There is a troubling article in Ha’aretz about the Kiruv techniques of Breslov. They seem to somehow entice young people into their web, teach them some very strange practices, and telling them not to reveal any of it to their parents.
Make no mistake about it. Breslov has turned into a cult. And one of the main tactics of cults is to reject parents. This is K’neged Halacha. And what are they taught? Well, some of the more extreme practices include the type of behavior that by normal standards would be considered complete lunacy. How many people prostrate themselves on the graves of holy men? This seems to be one of their Minhagim. In the article a mother describes details she extracted about a group of young men that includes her son:
“She says they seclude themselves in the sands and prostrate themselves on the graves of holy men. Her son plans to travel to Uman, in Ukraine (a pilgrimage site where the grave of the founder of the movement, Rabbi Nachman, is located), in the near future. It is possible, she says, that he travels in Bratslav vehicles to dance and jump around or to distribute books and tapes at traffic junctions.”
Anyone who has been to Israel in recent years has probably seen these strange looking young men in vehicles blasting music from loudspeakers attached to their cars jumping up and down like a bunch of lunatics. The question is whether brainwashing of this sort is ultimately a good thing. Leaving aside for a moment the immorality of enticing these kids away from their homes... is the product of such brainwashing a good thing? True these young people have been taken from a life of secularism devoid of any mitzvah observance and are now observing Mitzvos, but at what price? The direction they are taking is so extreme... so off the reservation... that I actually question the validity of their product (The BT Breslover Chasid) let alone the tactics that got them there. Were they better off before with absolutely no Mitzva observance? I don’t know but my inclination is that, yes they were better off. Had Breslov not gotten to them first, in all liklihood these young people who were ripe for Kiruv, would have found their way to more mainstream Kiruv organizations. That they were roped into this extreme behavior by a fanatical cult like Breslov is troubling to say the least.
There is no need to alienate Baalei Teshuva from secular parents the way Breslov does. Nor is their brand of Judaism in any way considered normative Judaism, if the descriptions in this article are accurate. In fact one parent in the article expressed that she would have been OK with a religious son: “I don't mind any more if he's religious, but a sane religious person”. This is the goal of most normal Kiruv organizations. But Breslov is not normal. They do not create Frum Jews but Frum lunatics. And they ought to be stopped.
