a Former Novardhoker tells us how it was in the old days. I guess he forgot what they taught him there, eh?
By Shmuel Ben-Artzi (Sarah Netanyahu's - wife of Bibi - father)
Buy it here.
"We would go to a pharmacy and request nails, or ask for butter at a haberdashery, in order to get used to not being ashamed. Or we would do things to 'break our will' - we would get meat and potatoes for lunch, and we were supposed to eat the potato and leave the meat."
The most extreme yeshiva was Novardok. This, no doubt, was due to the personality of its founder, Rabbi Yosef Yoizel Horowitz. In his youth, he was considered a rascal who was often truant, but a chance meeting with Rabbi Salanter (at a relatively late age, when he was already married) led him to leave his family and business and devote himself to studying Torah and morals - despite the vociferous objections of his father and the rabbi. After his wife died, he became even more ascetic. He sent his children to live with other families and became a hermit in the home of a tinsmith, who supplied all his needs. For a year and half, he did not leave his room, not even to go to the synagogue - he observed all the religious precepts there, even blowing the shofar on the Jewish New Year by himself. Eventually he married the tinsmith's daughter, and only later was he persuaded to spread his doctrine through a yeshiva.
I now see that mentalblog has something on Novardok now too. Wasn't he supposed to be on break? again?
Some great WWI photos in Novardhok
14 comments:
I heard from some mussar family insider that in Kelm they didn"t put a monunent on your burial site, wilder then Kotzk.
For some reason Novardhok is compared to Chabad. They're the outcasts (for lack of a better term) of the Yeshivah world, just like Chabad is in the Chassidishe world.
There too it must've the jealousy; that N'dok was so successful in recruiting Bochurim, and the fact that RYY was also a Talmid of RIS, yet came out with a totally different approach.
Where can it be bought in the US?
I am not getting it, Is Ben Artzi a former navadoker or a simple historian? Is he a Mizrachi guy or total secular?
BTW, I heard from a eldery jew that in prewar poland they used to say Omar NOVAL belboi.. is the acronym for Navardok Breslov Lubavitch, they had a big influence on the polish youth.
Ben Artzi is a former Novardoker. He's writing his memoirs.
I guess you can also say that הללוהו בנבל
נב"ל is Roshei Teyvos Novardok, Breslov, Lubavitch.
right on tzig. you may also say לבן yakov's uncle or the color white. which is all a bunch of nonsense.
I didn't know what Novardhok meant before reading this post/article. I wonder if there is more depth that is not being communicated because there seems to nothing that I could see emulating, identifying with, ratifying, it seems very not jewish. I also see some sort of admiration fondness brotherhood that tzig entertains regarding them and lubavitch. Can someone clarify whats going on here?
n
what would you define as "not Jewish?"
I do have a certain love/hate relationship with Novardhok. I just don't think it comes from Lubavitch. It's more of a self-made issue.
I'm a bit surprised. I thought by chabad, it was ein od milvado.
Surprise, surprise.
Why is having an interest in another group considered a contradiction to Ein Od Milvado?
Hershil,
He meant, ein oid milvad Chabad. He believes his own myth and then has questions.
I know, I'm way behind commenting...possible Chabad/Navordok connection might be the network of yeshivas built in Russia, strongwilled defiance to keep yiddisheit no matter what...just a thought.
Your thought's appreciated, no matter how late it may be.
:-)
Post a Comment