Is this the end of Chasidus as we know it? If one reads this article in Ha’aretz, one might think so.
I have many times made the assertion that I believe Chasidus was a necessary development in the history of the Jewish people. I believe it to be part of the Divine plan of God. For if not for Chasidus maintaining the masses and keeping them in the fold, the period of enlightenment that had opened up opportunities that had been formerly denied would have taken a very serious toll. Haskala which advocated a break from Torah observance was a direct result of that.
Chasidus prevented the masses from turning away from Torah observance for the most part. While it is also true that the elitist Yeshiva system of the Lithuanian mold did its part Torah observance too, their existence alone would not have been enough. Educating a few elitist rabbinic scholars could not have alone prevented the massive hemorrhaging of Jews away from Torah observance that was beginning to take place during the height if the period of Haskala. Indeed the pull of Haskala was pretty strong amongst them too. In fact, many Maskilim came from the ranks of the elite in thoseYeshivos.
I know there are some who would dispute these facts and maintain that Chasidus was not responsible for maintaining the masses. But I disagree. It seems obvious that the vast majority of Jews who were not enticed away from observance by the pull of Haskala is due largely to the advent of Chasidus. It was they who had the ability to hold on to the masses because they appealed to the emotional side of Judaism rather than the intellectual side. They inspired people to follow the Torah by de-emphasizing learning and emphasizing Teffila (prayer), Emunah Peshuta (simple faith), and Deveikus(clinging) to God via a charismatic leader.
I have also maintained that Chasidus has served its purpose. Post holocaust in America and Israel its usefulness as the guarantor of continuity has greatly diminished. It has been replaced both in the US and Israel by the exceedingly successful Yeshiva system modeled on Volozhin. No longer does a Jew require a Chasidic theology stay in the fold. Yeshivos are doing a far better job at that now and are educating the masses much more than the Chasidus of old did. In fact, there are many Chasidic Yeshivos now that have emulated the very successful Lithuanian model.
But Chasidus has not died. Nor has it waned. It is stronger than ever. The numbers of Chasidm have increased exponentially since the holocaust. That is a tribute to the charismatic leadership of three primary Chasidic leaders: the Rebbes of Satmar, Lubavitch, and Bobov. If I am not mistaken, members of these three dynasties comprise the vast majority of Chasidim in the world. There are other prominent Chasidic sects such as Sanz,,Boyan and Breslov . But I do not think that their numbers combined… come anywhere near the numbers of the other three combined. But despite their success in building the great numbers of Chasidim they are in grave danger of destroying themselves.
The problems in Lubavitch are well known and have been discussed many times. The biggest problem they have of course is the Meshichism that is so rampant. It is a movement strongly divided. And even though one can debate the extent of Meshichism, how widely it is accepted or tolerated (some are overt and some are discreet) there can be no doubt about the civil war between the two factions in Lubavitch. The problem is that the overt Meshichists seem to be winning.
If what one sees in Israel is any indication, Meshichism there is definitely the dominant belief. The same thing is true at their international headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. The Meshichists are in control. And in Chicago, the Moshiach flags on cars, Yechi Yarmulkees, and posters on buildings, are on the increase.
Of course Lubavitch leadership will deny it and say that it isn’t so. They will say that Meshichists are just a very loud vocal minority with a lot of money. But, I think it is far worse than that. And if it is indeed true that the Meshichists are winning, and the second coming of their Messiah, the Rebbe, becomes the dominant theology of Lubavitch, they will cease to exist as a legitimate movement in Judaism …even with all their successes in Kiruv and growing numbers. The theology is so anathematic to mainstream Torah Judaism that their great numbers won’t matter any more than the great numbers of Christians. They will be outside the pale.
Satmar, perhaps the largest Chasidic sect in the world is now divided unlike any time in history. The last Rebbe was unclear about his successor and gave mixed signals about which of his two sons should take his place as the next undisputed Rebbe. This has resulted in one of the nastiest battles in modern times. From the article: “the conflicts between the two camps continue, and the fights between them are described as venomous.” There have been physical brawls and blood drawn between members of both camps.
And now the same thing is happening in Bobov. There is a virtual war between the previous Rebbe’s brother, Rabbi Ben Zion Halberstam, and the previous Rebbe’s son-in-law, Rabbi Mordechai David Ungar, both claiming the mantle of leadership. That too is a bitter dispute with partisans on both sides:
“Older Hasidim who follow Rabbi Ben Zion claim that his father Rabbi Shlomo used to say that he preferred his son to his son-in-law as his successor and heir to the leadership. That is why in their opinion Ungar is "brazen and quarrelsome.”
If one adds to this the image of the Chasidm of Neturei Karta embracing the “holocaust denying” President of Iran at a holocaust denial conference, well... Chasidus is not painting a pretty picture to the world. It doesn’t matter that Neturei Karta who claims the very anti Medinat Israel Chasidic sect Satmar to be their spiritual heir, is none-the-less strongly condmened by them... and everyone else in the Torah world. The fact is that Neturei Karta were raised as Chasidim, they look like Chasidim, they act like Chasisdim, and they claim to be Chasisdim. All verbal condemnations of (or dissociations from) this group pale in comparison to those images seen round the world. One picture like that outweighs a thousand words of condemnation. People see Chasisdim. And that hurts Chasidus.
So what does the future really hold for Chasidus as a movement? I don’t know. There are a lot of people who are Chasidim… enough to maintain the divisions and create many Chasidic courts out of one. But the movement is being seriously hurt. Violent enmity, outrageous behavior, and slander of one side against members of the other abound. And it is led or inspired by its very leaders. I therefore do not believe that any serious person can ever take Chasidus seriously again.
