Chabadshlucha wrote: “Re olam habo: there’s a story of a chossid who entered into yechidus…
(conclusion of story) But, the chossid continues, I would never exchange my gehennom for their gan Eden.”
(I wonder whether I will ever get used to this story and fail to get angry at the implication…)
I know chassidim of all types and I have cousins who belong to Satmar, Vizhnitz, Belz and yes, Lubavitch. Some of the Lubavitchers have Chabad houses, some are in business and some are teachers in non-lubaitch schools. I know all of these people very well and as I see it, and believe me I look at these things carefully without hype, the same percentage of each group do things with mesirus nefesh, and the same percentage in each group don’t. I’m not blaming or looking down at anyone but those are the facts on the ground.
In my line of work I travel often and i have made use of Chabad houses on four continents: North America, South America, Europe and Asia. I have found fantastic lubavitchers in all places, but mesirus nefesh?! Lav davka! That’s another piece of hype put out by Lubavitch.
The standard line is “these people go out and do the rebbe’s bidding with nothing and all they care about is helping other yidden. What mesirus nefesh!”
Sorry but in 9.5 out of 10 shlichim get their jobs because they need parnossoh (nothing wrong with that) or because they can be “special” in their area among yidden who don’t know the difference between a Rabbi who knows halochoh and one who doesn’t. That’s often – not always, of course – why the existing Chabad houses and schools are often shortstaffed and looking for more help, while there is never a shortage of people willing to open a Chabad house in a community where there may be only relatively few yidden, and who only have to travel a short distance to find a different Chabad house.
I am not making any of this up. Every Chabad person knows the facts. It is true of where I live (out of town) and in many of the communities I have visited.
It seems (sorry for boring you with such a long post) that Chabad has tried to copyrite the concept of mesirus nefesh and defined it as SHOWING how much you care about other yidden. Some of my Satmarer relatives are moser nefesh to learn and daven (aside from the amazing things they do with bikru cholim as mentioned) and my Vizhnitz/Belz cousins are often yelled at by their wives (some of the wives are actually my cousins!) for not spending more time at home helping, or just plain being loving husbands. And the reason they don’t is not because they don’t get on with their wives, its because their first and foremost desire is to serve Hashem. Plain and simple. That is at least as much mesirus nefesh as someone driving around with a Chanukiyah on his car roof in a non-religious neighborhood.
But once again, if we can quote one of the doros 1-7 saying how “we” are moser nefesh that’s all we need to look donw at everyone else.