Bein kodesh l’chol
This is the name of a famous song by Shuli Rand and Amir Dadon.
It means ‘between holy and secular’.
The words continue: I live. I live between holy and secular.
Here’s the song:
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The words are really speaking to me right now.
We are all stuck between ‘holy’ and ‘profane’, and that seems to be where God is keeping us, at least for now.
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Here’s another song that’s speaking to me right now:
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This version has excellent English translation subtitles – the words are so powerful.
Sadly, Eliezer Botzer passed away last month.
The big souls are still falling in this ongoing battle we are all fighting, on so many levels.
May this song be an ilui neshama for him.
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And then, an old playlist started up in the car, and lo and behold, there was this song from the Maccabeats, a cover of ‘Brave’:
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This was my anthem 10 years ago, when I was battling the ‘NARCISSIST KLIPA’ to the death, in my own dalet amot.
I’ve really been pondering on how much we all just keep flattering evil, in some misguided attempt to stay ‘polite’ and ‘nice’.
Thank God, living in Israel for 20 years is really curing me of this awful Anglo-European disability.
So yeah, I will continue calling out the stuff that seems wrong and bad and evil to me, regardless of who is doing it or saying it.
Because otherwise, I’m flattering evil.
And so are you.
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On that note, what is wrong with this picture, taken a few days ago on a Jerusalem Street:
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If you say ‘nothing’ – you have a real problem to address, spiritually.
Just ‘thinking good’ without putting God, and serious teshuva into the picture is going to get us precisely no-where.
At best.
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I am so, so sick of ‘Chabad marketing’ everywhere I turn.
And because we’re so used to it, we don’t even understand just how pernicious all the ‘messaging’ is, and just how much damage it’s done and continues to do to any real discussion of emuna, and what it really means to be serving God.
Here’s another example of ‘Chabad moshiach propaganda’, that we all see, all the time, every day:
[So, I have tried three different ways of uploading the mesichist yellow flag here… and it’s not working. It’s A-M-A-Z-I-N-G how much censorship I get, in so many different ways, when I bring this subject up. Mamash, the sort of censorship I get when I’m writing about masons and Frankists….]
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One of the commentators on the last post put up a link to a Zusha song, that’s kind of nice (Zusha songs usually take a while to grow on me).
Immediately it finished, some slick ad for a Chabad mashpia who teaches lots of obviously heretical ideas popped up.
Barf!
Enough already!
The Rebbe was not Moshiach, he wasn’t even the ‘presumptive’ Moshiach of his generation, as he didn’t descend father after father from King David.
The Rebbe also died a long time ago, and is not returning for a second coming.
This is all xtian emuna, not Jewish belief and understanding.
If you can’t say that out loud, or feel uncomfortable with me typing this so clearly – I suggest you take some time to explore why that is.
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It’s really hard to stop flattering evil.
Especially, when evil has so many misguided ‘good people’ working for it.
I also like the song “v’ata kadosh” (from the 3rd bracha of the amida) by the same artist, featured in the film “Ushpizin”.
Ata Kadosh is by Adi Ran – but it made a ‘guest appearance’ in Ushpizin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFIodeYWbgs
Thank you for the correction. I got confused.
WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!
That Tzion song!
I’ll be obsessing on this one for a while.
I think people are on different levels and there has to be inspiration and small changes for those who want some positive change yet aren’t ready for full on flipping everything they thought was true to false. Most people don’t want to face it yet they still need little bits of improving their lives. Saying “we want moshiach now” or something like that gives an awareness without being overwhelming. We are a lot like the generation of slaves in Mitzrayim and they couldn’t believe in Moshe and geula when they were subjugated so much. They didn’t have their full freedom and couldn’t wrap their heads around it. I don’t expect people to even like Breslov because it makes working on your middot and relationship with Hashem be a huge commitment. It’s easier to go with a “lite” version and have less responsibilty on your shoulders. I thought I read anyway that it’ll be a small amount of people working hard who will bring moshiach. I don’t think Hashem expects that a generation of spiritual and material slaves can even fathom it all. A generration of tinok shenishba won’t all grow up in a second but they can do teshuva at the last moment BEH.
