Chabad - Matisyahu's Journey

Forward reports: Referred by Michael Elkohen

[...]

“I’ve been through all these different phases in Chabad. Chabad has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. It was very pure in the sense that I totally divested myself from all of the confusion that I was living in. I wasn’t getting high, I wasn’t with women — I was waking up every morning and learning Torah all day. And so, in certain senses it was a pure process,” Matisyahu said.

“But there was a lot of alcoholism going on, in my experience, and a lot of borderline —” He interrupted himself. “I definitely lost myself, as well, in the process, in the sense that I somehow stopped thinking for myself. I became completely dependent on other people for my sense of what was right and wrong. I felt incapable of making my own decisions. I was borderline completely losing my mind.” And then, he said, he pulled himself out of Chabad.

It was during this period that he began working with the now Jerusalem-based therapist Ephraim Rosenstein, whom he now considers his personal friend and religious mentor.

“[Rosenstein] was able to help me come to some realizations that were really ground-breaking, and kept me from where I think I would have lost my mind in the state of being I was in at that time,” Matisyahu said. “After that happened, once my therapy came to a certain place, and I’d gotten pretty healthy, I wanted to continue with my spirituality. I guess the therapy to me was sort of getting to know myself as a valid means of spiritual growth. I wanted to take it from a personal to an intellectual kind of thing, so we started learning together. Instead of therapy, I was paying him to discuss ideas, basically.

“I’ve stopped identifying with any group of Judaism. I would now call myself an Orthodox Jew. I try to keep the tenets of halachic Judaism as strongly as possible, but I don’t identify with any one movement.”

He noted that he has not severed ties with the movement completely: “My kids go to a Lubavitch yeshiva and are named after rebbes. I have Lubavitch friends, and we stay with shlichim [emissaries] around the world. I feel I have some in-depth knowledge of Hasidus and Chabad philosophy, and close ties with Lubavitch. But I don’t feel the need to be any one thing.

“In Chabad, there was always the tendency to deify everything, whether it was the rebbes or the learning,” Matisyahu said. “[There was] this sense that you couldn’t ask questions about any of it, that if you didn’t accept it, you weren’t accepting the Torah. It was as if you weren’t religious, and that this was the one path and the true path and that anything outside of it, even if it was a different kind of Hasidim, was certainly looked down upon.” With Rosenstein, he said, Matisyahu relished a different mode of studying, which focused on placing teachings into historical and social contexts and then comparing them with other Hasidus and philosophies of Judaism. [...]

Psychology of Evil - Milgram study

The following is the video of the actual Milgram Study done in the 1960's.

The Milgram Experiment - Obedience 1/5

CNN reports:

If someone told you to press a button to deliver a 450-volt electrical shock to an innocent person in the next room, would you do it?

Common sense may say no, but decades of research suggests otherwise.

In the early 1960s, a young psychologist at Yale began what became one of the most widely recognized experiments in his field. In the first series, he found that about two-thirds of subjects were willing to inflict what they believed were increasingly painful shocks on an innocent person when the experimenter told them to do so, even when the victim screamed and pleaded.

The legacy of Stanley Milgram, who died 24 years ago on December 20, reaches far beyond that initial round of experiments. Researchers have been working on the questions he posed for decades, and have not settled on a brighter vision of human obedience.

A new study to be published in the January issue of American Psychologist confirmed these results in an experiment that mimics many of Milgram's original conditions. This and other studies have corroborated the startling conclusion that the majority of people, when placed in certain kinds of situations, will follow orders, even if those orders entail harming another person.

"It's situations that make ordinary people into evil monsters, and it's situations that make ordinary people into heroes," said Philip Zimbardo, professor emeritus of psychology at Stanford University and author of "The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil." [...]

Rav Kaduri zt"l & Lubavitcher Rebbe zt"l

Madoff scam spurs online anti-Semitism

JPost reports:

In the wake of what police believe to be a $50 billion Ponzi scheme engineered by Wall Street insider Bernard Madoff, a flood of anti-Semitic comments have deluged the internet, being posted on various mainstream and extremist websites, the Anti-Defamation League reported.

"Jews are always a convenient scapegoat in times of crisis, but the Madoff scandal and the fact that so many of the defrauded investors are Jewish has created a perfect storm for the anti-Semites," Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said in a press release published by the organization on Friday. "Nowadays, the first place Jew-haters will go is to the Internet, where they can give voice to their hateful ideas without fear of repercussions."

