meant what he clearly wrote.

To leave on a more positive note, I'm glad to hear that in your neck of the Lubavitch community most people "spin" those words so as to avoid their saying something my rav would consider apiqursus.

As for my knowledge of machashavah, I suggest you read my work and decide for yourself. I'm not going to sit here and play up my credentials. My ego doesn't need massaging that badly.

Big Brother in Beitar II - legitimate fear of minorities

Anonymous commented on your post "Big Brother in Beitar":

In the US, the issues are a bit different than in Israel.

Observant Jews as a community spend millions of charitable dollars building shuls, schools, mikvoth and community centers. Because we must live walking distance to shul, there are not many neighborhoods in the US where an observant Jew can live and it is not generally easy or even possible to move.

Because Orthodox Jews do not put their children in public schools, in frum areas, children from underprivileged districts will often be bused in to fill the empty public school seats.

Orthodox Jews hire service workers in homes, schools, caterers, grocers etc. Discrimination is very real in the US and Jews are among the few who hire minorities who naturally like to live near work.

Jews also tend invest in rental properties in frum neighborhoods. The only tenants for rundown rentals are minority workers and their families who otherwise cannot afford Jewish neighborhoods, so several wage earners will share a single family home.

In many frum neighborhoods in the US, there are those who did not grow up in Boro Park or Flatbush under the siege of racial tensions from the surrounding neighborhoods.
These Jewish investors do not understand the implications of living among ethnic groups who have a history of violence against Jews.

http://www.vosizneias.com/18644/2008/07/29/north-miami-beach-fl-police-chief-meets-community-to-assure-safety/

So you frum communities of a few thousand Jews living under siege. In NMB, for example, children can not even play in the front yard, there are nightly break in attempts on homes, it is terrifying to come home after dark, and women and children are afraid to walk to shul on Shabbos in broad daylight.

Once dozens of homes in frum neighborhoods have already been rented out like this, what is there to do? (The asking price of houses in NMB has dropped about 40% in wake of the recent crime. This makes it even more impossible for families to move).

The local police cannot win the battle against crime in minority neighborhoods which they consider too dangerous to even patrol. In Miami, the City has contracted with a private security agency to patrol crime ridden areas.

The yeshivas, shuls, mikvoth and kosher services in North Miami Beach were built with 50 years of community tzedakah and the frum residents have no where else to go.. These services cannot be duplicated in another less crime ridden area. Especially not when homes are worth less than their mortgages.

This is an issue now in frum communities all over the US. It might seem harsh and bigoted to Israelis try to prevent Jewish landlords from renting to whomever they wish (ie in Lakewood). But consider that in recent months, it has become statistically safer to live in Sderot than in many frum US neighborhoods.

If you were locked in your house behind iron window bars, afraid to go to a Shalom Zachor, evening shiur or even to shul on Shabbos morning; if you were afraid to even let your children play in front of your home, how would you feel?

Perhaps, like the Rabbis in Lakewood you might also support a ban on landlords renting their properties in Jewish neighborhoods to whomever they wish.

Big Brother in Beitar

Important Announcement to Landlords and Sellers

As everyone knows a committee has been established in Beitar under the auspices of the rabbinical authorities to supervise the quality of life in our community and to monitor all events in the city in order to maintain its holiness.

We know that there are families who rent out their apartments without our approval and as a result undesirable families move into our community. We are putting everyone on notice that these landlords and sellers must be revealed and publicized as disobeying the rabbis of the city. Furthermore all the expenses for canceling the contract or lease is their sole responsibility..

Do you know about a spiritual hazard?. Please put our special number 580-0777 in your cell phone and any problematic occurrences that you are aware of should be reported immediately to us - 24 hours a day.

See also the following link

Conversion - descendants of German Nazis

Recipients and Publicity commented to "Conversion - more Blacks are converting to Judaism...":

Not just Blacks are converting to Judaism, but even ultra-Whites, descendants of German Nazis too, (seems everyone wants to be Jewish except the myriad of the majority of secular Jews who don't, and are marrying more non-Jews than ever):
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The Guardian

"The sins of their fathers

A relative of Hitler is now Jewish and living in Israel.

So is the son of a Waffen-SS man.

Tanya Gold talks to the descendants of Nazis who have embraced Judaism

The Guardian, Wednesday August 6 2008 [...]

Two years ago I read a strange little story in an obscure American magazine for Orthodox Jews, claiming that a descendant of Adolf Hitler had converted to Judaism and was living in Israel. I had heard rumours in Jewish circles for years about "the penitents" - children of Nazis who become Jews to try to expiate the sins of their fathers. Could it be true? I dug further and discovered that a man with a family connection to Hitler does indeed live in Israel as an Orthodox Jew. Virtually unnoticed in the English-speaking world, he was exposed seven years ago in an Israeli tabloid. Then he sank from sight. I went to Israel to meet him - and on the way I was plunged into the strange subculture of the Nazi-descended Jews.

