tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.comments2008-12-27T22:47:20.548-08:00The Tzaddik and the RebbeYehoishophot Oliverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-77024338806527420902008-12-27T19:33:00.000-08:002008-12-27T19:33:00.000-08:00There is nothing more finite than sin. Only kedus...There is nothing more finite than sin. Only kedusha, Torah and mitzvos, has kiyum nitzchi (eternal existence), and "amech kulam tzaddikim"--in truth all of Israel are tzaddikim (eternal) and their status as a rasha or beinoni is only temporary (finite).<BR/><BR/>(What chassidsavoda is likely referring to is the underlying kochos.)Yaakov Nathanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00740579334239121654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-61000439368150274722008-12-22T18:44:00.000-08:002008-12-22T18:44:00.000-08:00I'd have to see the source that you were told insi...I'd have to see the source that you were told inside in order to comment. However, it is explained in Tanya ch. 24 that a sin (which makes one a rasha--see Tanya ch. l) causes one to be totally separated from Hashem at the time.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-27994176898302108002008-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:002008-12-22T12:22:00.000-08:00If a tzaddik is infinite, is a rasha also infinite...If a tzaddik is infinite, is a rasha also infinite? I was told that a tzaddik and rasha are the same, only on opposing poles.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-29139164237644191532008-11-11T20:12:00.000-08:002008-11-11T20:12:00.000-08:00You're very welcome! :) Thankyou for thanking me.You're very welcome! :) Thankyou for thanking me.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-34599621663769978112008-11-11T19:32:00.000-08:002008-11-11T19:32:00.000-08:00I really appreciate this site. It is of tremendous...I really appreciate this site. It is of tremendous value and great resource. I hope to visit this often, and to refer people to this site.<BR/><BR/>Yankel Nosson, is this yours?shimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10035706374446812856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-13929976573510260732008-08-18T22:41:00.000-07:002008-08-18T22:41:00.000-07:001) Indeed it is. My point was that it proves that ...1) Indeed it is. My point was that it proves that there is a concept of having emunah in Tzaddikim, for “There exists an extension of Moshe Rabbeinu in every generation.” (Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 69 (pp. 112a, 114a)<BR/><BR/>2) I don't recall saying in this blog post that following such instructions is an OBLIGATION, but simply that we see that certain Tzaddikim exert such powers. I.e., such powers can exist. It may indeed be an obligation, but that's not my point here.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-59909340032333333062008-08-18T19:23:00.000-07:002008-08-18T19:23:00.000-07:00(A) That's talking about Moshe Rabbeinu. (B) What ...(A) That's talking about Moshe Rabbeinu. <BR/><BR/>(B) What is your source for saying that one is obligated to have emunah in a tzaddik to answer medical questions?Natan Slifkinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04488707201313046847noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-65176487226675673212008-08-17T19:39:00.000-07:002008-08-17T19:39:00.000-07:00"They believed in G-d and in His servant Moshe." (..."They believed in G-d and in His servant Moshe." (Shemos 14:31) "Whosoever trusts in the faithful servant is considered as if he trusts in the One who spoke and created the world." (Mechilta on ibid.)Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-42883967735556423862008-08-17T16:11:00.000-07:002008-08-17T16:11:00.000-07:00Where doe the Torah tell us of the concept of emun...Where doe the Torah tell us of the concept of emunah in Tzaddikim?Fred Titmushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05386513457985338684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-55396177935089323202008-08-07T11:29:00.000-07:002008-08-07T11:29:00.000-07:00Yup, I couldn't agree more.Yup, I couldn't agree more.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-9291378097712735252008-08-07T11:21:00.000-07:002008-08-07T11:21:00.000-07:00It was certainly so among all chassidim in past ge...It was certainly so among all chassidim in past generations, but as a certain famous rebbe wrote, <I>"nishtakcho toras habaal shem tov"</I>, and they no longer have such rabbeyim. More than that, they've forgotten that such rabbeyim can exist. And they're certainly convinced that if such people once existed, they surely don't exist any longer. The concept that such a rebbe could exist in the 58th century seems bizarre to them.<BR/><BR/>And this is why the hostility that used to exist among certain people to all chassidim, is today concentrated on Lubavitch. Because Lubavitch still has the concept of a rebbe like in the old days; Lubavitch is still a chassidus like the ones that existed 200 years ago; so the <I>hisnagdus</I> now concentrates on Lubavitch.<BR/><BR/>This also explains why so many chassidishe groups have a surplus of claimants to the rebbsiteve, and why they can't understand why Lubavitch hasn't appointed a new rebbe. If a rebbe is merely a figurehead, or a CEO of the corporation, then what difference does it make whom you appoint, so long as it's someone a bit higher than you. If Lubavitch were looking for such a rebbe as the two claimants for Bobov, or for Satmar, they could have found twenty such; but that's not what Lubavitch considers a rebbe, and that's what these outsiders can't understand.<BR/><BR/>Consider Reb Hillel Paritcher. Outside Lubavitch, a figure like that would have set up shop for himself as a rebbe; even in Lubavitch he was considered "half a rebbe", but he would never have dreamed of becoming a rebbe, and no Lubavitcher would have dreamed of going to him instead of to the Tzemach Tzedek. One chossid, explaining the difference between Reb Hillel and the Rebbe, said "compared to Reb Hillel, I and the cat are the same; compared to the Rebbe, Reb Hillel, I, and the cat, are all the same". And that's an attitude that few chassidusen today, outside Lubavitch, still understand.Milhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14350874508580081286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-16755160101115614482008-08-07T10:51:00.000-07:002008-08-07T10:51:00.000-07:00-I really can't comment on the actual beliefs of m...-I really can't comment on the actual beliefs of members of other groups. My statement concerning the idea that other groups have this attitude to their Rebbes is based on the sippurei Chasidim and sippurei Tzadikim that I heard of past generations, which all pointed to the idea that this approach is something inherent to the derech of Chassidus in general, not just the specific derech of Chabad.<BR/><BR/>-Thanks for the reference to the story of the Arizal. Iy"H I'll get a chance to post that whole story, with the Rebbe's explanation of it.Yehoishophot Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16906934928426540018noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5503768228350082035.post-6196901306879590452008-08-07T09:37:00.000-07:002008-08-07T09:37:00.000-07:00Unfortunately this traditional chassidishe attitud...Unfortunately this traditional chassidishe attitude is not found in some very significant chassidic groups today. For instance, in Bobov this attitude to a rebbe is completely alien and unheard-of. It seems that they have lost not just real rebbeim, but even the concept of what it is that they are missing.<BR/><BR/>The essence of the attitude you describe is summed up in the story the Rebbe told about the AriZal, that one day he told his talmidim to come to Yerushalayim with him, but when they delayed in order to get permission from their wives, as is required by halocho, he told them it was too late, and had they come with him immediately they would have brought Moshiach. The lesson the Rebbe drew from this story is that one must obey the Rebbe without question, <I>even when it seems to contradict the halocho</I>. The Rebbe surely knows the halocho at least as well as one does oneself, and if he said to do something it must surely be permitted.<BR/><BR/>In Bobov they tell a similar story about R Naftoli, the father of R Shloime, but with the exact opposite lesson. The lesson they draw is that one must apply ones own sechel to the rebbe's instructions, and if it seems to be against halocho one must not obey. Yeridas hodoros indeed!Milhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14350874508580081286noreply@blogger.com