Rabbenu disagrees with you.
He says DAVKA, when the souls are in the worst way, and on the lowest spiritual levels, that’s when they need the biggest, most efficient, expert ‘doctor of the soul’.
Chabad boils down to nice slogans, slick marketing and Rebbe worship.
I’ve seen so many people get burnt by what they are told is meant to be ‘chassidut’ – but it’s fake chassidut. But once you’ve been burnt by it, you aren’t going to go and try some other chassidut, like Breslov, even if the difference, spiritually, is day and night, literally.
Also, I have met literally no-one, no Chabad devotee, that actually knows what their rebbes really teach, nor how to apply that to their own personal lives in order to become better people, better Jews.
This is aside from all the pushing the Rebbe as the moshiach, which at this stage smacks of trying to ‘keep the brand’ going, as it’s just such a fantastic money-spinner.
In the meantime, all this is having such a bad effect on the spiritual aspect of Judaism, which whether we like it or not, whether we admit it or not, is being steadily co-opted all over the world, by Chabad.
Because Chabad has all the power, and all the money, to keep taking over Jewish communities – including here in Israel.
Who is paying for all this?
I’d love to know.
Because then, we’d for sure all know a whole lot more about who is really running Chabad, and who Chabad is really connected to and working for.
I think it can be said of pretty much all Chassidut, including Breslov that there is an element of Rebbe worship. Just think of Uman – how so many spend enormous sums of money (borrow it or fundraise for it), which many don’t have, and can’t pay their day to day bills or put food on the table, just to be at the Tzyon once a year. Many people cannot understand this, but in Breslov it is at the very core.
Also, I think it has to be said that if Breslov and/or Shuvu Banim had the type of money as Chabad, it probably would also be doing slik, top -notch Youtube videos.
Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that there are big problems with the institution of Chabad, but I don’t think any of us are at a level where we can accurately claim one group is fake Chassidut while another one isn’t. That isn’t helpful and certainly doesn’t help to promote Breslov.
https://ravberland.com/the-way-to-true-humility-how-to-overcome-ego-and-reach-redemption-rabbi-eliezer-berland-shlita-on-tu-bshvat/
You daven at a Chabad shul.
Don’t you think that’s skewing your opinions, just a little?
The point is, big money and REAL yiddishkeit don’t really go together. That’s why Chabad (and Gur….) have hundreds of millions, rub shoulders with presidents, are very big in real estate deals all over the world.
The parts of Breslov that have more influence and cash (relatively…) are those parts of Breslov that are directly connected to the wider Chabad family, and also, twisting a lot of the core facets of Breslov teachings.
Question for you: have you actually read Likutey Moharan, from start to finish?
I only daven at a Chabad shul on Friday night, and no I have not read Likutey Moharan from start to finish. I don’t think I am skewing my opinions, as I have been well aware of many problems in Chabad for many years.
I do believe however, that perhaps these types of blogs may have the opposite effect your were hoping for. Just my opinion. Shabbat Shalom!
I was doing some hitbodedut on this.
Firstly, for sure I have arrogance to work on and deal with. That’s a given.
But also for sure, there are massive issues going on with the spiritual teachings of Chabad, that ARE warped and not correct, as even Rebbe Nachman says explicitly in his works – and this is the only ‘chassidut’ he explicitly criticises and says is incorrect. BH, I will find the post where I brought all those sources, a while back.
And Rav Berland has also said more than once, recently, that ‘Chabad is finished’.
These are not small statements to be taken lightly.
If we could both stay away from making this personal, and both accept that both of us have ego and arrogance issues to deal with, and clouding the picture, that would be very helpful.
