"איני יכול לשאת שיהודי מתאמץ בשבילי"

A story about the Rebbe Reb Shimon Sholom (R' Shimme'le) of Amshinov who spent Rosh Hashonoh 1940 in Vilna. He eventually escaped via Russia to Japan and Shanghai, China. Agav, the idea that he fasted two days on Y"K 1941 because he was in doubt - due to his crossing the International Dateline - is a myth. He was by that time already in mainland Shanghai. What he did about Shabbos is another story, which we'll leave for a later time.

א כוח"ט און א גוט געבענטשט יאר

The whole schism between Chabad and the rest of the (ultra) frum world - Was it all based on a misunderstanding???

In the world of "Yeshivishe hock" much has been said - and by now written as well - about the article(s) in HaKriah veHakedushoh that elicited very strong responses from Rabbinic personalities outside the Chabad world. Supposedly the Frierdige ליובאוויטשער Rebbe  כ"ק אדמו"ר רבי יוסף יצחק נ"ע was to have made "derogatory statements" about the study of גמרא. The truth is the articles were not written by the Rebbe, as is clear from the pen name here, but I he was "to blame" because the publication was under his auspices. Some people would tell you that this is what started the divide between Chabad and the rest of the Charedi world here in America, and by extension in Israel and the rest of the world too. Some of the notables that were supposedly irked by the article were RAK and Rav Shlomo Heiman, the latter asked RJBS to pen a response to the article, which was supposedly not to his liking anyway. This according to MOAG by R. Nosson Kamenecki. That would make sense, since Reb Yoshe Ber and the FR enjoyed a very good relationship...

 


מכתב חריף מהרה"ג ר' מרדכי ארי' האבערמאן ע"ה - קרעדיט להרוצה בעילום שמו
Rav Haberman was a great gaon and a Rov in Galicia and a dayan in Vienna before coming to New York in the 30's. IIRC he was a Belzer chossid. Here in the US he was Rov in Brownsville in the Rayim Ahuvim shtiebel, which, ironically, is now in Crown Heights... He threatens the editor of HaKveHa"K that if they do not desist from publishing articles like these he will have no choice but to publicly denounce them. I guess his Chassidishe background is what made him give them "another chance," whereas those who had an ax to grind even before the article...The letter is from his manuscripts and may have never actually been sent, but nevertheless makes for a good read. You might say that this too is a "פרסום ראשון".



?על מה יצא הקצף - I see not many of you read this....



ע"ד זהותו של א.י. סגל

קצת אודות הרב האבערמאן -  more


Thanks to Rabbi Shia Mondshein we now know that Aron Levitt had very little - if any knowledge of Chabad, its history or its torah/shittos! The fact that the journal was published "תחת הסכמת הרבי מליובאוויטש" not withstanding. The letter that we link to here - written by the chossid Reb Shaul Ber Zislin, ע"ה, illustrates that very nicely. Here's one paragraph in which he makes his point (for those who can't be bothered to read the whole thing...) אבל מדברי כב' יוצאת מסקנא שאיננה צודקת בהמציאות (פאקטיש). אני יכול להעיד, הישיבה הקדושה "תומכי תמימים" נתייסדה בעיקרה על היסודות הקדושות "חסידות חב"ד". בזמני למדו ועברו בהישיבה תלמידים למאות ב"ה, מופלגי תורה, למדו ש"ס ופוסקים, מפרשים, תשובות, ראשונים ואחרונים, התפלפלו הרבה ביניהם, גדולי התורה מהחסידים בחנו אותם, סמכו אותם, ולא שמענו ולא ראינו אף פעם שהתעסקו בשיטת לימוד כזה באיזה סוגיא בש"ס חמורה או קלה כמו שכב' מתאר. Reb Shaul Ber was גאון הגאונים and a Rov in several Russian cities before leaving for Israel in the 30's. What he's saying here is not just "damage control" and partisan politics. I assure you.

הגה"ח ר' שאול דובער זיסלין ע"ה

See more about the controversy here. In his talk with the Belzer Rebbe the Rebbe mentioned the fact that Reb Chaim Vital writes very strong words about he who learns המחליף פרה בחמור כפשוטו, and that FR said these words soon after his arrival to these shores. The Rebbe goes on to speak about the tummel that ensued and  that the FR clarified that he was only repeating the words of RCV.

Young Israel Viewpoint, ניסן-אייר ת"ש