Reply To: Cheilek Eloak Mima’al

Yechi- I will also resist the urge to argue with you 🙂
There is definitely a lot of ignorance in the Litvish community about Chabad thought, perhaps because Chabad thought is such a huge and self-contained body of thought which is difficult for outsiders to access.
I think that a lot of the discussions between Chabad chasidim and misnagdim consist of the two sides talking past each other because they don’t speak the same language. It seems likely that many Litvaks’ objections to various Chabad teachings are based on a misunderstanding of what the words mean in the world of Chabad thought. I think that Chabad also has a problem explaining its own beliefs to outsiders in a language they can understand. That may be why no one on this thread has managed to answer my original questions without either appealing to the authority of the Ba’al Hatanya or the vague answer that “Hashem is above all these discussions”. I have no doubt that Chabad chasidim understand the concept of חלק א-לוק ממעל on a very deep and meaningful level and that it is a powerful and life-changing idea for them. Still, it seems that they have a difficult time explaining and justifying the concept to outsiders in language that answers their questions.
I hope to learn through the whole sefer Tanya someday.