Tachlis, I have seen people very badly hurt by Chabad teachings like ‘think good and it will be good’.
To give one example, I was counselling a lady last year – Chabad BT – who’d lost her (more Breslov) husband, and was totally drowning in her grief, because she was trying to apply ‘think good and it will be good’ instead of being honest about what she was really feeling. It mamash nearly pulled her under, because Chabad literally teaches people to separate themselves from their true feelings, and ‘put the brain in charge’.
This causes people to become psychos – and ‘pretend-perfect’ narcissists who never make teshuva, because they aren’t acknowledging where they are really holding in themselves, and what they are really feeling.
I wasn’t only asking about LM to score some cheap points (although yes, that was probably there in the mix as well. I apologise for that part.) I was asking, because if you really read Rabbenu’s works – all of them, including Tzaddik, His Wisdom, etc – you start to grasp the real differences between Rabbenu’s chassidut, and pretty much every other chassidut – but especially, Chabad.
To over-simplify, Rabbenu and Breslov teaches a person to be real, and to acknowledge their flaws in a real, loving way, and take it all back to God to deal with, with humility.
And Chabad teaches a person how to disconnect from their feelings, and to be ‘fake’.
And ‘fake’ people are very easy to manipulate, and very far away from serving God authentically, as their true selves.
That’s a lot – but not all – of what is disturbing me about Chabad.
Totally apart from the mafia ties, the pushing of Trump as some sort of ‘moshiach’, the pushing of the dead Rebbe as THE moshiach, all the financial shenanigans going on, all the faked and distorted history, all the lies about the ties with Russian royalty and the missionary programs going on all over Russia, and of course, the tight links with our very own failed State.
APART from all that – spiritually, Chabad is not helping people to serve God. It’s teaching them to be superficial and phoney people who either have to pretend to be ‘perfect’ – or end up dropping out of yiddishkeit altogether.
Firstly,
I never intended to make my posts personal, but if they came across that way, I sincerely apologize. Like you, I have loads of work to do in the arrogance and ego department. I know what the Rav said about Chabad, and Rabbenu ( It is interesting he critices Chabad in particular considering his high level of respect for the alter Rebbe).
I complete understand and agree about the concerns with Chabad. From many years ago, I learned a lot of what you were saying. My intentions were to point out that Breslov as well as Shuvu Banim unfortunately have a lot of negative feelings by many which are unwarranted and misrepresented, and therefore I felt that attacking Chabad to bolster Breslov could have been counter productive. Kol Hakavod to you for trying to open people’s eyes. I for sure have way more learning of Rabbenu’s teachings to even reach a minimum of understandings. But as I said, I was only looking out for the potential negative consequences for you and Breslov.
Thank you so much for the generous response here, and on email.
I appreciate it.
Re: getting bad publicity for myself and Breslov and Shuvu, more widely, I’ll explain why that’s not really relevant, even though I understand your concerns.
1) Re: me – I got buried under an avalanche of ‘bad feelings’ from day one when I started publically posting online that the Rav was innocent, and had been stitched up by the State for crimes he never committed in a million years.
This particular set of ‘bad feeling’ has been going on for 10 years already, regardless of me talking about Chabad.
2) Re: Shuvu – I don’t work for Shuvu, and I’m not professionally or financially associated with them on any level – other than I choose to give my tzedaka there, as I have come to the conclusion it’s simply the very best place for my tzedaka to go.
Anyone else can translate the Rav, anyone else can also discuss what he puts out, and that includes you, me and a billion other people.
My opinions are mine, and I don’t put words into the Rav’s mouth, nor into Rabbenu’s mouth. I just tell people what they actually said, and if I ever misquote, I’m happy to stand corrected.
3) Re: ‘bad feeling’ against Breslov – the heart of the matter is that Chabad is *against* Breslov, on a fundamental level, and has been at the very least since the Alter Rebbe passed away.