"Blogging and social media sites are changing the way people communicate their reactions to events in the news and interact with each other," Foxman continued. "More people are online than ever before, and many more Web sites offer users the ability to comment immediately and anonymously. Those who harbor anti-Semitic beliefs feel most comfortable expressing themselves in cyberspace, where they can provoke a reaction from others or find like-minded individuals to affirm their beliefs."[...]

Chareidi college - R' O. Yosef's daughter

Haaretz reports:

There was no happier moment in Adina Bar-Shalom's life than when she stood to recite the Shehechiyanu prayer, said on special occasions, at the first commencement ceremony of Haredi College. It was two years ago that the ultra-Orthodox institution she founded in Jerusalem graduated its first class of female social workers. She looked at her father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. The spiritual mentor of the Shas Party sat in the VIP section of the Jerusalem Convention Center auditorium, together with Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, Shas chairman Eli Yishai and other dignitaries. Rabbi Ovadia looked pleased. Bar-Shalom was overjoyed that Haredi women now had a path to higher education - in no small part thanks to her efforts - and that her father had been a constant pillar of support. [...]

Chabad - The Rebbe runs the world? II/ Defense

This is the video from "Chabad - The Rebbe runs the world? I". Refer to that for the previous comments. This post is specifically regarding AH Bochur's defense of Rabbi Cunin's comments

Rabbi Cunin: "They will understand and see that the Rebbe runs the world and will take us out of golus".

A H Bochur's Defense

The short answer is, that R. Kunin's words are in fact the Rebbe's words, verbatim (for instance here):

כיון ש"צדיקא דאתפטר אשתכח בכולהו עלמין יתיר מבחיוהי" [זח"ג עא, ב. הובא ונת'
בתניא אגה"ק ביאור לסי' ז"ך], "שגם בזה העולם המעשה אשתכח יתיר" [ראה תניא
שם] – בודאי שהרבי מנהיג את העולם כולו, ואנ"ש בפרט, ומעורר רחמים רבים
וכו', כמו שהי' עד עתה, ואדרבה, ביתר שאת וביתר עוז.

וכשם שעד עתה הי' מונח ("אָפּגעלייגט") אצל כאו"א מאתנו שהרבי יוליכנו לקראת משיח צדקנו – צריך להיות מונח כן גם עתה.

--משיחת ש"פ תרומה, פ' זכור, ח' אדר, ה'שי"ת

Since the Rebbe was someone who authored a prolific amount on the topic of Achdus Hashem, and since the Rebbe is familiar with more philosophic Kabbala than the rest of us, that alone is enough for R. Shlomo Kunin, and that is why that isn't shocking.

---

The long answer is that Kabbala has all sorts of forces "running the world", with the innovative distinction that they are b'achdus with Hashem; this is in fact what Kabbala is mostly here to accomplish: to define the status of the ייחוד various עולמות and ספירות. There are some who lose sight of the point, and get involved in lengthy pilpulim on the exact "direction" זרועות דאריך אנפין are facing; that may have importance, but the essential point of Kabbala remains the gauging of the increasing unity of the material and then spiritual forces the closer G-d is approached.

But while that certainly suffices for someone who is familiar with Kabbala and it's ideas (and not only strictly it's technicalities), I'll note for now an explicit source which deals specifically with people running the world. It is from a famous letter penned by a leading disciple of the Maggid of Mezerich, R. Mendel of Vitepsk.

At the moment I don't have a copy of the entire letter, but I'll provide that as soon as I get a copy of Pri Ha'aretz.

R. Mendel had received a letter requesting that he bestow the author with children. R. Mendel replied that he doesn't control the world, although the Baal Shem Tov did:

בושת פני כסתני, כי התחת אלקים אני – היו
היה דבר ה' ביד הבעל שם, ויגזור אומר ויקם. אחד היה, ומהקדמונים לא קם
כמוהו, ואחריו לעפר מי יקום.

that translates roughly, "I am throughly embarrassed because I cannot stand in G-d's stead. The Baal Shem [could, for he] had the word of G-d in his power, and he would decree and it would be. He was unique, since the ancient there were none like him, and who could be after him?"

So R. Mendel has stated that the Baal Shem is תחת אלקים and can control the world. This actually is alluded to in the Yerushalmi (

תענית פ"ג ה"י):

ותגזר אומר ויקם לך, אפילו הוא אומר הכין ואת אמר הכין, דידך קיימא דידי לא קיימא

Furthermore, the reference to דבר ה' is in fact to the עשרה מאמרות which are Kabbalistically the spiritual force upon which all existence exists. So R. Mendel has stated that the Besht's powers derived from the fact that he could manipulate the very core of existence.

