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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Chabad-Lubavitch, a spiritual travelogue, June 4, 1998
By A Customer
The 6th Lubavitcher rebbe is quoted as saying that there were 3 types of Lubavitcher chassidim,those who study the doctrines of Chabad, those of Chabad descent, and those who observe Chabad customs and pray according to the Chabad rite,may I add 1 more type , the Chabad Hassid devoted "Mekushar" to the rebbe, . In the last 50 years the latter category has dominated the Chabad scene,as Chabad became inseparable from its 7th generation leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (died 1994). This book is authored by men who fall into the first 3 categories of Chabad Chassid. Alpert descended from the well known Alperowitz clan of White Russia speaks for those who were never completely comfortable with being a follower of Rabbi Schneerson, yet were spiritual seekers, and proud of their Chabad heritage. Naor's introduction is an excellent short summary of the intellectual history of the movement, and is especially useful for its copious notes of various origin. Alpert's stories are memorable, yet a feeling of gloom, depression and death hang over them. Chabad stresses joy, celebration,inwardness but not gloom, and loss of hope,interestingly no where do Alpert and Naor discuss the role humor, joy drinking,and communal celebration play in the life of Chabad. In addition I can't understand why Naor does not discuss the role prayer and meditation play in Chabad. As a historical note, I wonder why Naor does not mention Rabbi Israel Noach Schneersohn of Nezhin as a Chabad rebbe ?Finally Naor and Alpert choose not to discuss Chabad since 1994, do they have any thoughts on the future ? The book leaves me with 2 unanswered questions : Who is Reuven Alpert ? and will there be another Lubavitcher rebbe?
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
REVISED REVIEW: important scholarly overview of Chabad, July 16, 2001
The first third of this book is a 48-page introduction to the history of the Chabad-Lubavitch chassidus written by Betsalel Naor, and the remainder consists of revealing and fascinating anecdotes about individuals and events in the movements, told from a personal perspective by "Reuven Alpert." The anecdotes are certainly worth reading, but what makes this book a "must-buy" is the introduction.Naor is not only a committed Orthodox Jew with ties to Chabad that go back for generations in his family, but also a respected scholar in academic Jewish studies. (His long introduction printed with his translation of "Orot" by Rav Kook is also indispensable, by the way.) In 48 crisply written pages (including extensive footnotes. . . read them all!) Naor's narrative sums up the history of the leaders of Chabad chassidus, and gives a "prehistory" of the earlier chassidus that predated and led to Chabad. Also included is some information about the opposition to chassidus and the way Chabad leaders related to their non-chassidic rabbinic colleagues. The discussion is always from a traditional, "frum," Orthodox, friendly point of view (indeed too friendly at times, see below), but also makes extensive use of the most recent, cutting-edge university scholarship from leading academics. In short, Naor's essay benefits both from his being a real "insider" in the world of Chabad chassidus, and from his being an "outsider," a detached scholar capable of putting things into the larger context of Torah thought and history. As another reviewer here pointed out, the essay doesn't extensively discuss the most recent, 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, but perhaps this is an important corrective, since most people are already far more familiar with his life and activities than they are with his six predecessors. If Chabad as a movement is to be properly understood, it's clear that its ENTIRE history should be studied, and not just its most recent chapter. This makes Naor's essay especially helpful for readers who would like to be able to view and understand the recent dramatic developments in Chabad/Lubavitch within the context of the complete history of this unique movement. I gave the book only four stars, because I caught Naor quoting a passage from a book out of context in a way that, frankly, seems deliberately intended to mislead and give us the impression that the author's point of view was precisely the opposite of what it actually was. On page xviii, Naor describes the court of "the Maggid of Mezherich" by quoting an extensive description of it given by Solomon Maimon in his famous autobiography. (Maimon, who begin his life as a traditional "illui" (child prodigy) and talmid chacham (rabbinic scholar) eventually abandoned his traditional Jewish religious lifestyle and wandered across Europe to Berlin, where he became a recognized scholar of philosophy. As a young man, he visited the court of the Maggid of Mezherich and writes in his autobiography that at the Sabbath meal the Maggid shocked him and the other guests by somehow possessing clairvoyant knowledge of their names and the towns they had come from. Maimon reports that he was again awed when the Maggid delivered a sermon that wove together biblical verses that had been given by each guest, so that it seemed to each man that the verse he had given was expounded in a way that was connected to and revealing of some personal aspect of his unique spiritual life. Naor takes great delight in presenting this story, and pointing out that it's especially noteworthy since it isn't the testimony "of a hasid, but rather of a skeptic [Maimon] who would go on to Koenigsberg to become an authoritative interpreter of Kant's critical philosophy." What Naor fails to tell you (and not even in a footnote!) is that Maimon goes on to say that he became convinced that it had all been an elaborate trick, and that the Maggid had had spies who had provided him with all his information so that he could awe people with his "powers." As far as the sermon, upon further reflection Maimon became completely convinced that it was all smoke and mirrors, completely superficial, and lacking any real substance. (All the Maggid did was harp on the idea of "bittul ha-yesh" over and over again.) We get the picture here that the Maggid is a mediocrity, a bit of a charlatan, and no real great spiritual master. Moreover, Maimon continues his firsthand description of the Maggid's court by recounting with disgust "excessive" behavior he witnessed on another occasion: After a certain man came before the Maggid and proudly announced that his wife had given birth to a baby girl, the Maggid shouted "a girl?!" and commanded his followers to give the man a thorough beating! They carried out his wishes with zeal, laughing as they flogged their poor victim! Say what you will about the credibility of this "skeptic," the heretic Solomon Maimon, in relating the description of a chassidic leader, but do not bring him as one who attested to the Maggid's greatness and holiness, when he explicitly stated just the opposite, that he was an "uncultivated" man! Not being an expert in the Chabad literature or the other sources, I was unable to examine Naor's other quotes and citations. My advice to you is to buy this book, read it, but make sure to look up his sources whenever possible!