My renowned ancestor, Chasidic master, Rav Shimon Yaroslover is probably turning over in his grave because of what I am about to write. Rav Shimon, was a Talmid Muvhak of the famous Chozeh M’Lublin. But he did not come from a Chasidic background. His father, R. Yisroel Leib Elbaum, was an avowed Misnagid. He vehemently opposed Chasidus. He was so “turned off” from it that he avoided any contact with those who were trying to spread “the word” and when the Mezritcher Magid once came to his home, he snuck out the back door rather than talk to him in.
He was very upset that his son Rav Shimon had become a Chasid. When he was near death, he had made Rav Shimon promise that he would not say “V’Yatzmach Purkanei V’Karev Meshichei” in the mourner’s Kaddish, an innovation of Chasidus that was never incorporated in Minhag Ashkenaz. He agreed.
This story is brought down in Halacha with respect to a Shaila as to whether one is allowed to depart from a Minhag to honor a father’s deathbed wish. I bring it as an illustration to show just how opposed to the Torah world was to Chasidus. It wasn’t only the GRA. It was many Gedolim and Rabbanim who considered it a break from the Masoretic chain. Things have changed since that era. The advent of Haskala caused the two worlds come together in a common battle against the rush by many to embrace it and abandon observant Judaism. But there was never really reconciliation. There was never a real acceptance by the non-Chasidic Torah world of the tenets of Chasidus. It was sort of put on the back burner and tolerated for the sake of the greater good. Today, you will see a lot of public interaction between the two groups, most notably at Agudah events. But I do not believe the differences were ever resolved.
There is a famous Teshuva by R. Moshe Feinstein that if one reads carefully seems to bear this out. He was asked a Shaila by a young student about which Nusach to Daven, The Nusach of his father, Nusach Sefard, which is the Nusach of Chasidus, or the Nusach of the Yeshivos he learned and Daven’d in, Nusach Ashkenaz, the Nusach of non-Chasidus. He was answered that he should follow his father’s Nusach. But the Teshuva doesn’t end there. He discusses what to do if one does not know which Nusach to Daven and states very clearly that it should be Nusach Ashkenaz. This is because Nusach Ashkenaz is the correct Nusach as it is the one written by the Anshe K’nesses HaGedolah. It predates Nusach Sefard by many centuries. Nusach Sefard was an innovation created by the Ari based on his interpretation of Teffilot Edot Mizrach. He had written what he considered to be a superior form of Teffilah based on Kabbalah. This innovation was not incorporated in to Teffilah. And it is my understanding that even the Ari himself did not use that Nusach. It was only later adopted by Chasidic Masters who insisted on following many of the Ari’s Minhagim. They “bought into” his claim that this Kabalistic interpretation is superior to our Masoretic one, Nusach Ashkenaz. But... who gave them that right? Who gave them the right to change the Nusach HaTeffilah? This is just one point of contention. There are more.
What generated this post was an e-mail from some one who challenged my assertion that there are no Gedolim today who are of a caliber to be called leaders in Klal Yisroel. He asked me “What about Chasidic Rebbes?” Well aside from my Hashkafic problems with Chasidus, I also have sociological problems with it. Here for the most part, is what I wrote:
I never really considered them to be Gedolim because of the way they became Rebbes in the first place. They inherit the position. The entire enterprise is a big turn off to me. All the pomp and circumstance... the Tish... the huge wedding celebrations... the way the Rebbe is treated... like royalty. It all strikes me as one big “theater of the absurd”.
I saw a photo in the Jewish Press of some Rebbe's Sukkah a few months ago. It was huge and ornate. It looked more like a palace. Greatness does not stem from ornate palaces. Greatness does not stem from the trappings of royalty. Greatness in my mind comes from achieving greatness in Torah learning and knowing how to lead... combined with the Midah of Anavah, humility. It does not derive from the artificial grandeur that some Chasidic Rebbes seem to revel in.
There were of course great Chasidic Rebbes that were also Gedolim, like the Satmar Rebbe (Rav Yoel Teitlebaum) and some of the Gerrer Rebbes (the Sfas Emes being the greatest among them) and more that I can’t think of at the moment. I do not attribute their greatness to Chasidus but to them as individuals, who happened to be Rebbes as well. Currently I don't see anything but a bunch of Rebbes who automatically became such by inheriting their positions and parading around as royalty with entire entourages of people accompanying them where ever they go. They see people, give advice, and take money. This makes them Gedolim? I'm sorry I just don't buy it. The entire enterprise is just a big turn off to me.
In the case of Litvishe Gedolim they have to earn it. They have to achieve something on their own. They are not born into it. Rav Elyashiv did not inherit his position. Neither did Rav Moshe, or Rav S.Z. Auerbach before him, or Rav Schach... or the Chazan Ish... or the Chafetz Chaim. They earned it. I have far greater respect for them than I do for Chasidishe Rebbes who got lucky by being born into their positions.