Because Chabad has faked so much history, deliberately, it’s hard to know what exactly we’re dealing with here, but Chabad has been at the heart of an ongoing power struggle to *BE* ‘chassidut’, and the ongoing direction of the BESHT, since the early 1790s, when the Alter Rebbe printed the Tanya – and subsequently alienated most of the other tzaddikim, especially but not only, R Avraham Kalisker.
There are public records of the Alter Rebbe and his followers having one machloket after another with ‘tzaddikim’, all about money and influence, including also R Baruch of Medzebozh, and many, many others.
Breslov is a huge threat to Chabad’s hegemony and control of the Jewish community, on whatever level you want to understand that as applying to.
That’s why Chabad, and its adherents and partners, have been working very hard, for centuries, to squash and persecute Breslov, and Breslov teachings.
Including to our days, with what is going on with the Rav.
(State = Chabad-affiliated, don’t forget that.)
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Rabbenu said he brought his followers the present of ‘machloket’ back from Eretz Yisrael.
That they would always be mocked and ridiculed by others.
The people whose souls demand truth will gravitate towards Breslov, regardless.
And lastly, I just wanted to address the idea that Breslov is for a ‘spiritual elite’. It’s not true. Breslov is for the big souls who are suffering so much, and are literally sickened and driven crazy by the lowly world we live in.
Breslov is like a big sanitorium, where you you start to regain some of your mind and feelings again, and some of your joie de vivre, humility and real connection to yourself.
The ‘longer’ someone is in Breslov, the more ‘cured’ they get, spiritually, at least if they are trying to follow Rabbenu’s advice – but we’re all bonkers here still, make no mistake about it.
So, Breslov if for sincere crazy people who are looking for the truth, and are willing to put up with no-end of bizayon if it means they finally check out with their soul in a better condition than they arrived.
I don’t know how big the appeal of that is…. but nothing I write here about Chabad is going to put real truthseekers off. It may just warn more people that they need to be very careful, what ‘Torahs’ they learn and teach, and what propaganda they get brainwashed by, even in the religious world.
And if not, that’s also OK.
The whole exercise here is trying to grope towards the truth. If people don’t like it, no-one is forcing them to read the blog.
Wow those are some responses.
Chabad, from what I have heard directly from adherents, and not in a derogatory way, does not express in any meaningful way that their supporters improve their ways or aspire to act more Jewish vis a vis Torah and mitzvos, except superficially (without minimizing things like tzitzis, tefillin, Shabbos candles, etc).
One very apropos story. I heard the story not long ago about how one of my friends, a man with a big heart and a huge baal chesed, how his family became Shomer Shabbos.
They were driving to the Chabad shul one Shabbos morning, which they did every week, and went on for years, when their young daughter (now married with teenage and older children) sitting in the back suddenly crouched under the window. They asked why and she replied that she saw her Shomer Shabbos friends from the Jewish day school she attended on the sidewalk walking to shul and she was hiding from them.
At that point, the mother responded, “Well, I guess we’re keeping Shabbos now.” This is close to a direct quote. It wasn’t said in a resigned way, but still, the point should be clear.
Chabad’s role in their becoming Shomer Shabbos, after years of involvement? ZERO. Absolutely zero. It was their embarrassed daughter that prompted the change, and if not for her, this is almost certainly how things would have remained.
I was blessed to have rav early on who expected his congregants to aspire to more, and met with much success over the years because of that. He also had an intense and publicly expressed antipathy towards Chabad, even back in the 1980s, when the Rebbe was still alive and active. He understood things others didn’t.
All I can say is Baruch Hashem We found Breslov!
Please do try to dig that article up. I’d very much like a refresher.
without being too specific, jewish people from many different traditions have helped me with working to be a chassidic (tinok shnishba?) shabbos goy.
it’s been my experience that am yisroel in general just want me to be the best yosef possible.
of course, think good means different things to different people — it is good to acknowledge how i’m feeling — and to work on teshuva.
thank you,
yoseph