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Important Scholarly Introduction to Chabad Chassidus, July 16, 2001
The first third of this book is a 48-page introduction to the history of the Chabad-Lubavitch chassidus written by Betsalel Naor, and the remainder consists of revealing and fascinating anecdotes about individuals and events in the movements, told from a personal perspective by "Reuven Alpert." The anecdotes are certainly worth reading, but what makes this book a "must-buy" is the introduction.Naor is not only a committed Orthodox Jew with ties to Chabad that go back for generations in his family, but also a respected scholar in academic Jewish studies. (His long introduction printed with his translation of "Orot" by Rav Kook is also indispensable, by the way.) In 48 crisply written pages (including extensive footnotes. . . read them all!) Naor's narrative sums up the history of the leaders of Chabad chassidus, and gives a "prehistory" of the earlier chassidus that predated and led to Chabad. Also included is some information about the opposition to chassidus and the way Chabad leaders related to their non-chassidic rabbinic colleagues. The discussion is always from a traditional, "frum," Orthodox, friendly point of view (indeed too friendly at times, see below), but also makes extensive use of the most recent, cutting-edge university scholarship from leading academics. In short, Naor's essay benefits both from his being a real "insider" in the world of Chabad chassidus, and from his being an "outsider," a detached scholar capable of putting things into the larger context of Torah thought and history. As another reviewer here pointed out, the essay doesn't extensively discuss the most recent, 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, but perhaps this is an important corrective, since most people are already far more familiar with his life and activities than they are with his six predecessors. If Chabad as a movement is to be properly understood, it's clear that its ENTIRE history should be studied, and not just its most recent chapter. This makes Naor's essay especially helpful for readers who would like to be able to view and understand the recent dramatic developments in Chabad/Lubavitch within the context of the complete history of this unique movement. I gave the book only four stars, because I caught Naor quoting a passage from a book out of context in a way that, frankly, seems deliberately intended to mislead and give us the impression that the author's point of view was precisely the opposite of what it actually was. On page xviii, Naor describes the court of "the Maggid of Mezherich" by quoting an extensive description of it given by Solomon Maimon in his famous autobiography. (Maimon, who begin his life as a traditional "illui" (child prodigy) and talmid chacham (rabbinic scholar) eventually abandoned his traditional Jewish religious lifestyle and wandered across Europe to Berlin, where he became a highly regarded scholar of philosophy. (Immanuel Kant is reported to have said that no one understood his ideas as well as Solomon Maimon!) As a young man, Maimon visited the court of the Maggid of Mezherich and writes in his autobiography that at the Sabbath meal the Maggid shocked him and the other guests by somehow possessing clairvoyant knowledge of their names and the towns they had come from. Maimon reports that he was again awed when the Maggid delivered a sermon that wove together biblical verses that had been given by each guest, so that it seemed to each man that the verse he had given was expounded in a way that was connected to and revealing of some personal aspect of his unique spiritual life. Naor takes great delight in presenting this story, and pointing out that it's especially noteworthy since it isn't the testimony "of a hasid, but rather of a skeptic [Maimon] who would go on to Koenigsberg to become an authoritative interpreter of Kant's critical philosophy." What Naor fails to tell you (and not even in a footnote!) is that Maimon goes on to say that he became convinced that it had all been an elaborate trick, and that the Maggid had had spies who had provided him with all his information so that he could awe people with his "powers." As far as the sermon, upon further reflection Maimon became completely convinced that it was all smoke and mirrors, completely superficial, and lacking any real substance. (All the Maggid did was harp on the idea of "bittul ha-yesh" over and over again.) We get the picture here that the Maggid is a mediocrity, a bit of a charlatan, and no real great spiritual master. Moreover, Maimon continues his firsthand description of the Maggid's court by recounting with disgust some "excessive" behavior he witnessed on another occasion: After a certain man came before the Maggid and proudly announced that his wife had given birth to a baby girl, the Maggid shouted "a girl?!" and commanded his followers to give the man a thorough beating! They carried out his wishes with zeal, laughing as they flogged their poor victim! Say what you will about the credibility of this "skeptic," the heretic Solomon Maimon, in relating the description of a chassidic leader, but do not bring him as one who attested to the Maggid's greatness and holiness, when he explicitly stated just the opposite, that he was an "uncultivated" man! Not being an expert in the Chabad literature and some of the other sources, I was unable to examine Naor's other quotes and citations. My advice to you is to buy this book, read it, but make sure to look up his sources whenever possible!
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