The date on the Hebrew calendar is י"ט כסלו. For most Jews, it's just another day on the calendar, but for the Chassidic movement, it's considered the Chassidic New Year, in honor of commemorating the liberation of Rabbi Shneur of Liadi from being imprisioned on trumped-up charges. The day is usually celebrated with a farbrengen. I'm going to celebrate it slighty differently. Although I'm not Chassidic by any means, I'm nevertheless going to dedicate the day with some Chassidus study. Aside from that, I will take a moment here to reflect on the Chassidic movement itself. If I were to solely base my view of Chassidism on my interactions with Chassids, I would define it as a fundamentalist status quo which requires you to walk an exceptionally narrow path. However, historic context tells a slightly different story.
Back in early 18th-century Eastern Europe, Jews had to deal with famine, pogroms, and maggidim, who were public preachers who would travel from town to town preaching Heaven and Hell. It's scary to know that at one point in Jewish history, Jewish practice actually mirrored modern-day Fundamentalist Christians! Needless to say, Jews felt highly disgruntled, and were abandoning observance. Then along came a man named the Baal Shem Tov, whose innovation made a permenant indentation on Judaism. Knowing that current Chassidic practice can come across as "authoritative," it becomes ironic that during its inception, such Mitnagdim as the Vilna Gaon put the Chasidic movement under cherem, a strong ecclesiastical censure, a Jewish version of ex-communication, if you will. In spite of these harsh measures, Chasidism ultimately became the predominant form of Judaism in Eastern Europe. The question then becomes: "What was so innovating about Chassidism that it warranted such reactionary measures?" Although there were some new practices, which I will outline, the genius of Chasidism was the shifting and re-prioritization of Jewish values and mechanisms.
Before going into the perspicacity of the Baal Shem Tov, I would like to touch upon three practices originating from Chasidism, two of them of which I am not a particular fan, and one that I absolutely love.
Rebbe. I don't object to the notion of a spiritual leader. Being able to turn to someone of such Jewish knowledge and wisdom when you can't ascertain the answer for yourself is most helpful. That is the purpose of a rav--to teach and help you grow. But the way that the Chasids stress the importance of their rebbe is of concern. Apparently, decisions cannot be made without notifying the rebbe, which creates a huge degree of dependence on a man (i.e., not HaShem). Supposedly, only the rebbe can obtain a constant state of devekut. As I outline below, is not the goal of every Chasid to obtain that state as well? Also, to have the Rebbe intercede on your behalf when he's in Heaven is very similar to Jesus-worship, also known as Christianity. The fact that there was even a controversy about whether Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, z"tl, was HaMoshiach doesn't sit well with me. A Rebbe, although endowed with a lot of Jewish wisdom and knowledge, doesn't make him worthy of worship to the extent where that zealous reverence can be, and has been, easily mistaken for idol worship.
Upsherin. My problem with this minhag is not that you transition a three-year old into the beginning of his Jewish education. What I have a problem with is growing out his hair until he reaches the age of three. I don't care if you make some Kabbalistic analogy of humans being like trees, it ends up being a form of categorical confusion. From a traditionalist perspective, men have short hair and women have longer hair. Gender-bending is prohibited (Deut. 22:5): "A woman may not dress in a man's apparel, nor shall a man wear women's clothing; for doing these things is abhorrent to HaShem." Even if you are fully aware that the two-year old with the really is your son, that doesn't mean that worrying about others' perceptions, especially those outside of the community, doesn't matter. On the contrary, if Judaism is against gender-bending, we need to show that we are on all levels, even to other nations. If it weren't an issue, how else do you think Moshe Rabbeinu was able to persuade HaShem from destroying the Jewish nation after the Golden Calf incident (Ex. 32:12) because other nations might get the wrong message? In short, Upsherin is, at the very least, a violation in spirit of the law.
Niggunim. These wordless songs have undoubtedly been a wonderful addition to Jewish tradition and culture. They lift up the spirit, bring joy into one's life, and raise the holy sparks within music. Because of that, they deserve two thumbs up! If you don't believe me, take a listen for yourself. (Here's another one for good measure)
Now that we got that out of the way, on to the larger, more impacting contributions of the Baal Shem Tov. The biggest accomplishment of the Besht, better known as the Baal Shem Tov, was accessibility to Judaism. Prior to the rise Chasidism, the ideal avenue towards living a Jewish life was scholarship. This clearly made Judaism limited and constrained for many, thereby causing a feeling of detachment. The Baal Shem Tov realized what was going on, and as a result, came up with Chasidism. In order to accomplish this overhaul, a few mechanisms were utilized. One of them was story-telling, which simplified many Jewish values in a way they can be easily exemplified.
The second was the concept of simcha, or happiness. This is not to say that prior to Chasidism, Jews were never happy. However, the overt emphasis of simcha was [and still is] important because by believing that HaShem is with you always, it not only spares one of grief and melancholy, but it doesn't detract one from serving HaShem with joy. In addition, denying happiness means that you are, in essence, denying HaShem. The reason for this is that all comes from HaShem, as is stated in Isaiah 45:7 states: "I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I, the L-rd, do all these things." That is why in Chasidism, happiness should be a constant in one's life. Even Rabbi Akiva (Berachos 60b) was known to have regularly said, “Everything that G-d does is for the good.” Another excellent commentary on simcha is AriZal's commentary on Deut. 28:47 that states "punishments will befall the Jewish people because they did not serve HaShem with pleasentness and joy." From this standpoint, happiness is not just a nice suggestion--it becomes an imperative!
The means of obtaining simcha was through devekut, or cleaving to HaShem. Although the concept is biblical in nature (Deut. 4:4), it was something that the Baal Shem Tov drove home, and this undoubtedly has to be one of my favorite features of Chasidism. The Baal Shem Tov believed so strongly in devekut that his view on devekut is that rather than practicing Judaism monastically, it should be practiced in everyday life, which clearly rejected asceticism. Every mundane activity has the potential to be lifted in holiness to serve HaShem, whether that may be cleaning your house or eating dinner. The goal of Chasidism is to find a way to make every act and every object serve a higher spiritual purpose.
Although the Baal Shem Tov made great strides in reviving what was becoming highly insipid and irrelevant, we cannot thank him enough for showing everyone, not just the Chasids, the happier side of Judaism. I'm not a fan of everything that the Chasidic movement does or purports, to be sure. What I can respect, however, is that they have a much better grasp on happiness than I do, and I hope in the future, I can learn important lessons from them regarding simcha.
No comments:
Post a Comment