While it is impossible to teach these extremely detailed concepts in the comments to a blog, I'll suffice by explaining that all normative Jewish though and philosophy is seen by Kabbala to apply only within the סדר השתלשלות
העולמות which begins with the עשר ספירות דאצילות. Whereas what is higher, for instance בחינת הכתר, has complete power of veto over any "worldly" notion.

Kabbala and Chassidus entertain the possibility of man "reaching" that level, and then they indeed may "control the world". That is peshat in the Yerushalmi.

P.S. there are more sources on the topic of התחת אלקים אני which I'll hopefully post soon.

Beit Shemesh - Ready to explode against Chareidim

YNET reports: [Warning - problematic pictures] English version here

חשש בבית שמש: "דתיים יצאו לנקום בחרדים"

שלוש נערות דתיות הותקפו בשבת שעברה על ידי אנשי העדה החרדית בעיר, שטענו כי הן מכניסות לשכונה "ערווה ופריצות". חבר מועצה דתי: "לא ניתן לאנשי סדום לגור בתוכנו". תושב חרדי ל-ynet: "יש מידע על מסע נקם שהם מתכננים להערב האברכים שלנו ערוכים לקרב ומוכנים להיכנס על זה לכלא"

קובי נחשוני

בית שמש בוערת:
תושבים דתיים בעיר מדווחים כי בתקופה האחרונה הותקפו כמה פעמים על ידי שכניהם, אנשי העדה החרדית, הטוענים כי הם מכניסים "פריצות וערווה" למקום ומשפיעים לרעה על ילדיהם. במקרה האחרון, שאירע בליל שבת שעברה, תקפו כמה מהם שלוש נערות שחלפו בשכונתם - שתיים הצליחו לברוח כשהן מוכות וחבולות, והשלישית יצאה בשלום מהמקום רק אחרי שהסכימה לעטוף את עצמה בחלוק ארוך בסגנון חרדי. בקהילה החרדית טוענים כי דווקא הדתיים הם ש"התחילו" וכי בידיהם מידע על פעולת נקם שהם מתכננים להערב (ליל שבת). "האברכים פה לא יעברו על זה בשתיקה", מזהיר אחד התושבים החרדים, "יש פה הרבה שמוכנים גם לשבת בבית סוהר".

בעקבות אירועי השבועות האחרונים פנו בעניין אנשי הקהילה הדתית-לאומית בבית שמש לראש העיר ולנציגיהם במועצה ואף הגישו תלונה במשטרה. במקביל הם
מקיימים מגעים עם גורמים בעדה החרדית ובהם הרב

....

Growing tensions between ultra-Orthodox and religious residents in the town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem, have recently escalated into violence as three teen girls were beaten up by haredim who claimed they were "immodestly" dressed. [...]

According to reports, the three 15-year-old girls went for a walk after the Shabbat dinner last Friday, and passed through a haredi neighborhood. At some point they noticed that they were being followed by several men. A Few minutes later the men entered one of the buildings and then came back outside accompanied by dozens of people who then stormed the girls.[...]

Meanwhile the members of the Haredi Community stream in Beit Shemesh present a different version for the state of affairs in town. Moshe, a haredi resident, said that young religious boys and girls often pass through the haredi neighborhood together, and that on occasion yeshiva students have to "drive them away by force." "Boys and girls laughing together is forbidden. This shouldn't happen in a secular neighborhood, let alone an ultra-Orthodox one," Moshe stated.[...]

Throwing Shoes - Butterfly Effect & Middle East

Time Magazine:

Beware of people throwing things at you in the Middle East, even shoes. Think David and Goliath or the Palestinian intifadeh — a rebellion set off by a thrown rock. Or better yet, think of the rocks thrown in Nabatiyah, Lebanon, on Oct. 16, 1983.

On that fateful day, a routine Israeli military patrol cut through a Shi'a religious procession, rocks flew, and the Israelis fired back. Two Lebanese were killed. The Israelis expected little to come of it, understanding too late just how frustrated the Lebanese Shi'a were — frustrated by their own government, by the Palestinians, by the Americans, by the French, as well as by the invading Israelis.

