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but if you’re offended, it’s probably best not to be on here, or to engage in discussions with anyone outside of crown heights
Judging from his previous posts, Emunas disagrees with everyone in Crown Heights as well.
Just pointing this out.
mdd,
you do not realize the unbelievable chashivus ascribed by Chabad to the statements of Arizal.
You’re not the first one who asked this strong question.
In the letter of the Rebbe that I quoted above, he writes: צריך עיון גדול
Indeed, this is a great question.
In a later letter (אגרות קודש טז שבט תשכ”ב – אגרת ח’שלב), the Rebbe points out a possible way to solve the argument: The difference between the Rambam and Ramban (that the Arizal meant) is that the Ramban studied Kabbalah during the main part of his life, because this was connected to his שרש הנשמה.
Whereas, the Rambam only studied at the end of his life, as it’s possible that it was בבחינת עיבור (neshoma stuff – I don’t understand exactly).it is accepted by Klal Yisroel – from the Litvishe to Sefardi Mekubalim that Rambam did not learn Kabbolah
Were the Shomer Emunim and Avodas Hakodesh not great mekubalim?
Is the Migdal Oz not an accepted peirush on the Rambam?
And the Abarbanel?
mdd1,
Rambam never learnt Kabbola.
The fact that the Rambam learned Kabbala (at least at the end of his lifetime) has been discussed and passed down by all of the Chabad Rabbeim in the name of the Baal Shem Tov.
Here are some non-Chabad sources:
The Migdal Oz (student of the Rashba) writes in his peirush to Mishneh Torah (הל’ יסודי התורה פ”א ה”ט) that he found proof that the Rambam learned Kabbala at the end of his life:
ולדעתי שר”מ ז”ל ידע בהם בסוף ימיו שאני מעיד שראיתי בספרד ארץ מולדתנו כתוב במגלה של קלף ישן מיושן ומעושן לשון זה. אני משה ב”ר מימון כשירדתי לחדרי המרכבה בינותי בענין הקץ וכו’, וקרובים היו דבריו לדברי המקובלים האמיתיים שרמז רבינו הגדול הרמב”ן ז”ל בתחלת פירושו לתורה. גם ראיתי תשובה אחרת ממנו והיה ז”ל מגיד בה שהתחיל לפרש הגדות על דרך נסתר …Shomer Emunim (ויכוח ראשון יג – brought also in Avodas Hakodesh) writes that a certain Rav Yaakov traveled to Mitzrayim and taught the Rambam Kabbalah, and the Rambam would praise it to his students:
גם הרמב”ם בסוף ימיו זכה לקבל זאת החכמה מפי מקובל, כמו שכתב אחד ממפרשי הרמב”ן בפרשת בשלח וזה לשונו ורבי יעקב זה הלך למצרים ומסר הקבל להרמב”ם ז”ל, ולרוב שמחתו בה היה משתבח בה לתלמידיו, אמנם לא זכה לזה עד קרוב לאחרית ימיו כו’Abarbanel (נחלת אבות ספ”ג) writes that the Rambam was taught Kabbalah, and the Rambam lamented that if he would have discovered it earlier in life he would have retracted several things that he wrote (!!):
וגם אני שמעתי שהרב הגדול המימוני כתב באגרת שלו אלו הדברים: ‘בסוף ימי בא אלי אדם אחד ואמר לי דברים של טעם ואלולי שהייתי בסוף ימי ונתפשטו חבורי בעולם הייתי חוזר מדברים רבים שכתבתי בהם’. אין ספק שדברי קבלה היו אשר שמע באחרית ימיו.The same idea was written in Seder Hadoros:
וראיתי בספר אגרת חמודות שחיבר רבי אליהו חיים שכתב: וראיתי איגרות הרמב”ם שכתב מירושלים למצרים לתלמידו, והיה אומר אחרי בואי לארץ הצבי מצאתי זקן שהאיר את עיני בדרכי הקבלה, ואילו ידעתי אז מה שהשגתי עתה, דברים רבים שכתבתי לא הייתי כותבםSo why, dear mdd, do you state so unequivocally that the Rambam didn’t learn Kabbala?
P.S. There are indeed other sources that imply (from the Arizal) that the Rambam did NOT learn Kabbalah. There are source both ways.
The Radziner Rebbe (Rav Yerucham Leiner) once wrote on the topic of the Rambam knowing Kabbalah (הגר”א איש הנגלה והנסתר).
The Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote him a letter (אגרות קודש י”ח כסלו תש”י – אגרת תקנא) with several he’oros, and among them:
ג) ע’ 174. שהרמב”ם ידע תורת הקבלה, כעין זה סיפר כ”ק מו”ח אדמו”ר שליט”א שקיבל מרבו (הוא אביו) ורבו מרבו עד הבעש”ט, אז דער רמב”ם איז געווען א גרויסער מקובל (נדפס בספר השיחות-קיץ ש”ת ע’ 41)15. וכבר העירותי שם בשולי הגליון שלכאורה צע”ג ממש”כ בשער הגלגולים להאריז”ל הקדמה לו ובספר הגלגולים בלקוטים, אשר הרמב”ם לא למד חכמת האמת וזה מתאים לשרשו. וציינתי שם לשה”ג לחיד”א וכו’ וכו’.There were several other occasions where the Lubavitcher Rebbe commented on this as well.
Does Chabad of Lakewood do kiruv?
I know of a Chabad in Lakewood that does kiruv for OTD youth.
Shabbos seudos, shiurim, and often giving them a place to sleep (many are kicked out of home).Unfortunately, many were very smart bochurim who dropped out yeshivos for various reasons.
I live in a very frum yeshivish neighborhood and drugs is unheard of
It has less to do with neighborhoods, more to do with who you hang out with.
Sometimes, people can be oblivious to what’s going on with other crowds in their same neighborhood (unless it’s tiny).SACT5,
while thank G-d I never became an alcoholic, I developed a very unhealthy relationship with alcohol to deal with anxiety and depression.
I’m curious to understand what you mean in differentiating between alcoholism and unhealthy relationship?
yankel,
will try bln to check
https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=16076&st=&pgnum=286
(from the bottom of the page)He writes in a sicha that the baal hatanya was greater than R Yochanan Ben Zakai because RYBZ was not in touch with his neshama , he was too busy with his avodat hashem so he had never time to check his neshama it should not be in the kelipa .
This “quote” from the “Rebbe” may seem shocking to some of the readers (it was quoted often in the anti-Chabad rhetoric of the 80s), so allow me to clarify the source:
Rav Yochanan Ben Zakai cried on his deathbed that he doesn’t know which path they will take him. (Brochos 28b)
The Baal Hatanya explained that he was on an extremely high level of intellect which concealed his emotions, which led to his question.
The Rebbe Rashab said (Toras Sholom – Yud Tes Kislev 5673) that he heard from the TZEMACH TZEDEK (no, not from the seventh rebbe) that the Baal Hatanya was on a higher level than RYBZ who didn’t know which path he would be taken, while the Baal Hatanya did (see the full story there).
On the other hand, the REBBE explains (Likkutei Sichos vol. 16 pg. 273) that every Yid must learn from the avoda of RYBZ! The main focus of ones life shouldn’t be on himself and which level one is holding, instead it should be on the job that he was given to accomplish in the world. Only on his deathbed did RYBZ have a chance to begin contemplating his spiritual status.
The Rebbe once spoke about this in a maamar (Shvat 5712) and he sobbed very much how every person is given a certain amount of days from Hashem, and we must learn from RYBZ to use out every single moment for avodas Hashem without wasting any time even for worrying about oneself.
Just to set the record straight so no one should be confused about what the Rebbe said or where he got it from.
Just pointing out the obvious (Avira already mentioned):
Every case is unique, and a rov MUST be consulted
but next time please write it correctly it’s RABBI Troll not plain troll.
This reminds me of a great story: In the town of Shklov lived a chassidishe shochet, who was a big lamdan but also had a sense of humor.
One Sukkos, he passed the Sukkah of a gadol in the city, and began calling out his name, “Boruch! Boruch!”
The gadol ran to shul excitedly, exclaiming “I just had a gilui Eliyahu Hanovi!”
How did he know that it was Eliyahu? “I heard a voice calling me “Boruch”, instead of “Rebbe Boruch” – so it could have only been Eliyahu, who else would refer to me without a title?”We can thus assume that CS is Eliyahu Hanovi.
Wonderful story
Thanks sensibleyid for the references.
Here are some more references:
If you want to read up on Avi Ezri, learn Rav Sholom Ber Wolpo’s sefer “ידבר שלום” (which has haskomos from Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Ovadia Yosef, the Minchas Yitzchak, Rav Moshe Stern, Rav Menashe Klein, and more – how many haskamos does Berger’s sefer have?)
If you want to read up on the Talmud, read David Dukes’s “Jewish Supremacism” ch. 2.
Cholent,
Never heard that one!
Gave me a good laugh 😆To the OP,
Mitzvah #2 is definitely correct.
Mitzvah #3 – Sometimes. If there is a clear miracle, and they openly recognize the hand of Hashem in protecting Jewish people.
It’s surprising that it’s actually accepted to bash a political candidate due to his weight. Whatever.
It’s nice that Christie is spending all his time attacking Trump for not caring about the country and making this a personal fight, but in doing so, Christie sort of gives off the same impression of himself.
As it says in Tanya: המתאבק עם מנוולל מתנוול גם כן
Just drink Tropicana!
It’s a mitzvah to buy from Jews.