Dear Yankel,
“The attitude of habad hasidim toward their rebbe exceeds by far , the attitude of other talmidim towards their rebbe , and even the attitude of other hasidim towards their rebbe.”
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Completely untrue. Maybe you were born yesterday. Maybe you will be born again tomorrow.
That is the proper attitude of a talmid for a rebbe. Everything the rebbe says is unequivocally the Word of the Torah. (A wise student knows not to retain everything as is.)
AND IT IS ONLY HALF OF WHAT R BORUCH BER WAS TO HIS REBBE …..
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1] Even R Boruch Ber did not deify his Rebbe .
2] His Rebbe R Chaim had NO PART WHATSOEVER in r BB ‘s respect toward him . It was TOTALLY on r BB’s part .
3] R BB ‘s respect toward his Rebbe was an outgrowth of his immense Tsidkut in ALL OTHER AREAS of yahadut . Likewise he was IMMENSELY scared of chet . He was IMMENSELY absorbed in his learning , in his kibbud av , in his chesed etc. etc. — His respect was merely a REFLECTION of his inner stature , not the result of some targeted brainwash.
4] R BB was a yachid . There is NO other sector in klal yisrael , as a klal ,comparable to habad . To reject that, is like rejecting the existence of the sun .