I am walking through the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem, to meet Aharon Shear-Yashuv. He is the son of a Nazi. And yet he was a senior rabbi in the Israeli armed forces. He lives in an apartment in the Jewish quarter, near the Western Wall. I walk through a pale gold alley; Orthodox Jewish men in long black coats and round fur hats dart past. He opens the door and looks like every other rabbi I have ever met - a black suit, a beard, a questioning shrug. He takes me into his study, settles into a chair, and says, in a thick German accent: "My father was in the Waffen-SS."

He was, he explains, born in the Ruhr Valley in 1940. During the war, his father served on the eastern front with Hitler's elite troops. What did his father do in the Waffen-SS? "I don't know," he says calmly. "When I grew up I tried to ask, but there weren't really answers."

He was four when he first met his father. "I don't remember anything about that," he says. It seems he doesn't want to talk about his father; he doesn't describe his conversion in psychological terms but in grand theological and historical ones. "During my theological studies at university it became clear that I couldn't be a minister in the church," he says. "I concluded that Christianity was paganism. One of [its] most important dogmas is that God became man, and if God becomes man then man also can become God." He pauses. "Hitler became a kind of god."

So would he have become a Jew even if the Holocaust had never happened, even if his family had been anti-Nazi? He looks surprised. "Oh yes." I try to draw him back to his father, but he seems exasperated. "Well, you see, he is a father, of course, but ideologically, there was no connection. I was so involved in my conviction that I had found the right path, all the other items no longer had any importance."

Fragments of the story begin to emerge through the haze of theological reasoning. His father was "shocked and enraged" when he went to study Judaism in America, he concedes. "For him that was the end of the world. 'My son is leaving Germany to study in a Jewish rabbinical seminary!' He told me I was crazy and renounced me as a son." When he moved to Israel, his parents pretended that it hadn't happened; they told their neighbours he was still in America. Years later, his sister arranged a meeting with his parents at a station in Düsseldorf. Shear-Yashuv arrived with a Jewish friend. His father peered out of the train, saw the Jewish stranger, and refused to get off.

Today, he believes Germany is doomed. "People there don't get married, and if they do they have one child," he says. "But the Turks and the other foreigners have many children. So it is a question of time that Germany will no longer be German." Why does he think this has happened? "I think it is a punishment for the Holocaust," he says, matter-of-factly. "Germany will leave the stage of history, no doubt about it." But the Jews, by contrast, will never die. This is a neat irony of history that he loves. "All the great cultures have left the stage of history," he says. "The Romans, the Greeks, the Egyptians, the Babylonians. But this little people, who gave so much to the world, do not." He chuckles. "That is something."

I walk through the Old City, pondering my encounter with this strange, kindly man. Something seems to be missing from his story. To stand in front of a rabbi whose father was in the SS and to hear he became a Jew because he doubted the Trinity is absurd. So I telephone Dan Bar-On, a professor of psychology at Ben Gurion University, and a world expert on the psychology of the children of perpetrators. He tells me, flatly, pitilessly: "The motive of the converts is to join the community of the victims. If you become part of the victim community, you get rid of the burden of being part of the perpetrator community." He interviewed Shear-Yashuv for his book Legacy of Silence. "For me," he says, "Shear-Yashuv represents a person who ran away from the past."

A few days later, I take a tatty bus to the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, on a mountain just outside Jerusalem. There is an air of absolute, manufactured silence. In the middle is a glass-and-concrete mausoleum - the memorial. I am here to meet a woman who works in the educational department. She was born in Munich, she told me on the telephone, and she is a convert. I meet her in a cafe on the terrace; it is very chichi, but the wind is blowing in from the desert. She is in her late 30s and her head is covered. Her face is stereotypically German but the mannerisms - her emphatic movements and the soaring cadences of her voice - are all Jewish. [...]

Chabad - can only be understood from inside by those who accept its beliefs III

Rabbi Micha Berger responsed to Rabbi Oliver "Chabad - can only be understood from inside by tho...":

And I think it's unfair that you assume I'm ignorant. It argues against your point if all you can do is repeat charges that anyone who disagrees must be ignorant. The truth is, you have no idea how much machashavah I learned, and which derakhim's works I've gone through.

In any case, if your reply to my quoting lines from the texts is just "if you saw the whole thing inside", I'll add to my earlier observation that it's unwise for me to maintain this discussion that it's also impossible as you leave me nothing to discuss.

The whole discussion of memeutza hammechabeir in a tzimtzum lo kepeshuto context is too large for a chain of comments anyway.

Just one last teaster, note that the rebbe in the same maamar is quite clear that Yisrael ve'Oraisa veQBH is also a case of memutza hammechabeir and also quite clear that it is not about qesher but actual identity. And then goes on to deny that the qesher of chassid to rebbe really ends (in the ideal) with hisqashrus "nar es vvert kula chad mamash" (opening paragraph of 10 Shevat #41).