Sruli Besser realizes his life-long dream...

.... Well, one of them, perhaps. Namely, to write about Zalman Levine. I have my theory as to why... I know it sounds like a strange dream, but hey! To each his own. If  only I saw what the big fascination with them is. Seems like all those who have their issues with Lubavitch look to Zalman and his father to justify their qualms. Just look at the last paragraph... Angel. maMASH. But if it means that Lubavitch gets a little knock, why not? So... why is it that the son of the man who was SO HOLY and called all Litvaks Apikorsim and worse had a son who looked like a Slabodker Bochur?

We may never know. But do read it.

  Levine by Hirshel Tzig on Scribd

R. Rakeffet tackles the Malochim and Torah VoDaas

Rabbi Rakeffet: Throw Them Out!

Laced with the good Rabbi's inevitable mistakes, but nice to listen to, even if not completely accurate.

POTD - Williamsburg

Menu: Shtop Gentz with Goulash
Mashpia: Lemel Shvartz
Sugya: על הגאולה פרק ז
Conclusion: Nishtakcho Toras... from the era of the Tzemach Tzedek
Nigunim: רבינ'ס זעקסטע הקפה ניגון for a Freilekhs and רבינ'ס שלום עליכם ניגון for התעוררות
Dancing: Bonfire burning Volumes of חסידות מבוארת

בדרך צחות, כמובן

לא לחנם הלך הזרזיר אצל העורב - יתד נאמן כותב על קבוצת "המלאכים" כאילו מ'האט אנדעקט אמעריקא

?אבער ווי שטימט עס מיט לעיקוואוד

ס'איז געווען אידישקייט אין אמעריקא פאר די קלעצקער זיינען געקומען אהערצו? דאס אז די יתד דרוקט עס איז נישט קיין חידוש, אפילו בזמנינו וואס זיי ווייזען אז היינט איז נישט ווי אמאל. אבער שרייבען אזא ארטיקל, מלא שגיאות און שטותים פאסט נישט פאר א צייטונג. נאר וואס דען? ביי זיי איז רעדן פון חב"ד ווי ביי מיר רעדן פון סאלוניקא פאר 200 יאר צוריק. צו אפשר נאך ווייניגער. ווי א האן אין די בני אדם. אבער, בכלל, דאס אז גערטנער וויל שרייבען וועגן זיין זיידען איז זייער א גלייכע זאך. און איצטער זאלען אלע קומען און נעמען פון דעם וועבזייטל און חלילה נישט געבן קיין קרעדיט

נפטר געווארען הרב מאיר וועבערמאן, רב קהל נתיבות עולם - "מלאכים" וויליאמסבורג

Some info - in Yiddish - on Ivelt forum

I don't know much about him. He was quite the zealous type. True to this pedigree. He was 94 years old, so he still saw R' Avrohom Ber Ilyer as a bachur and was mekabel from him. The picture is from a demonstration (in 1980?) against the State of Israel, where he spoke in English for the press. His "love" of Lubavitch was legendary. He would cross out the Rebbe's name from Chabad seforim like Tanya and Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch well into his old age. Some of his children are even more extreme than him, some even joining NK.

What else?

א באשרייבונג וועגן ר' יענקל שארר'ס הייראט צערעמאניע

די חתונה פון ר' יעקב שארר ​​​​ איז אפגעראכטן געווארן אזוי ווייט ווי אין נארטה קאראליינע, צוליב דעם וואס הרב שארר האט חתונה געהאט מיט גאר א יונג מיידל וואס איז אינגאנצן אלט געווען נישט מער פון 15 יאהר, און דארט איז די נענטסטע שטאט צו נוא יארק ווי הייראטן איז ערלויבט אין אזא יונגן עלטער. עס האט, ווייזט אויס, געשאפן א סענזאציע אין די צייטונגען און קריטיק אינערהאלב די שארר פאמיליע. די צייטונג ציטירט אנטריסטישע קאמענטארן פון אן אומאנגעבליכער ברודער, איז דא באקאנט ווער עס זענען געווען די ברודער זיינע חוץ וואס מיר ווייסן פון הג"ר גדלי'?

לינק

Reb Yakov Schorr's Wedding

Habad Portraits - Excerpts: The "Malakh"

Not all of it, but enough to give you a taste...