Nabatiyah quickly metastasized into a vicious 17-year guerrilla war. It would turn out to be Hizballah's Boston Tea Party, and led to Israel's first defeat in the field of battle when Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000.For us, though, Nabatiyah should be a crucial lesson in how a small act of defiance can turn into a viral contagion. (See the top 10 awkward moments of 2008.).

The man who threw the pair of shoes at President Bush on Sunday was a Shi'a Arab who for years has expressed his bitter frustration about the way things have gone in Iraq. Contacts in Iraq told me that the man came to despise the al-Maliki government because he believes it sold out not just to the U.S. but to Iran as well. He was furious that the al-Maliki government is fabulously corrupt and incompetent. How else can you explain the $100 billion of development money that disappeared down the rat holes in Washington and Baghdad? Or how the electricity and water shortages continue, as do the car bombs in Shi'a neighborhoods? And he is furious that the U.S. intends to abandon Iraq in three years, leaving a mess behind.[...]

Father's Jewish - try to convert?

This is an excerpt from R' Aryeh Ginzburg's sefer [pp 266-267.] As a young man he went around to gedolim with many important questions. He compiled this sefer from the answers. I personally find the sefer very frustrating since these are not teshuvos written by gedolim. Consequently there is no context or clarity. In other words you can't rely on these halacha le'maseh. It is also not valid to make diyukim in what he says. On the other hand he had very solid haskomas. Bottom line this material is thought provoking and encourages further study of the matter. The full sefer itself is available at Hebrew Books

There is a fundamental difference between what Rabbi Tropper is doing and the possible heter of a number of gedolim. As Rabbi Fuerst of Chicago has pointed out.

Are we dealing with someone who views themselves as Jewish? Someone who views themselves as Jewish and is enrolled in a Jewish school or attending kiruv meetings - is a serious problem for intermarriage. Rav Moshe Feinstein also suggests converting non-Jewish children who are attending a day school. He also says a similar heter regarding the Ethiopians in Israel who view themselves as Jewish.

On the other hand Rabbi Tropper is targeting non-Jews who have no doubt that they are not Jewish and are married to Jews. He claims that conversion is necessary for the sake of kiruv for the Jewish spouse.

Non of the gedolim mentioned advocated running after intermarried couples. In fact Rav Eliashiv explicitly stated concerning kiruv that the time honored practice has always been to ostracize such couples. Rav Eliashiv also makes an exception for a Jew who is married to a non-Jew who mistakenly thinks he/she is Jewish.

Gedolim oppose R' Amar's new organization

Dei'ah veDibur: [forwarded by RaP]

December 18, 2008

Gedolei Yisroel shlita voiced their staunch opposition to Merkaz Rabbanei Eretz Yisroel, noting it poses a dire threat to the conceptual and halachic independence of rabbonim in Israel and could herald a takeover attempt that would foist certain opinions on all rabbonim and the entire public in Israel.

A short time ago Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar founded and became president of an organization called Merkaz Rabbanei Eretz Yisroel, which seeks to unite all rabbis in Israel. The aim of the organization is to serve as a supreme rabbinical body in the State of Israel and it threatens to place itself in a position to determine halacha and hashkofoh in every area for the entire public, including kashrus, mikvehs, conversion, etc.

Letters sent to all rabbonim in Israel intended to persuade them to join the organization listed the names of prominent rabbonim supposedly slated to serve on the presidential board without first seeking their consent.

Many rabbonim, including prominent rabbonim, declined to join whereas others have joined the new organization, which ostensibly seeks to uphold the Torah and the rabbinate without any ulterior motives. Others joined because they were concerned they might be targeted if they refused.[...]

Russian immigrants attack Chareidim in Haifa

YNet reports:

The ultra Orthodox community has recently expressed concerns that the crime rate in the Hadar area of the northern Israeli city of Haifa is on the rise. Those concerns have been compounded by several violent attacks on residents of the area's religious neighborhoods.

Avi Weizmann, head of the Shas faction in the Haifa Municipality warned Thursday that unless the police crack down on crime in the area, local community members will have no choice but to take matters into their own hands. We will take to the streets and establish our own Orthodox patrols," he said. "We've come to a point where dozens of people have been brutally attacked in the Hadar Neighborhood. We cannot accept this violence and if the police won't take care of it, we will."

Most of the violent incidents have reportedly taken place in the area's Shtrug Park, which is frequented by the local Orthodox community, as well as the secular one, which is made up of many Russian immigrants. "The park is the center of a violent turf war, between the haredim, who are an innately closed society, and the immigrants, some of whom are not Jewish, who view them as the enemy," said a local resident. [...]