Make no mistake, Chassidism is not part of authentic Judaism..........
READ ENTIRE RANT:
http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/08/enemy-within-part-three-chassidism-is.html
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Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Enemy Within - Part Three - Chassidism Is Not Judaism
AUGUST, 2005
Make no mistake, Chassidism is not part of authentic Judaism..........
READ ENTIRE RANT:
http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/08/enemy-within-part-three-chassidism-is.html
http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/08/enemy-within-part-three-chassidism-is.html
Make no mistake, Chassidism is not part of authentic Judaism..........
READ ENTIRE RANT:
http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/08/enemy-within-part-three-chassidism-is.html
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3 comments:
I read your article - it was difficult to do. You do a great job exposing sex abuse and and corruption within orthodox circles. I hope you continue since I don't know anyone else doing it in print.
But this article went off on a tangent. It seems to be an inseparable mix of emotionally based attacks and the attempt to dissuade people from a widely held interpretation of Judaism. How much of your article contains pure theology/philosophy or analysis of specific dogma? Wasn't the Gaon a also Kabbalist?
Generally speaking, what was the point of writing this article?
I don't want to get drawn into counter emotion-based rhetoric, so it I will have to be satisfied with saying that horrible characterizations can and have been made of Moshe Rabbeinu and the stories in, an the approach of, the Talmud. Generalized unsubstantiated personalized attacks on someone like the Besht isn't an theological argument.
The debate between modern and ultra
orthodoxy is one of scholarship - it shouldn't look like the article you wrote.
My assumption is that you've taken up position as whistle blower because you care, not as part of a larger crusade to rip other people's interpretation of Judaism. I am hoping that this excesses in this article are only the result of frustration with the Chassidic crowd.
To state the obvious, there IS a difference between the chassidim as a social group and chassidism.
I grew up and was educated within a chassidic group. But I empathize with a Litvak who told me that the he considered the ... Rebbe to be a holy man, but that unfortunately the chassidim he knew were a bit crazy. The one stellar model of ehrilchkeit that I have as a kid was also a Litvak. And to this day, I find it hard to associate myself with the community within which I live - and most of the 'ultra' crowd. You could say that I am socially isolated.
But that doesn't translate into me dismissing the philosophical and theological interpretation that is Chassidic thought - because people don't constitute a philosophical interpretation. In fact many people are just not philosophically or spiritually inclined at all.
I am not challenging your right to dispute the legitimacy of Chassidism. But don't think that those who ascribe to its interpretation are just all ignorant fools, or uncaring about the authenticity of the Judaism that they practice. Some, such as myself, just disagree with your analysis. Politely disagree.
Bottom line is, I hope you can find your way to isolating the precise nature of your complaint(s), and of making your arguments though more convincing writing.
To reiterate, I do appreciate the correction of injustices that come about through your exposing sex abuse and fraud in the orthodox communities.
Chaim Kaminetsky, of whom UOJ wrote about - http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/12/say-it-aint-so-young-israel-please-say_11.html - is niftar, the family is sitting shiva in Queens. http://www.misaskim.org/aveilim.php?aff=yw
What ever happened to the kidnapping charges against David and Judy Wax?
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