In book news...

If you thought you were the velt's chochom who knew all the "secrets" over all the generations, all the stories that Chabad tries to "cover up" because it's so terribly "embarrassed" by them - this book is for you. As if. Portraits include: "Reb Nochum the Mitteler Rebbe's son, "DER MALACH," Reb Mendel Schneersohn בן אדמו"ר מהר"ש, and Berke Gurary.  If you're a Barry Gurary fan only because you hate The Rebbe and Lubavitch - and you know who you are - read the book and you might actually learn a few things. You may actually be surprised that a whole lot of what you heard about all of the above is hearsay, half-truths, and even lies. The book is due out today and can be ordered through Jewishinfo.org or e-mail RCD at info@rabbidalfin.com. Now let me see Satmar put out a book about The Satmar Rebbe's daughter and what was done to her, or such similar events... And they say Chabad has secrets. Ha!

The "מלאכים" and Lubavitch post 4G ( a new גילוי)

"אוצר אגרות קודש" new edition

In the annals of Lubavitch history there's this group about whom the Satmar Rov was to have said "צו זיי זענען מלאכים ווייס איך נישט, אבער מענטשן זענען זיי זיכער נישט!" Those who have issues with Lubavitch like to point to this group and use them as proof that Lubavitch is not what the founders intended for it to be. Truth be told, the group only started many years after the "founder," R' Avrohom Ber Levin of Ilye left Russia and came to the US. Every boocher'l in the chassidishe velt knows that the Malochim don't like Lubavitch, and haven't liked them since the Rebbe Rashab told him to leave Lubavitch after he was מוציא לע"ז on his בן יחיד, רבינו מהריי"צ נ"ע. So in essence the group as a group was never really part of Lubavitch, Avrohom Ber not withstanding. But we won't be a stickler for accuracy here. What has become part of the Malochim philosophy - as I know it - is that REAL Chabad was only up until the Tzemach Tzedek. The MaHaRaSH is still OK as far as learning his Chassidus, but it's already not what the AR had in mind. Avrohom Ber considered himself on the level with the Rebbe Rashab, a "talmid-chover" as some would put it - silly people they are. They were the ones who took the liberty to laugh in the face of the Frierdige Rebbe, based on what they thought Reb Avrohom Ber would've said, I suppose, since they spent very little time with him before he passed on, and they opened the floodgates for any kal and so-called "Kanoi" to do the same. Then again, if they organized in 5684 then maybe he did really say some of those things? He only passed on in 5698. Word on the street is that most of his talmidim, like Reb Yankel Schorr, spent only 2 years with him, and it wasn't every day either, it was very seldom that they would meet him at all. Most of the meeting was done back in Brooklyn.

Over the years much has been learned about the above-named group and some of their positions. We know that he was a Rov in a Nusach Ari shul in the Bronx. Reb Yisroel Jacobson's father davened in his shul. In his zichronos RYJ writes that when he came to America in the early 20s((his family (parents and siblings) had emigrated before him)) he went to visit his parents and had to be in that shul. לכתחילה, he said, האב איך נישט געוואלט שטיין אין זיינע ד' אמות because of what transpired back in Lubavitch, but he had no choice. That goes to show you that not much has changed in Lubavitch in that respect - you mess with our Rebbes and we'll show you. I guess it was a small shul.... RYJ continues to reminisce how RABL asked him to chazzer a מאמר חסידות ביי זמן שלש סעודות from the Rebbe (Rayatz), which he gladly did, and Reb Avrohom Ber was duly impressed ------ So if he was SUCH a Kanoi, and sooooo disliked the RR and the FR I don't think he would ask to her what he considered diluted (ptuy) Chassidus, now would he? That was one anecdote that showed me that much of what his so-called chassidim and talmidim say about him is not mamesh so. But what we show here may be the kicker, being that it's from the "Malochim" themselves, and kind of throws a really big monkey wrench into the idea that he didn't care for Lubavitch post 4G.  NOT THAT IT REALLY MATTERS, but it does to some people. Somebody who was so anti-Lubavitch post 4G wouldn't make his bochurim collect money for Tomchei Tmimim, a T"T being run by the Frierdige Rebbe, now would he? And he wouldn't be so adamant about it as he is here, would he?! This was 4 years after the RR had passed away already!!