Carried Away A Bit?

As a Lubavitcher it's tough not to smile at an outburst of emotion like that. Chabad has always been the antithesis of emotional displays like that, ever since the Mitteler Rebbe's times. There's also the fact that people today in general are VERY skeptical of any Rebbe today that tries to emulate what he thinks the Rebbes of old would do. If there's a certain nusach to follow, or a dance to do, or a waving of the hands to perform, people are understanding that the current Rebbe is only following in the ways of his ancestors, though he may not be on their level. Most Rebbes today have come to terms with that fact and have adjusted. No longer do they claim to have all the spirituals "powers" that their ancestors had, and most will say that themselves. Neither Satmar Rebbe would even attempt to copy the routine of the old Satmar Rov on Hoshana Rabboh.

I spoke to a chossid of the Kossover Rebbe (filmed here) and asked him pshat. He says the KR has been doing it ever since he was a kid. I'm not sure I get that. What's that supposed to mean? Resident heretic DovBear added that clip to his lengthy gloating period and called the man "crazy." That's one extreme. What else can you expect of somebody who thinks BHO is the reincarnation of Abraham Lincoln. What did bother me was that the KR fed this insane man's (Dovbear's) appetite for making light of ANYTHING and everything Jewish and serious. I also would've liked to poll the people present there what they thought about what the KR was doing. Most seemed indifferent - not suprised - as is this was normal for their Rebbe and will be done again the next day. If that's so then we've got a "Kan Tzorich Livkos" on hand here, where the so-called emotions displayed here are pre-meditated and possibly bluff.

The KR is knows to be a very laid-back kind of Rebbe, as Rebbes go these days. "Proof" of this may seem lame to some of you but these little things say alot about a person in today's culture. He shuns the trappings of other Rebbes, Gabboyim, fancy clothes etc., things others live for. He'll talk to you like a NORMAL person, without rolling his eyes or talking in Rebbe code. Having said that the fact that he does Nanuim like that seems to go against everything I've heard about him before. A psychology major told me that he attributes this behavior to Scrupulousity, which is mostly seen among - lehavdil - Catholics. OCD of another sort. I fail to see the "symptoms" here. It's not like he's checking his Lulav constantly to see if it split. Then he gave some other term for it, which I fail to remember now. In any case, what we have is a case of one perplexed blogger; maybe you fellows can respectfully help me solve this mystery.