Mrs. Tzila Schneersohn passed away last night

MIB reports: The aunt of the Rebbe and Rebbitzen, Mrs. Tzila Schneersohn passed away last night in Tel Aviv. She was the wife of R. Benzion Schneersohn who was the brother of Rebbitzen Nechama Dinah, son of R. Avrohom Schneersohn of Kishivev and grandson of ADMUR Yisroel Noach of Nezhin. Reb Benzion came to Eretz Yisrael after WWII ans settled in Tel Aviv. He visited the US twice (I believe)and enjoyed a warm relationship with his nephew and niece the Rebbe and Rebbitzen. He passed away in 1976.

MIB comments: Reb Avrohom Schneersohn was married to Yocheved Scheiberg, daughter of a prominent Chasid from Kishinev, Moldavia. From what I have researched, it appears that they had at least six children. Reb Benzion was either the youngest or second to youngest of the children. Reb Benzion and Tzila have no children. In Kishinev, Reb Avrohom was famous for his Tzidkus and was very much a "hatzne leches", and thus did not answer the call to succeed his father as Rebbe of Chabad-Nezhin. The Rebbe Rashab held him in great esteem.

"We are family; I got all my sisters with me"

Comments to Sue Fishkoff gets her hands on Footsteps:

Chanie Schwartz: mashpia, thank u, at least someone here is writing for the discussion aspect rather then the 'spewing' aspect of this blog. ULY - ok we get it, u think frum is important, but do u have any OTHER important values? Can u understand if FAMILY is an important value as well?

Shira: Regarding what Chanie Schwartz said about family also being important, not just frumkeit - it seems to me that love and tolerance for family ( and for all of Hashem's creations), is not separate from frumkeit, but a major part of it. If in a family one of the children goes off the path, rejecting that child gives the other children:
A. a message that their parents love is dependant on their being observant Jews, while chassidus teaches about unconditional love for all Jews.
B. the message that there is something so powerful out there, that if they will be exposed to it, they will drop everything. To me that might become a self-fulfilling prophecy chas veshalom.

Of course parents don't need to go on a search for negative influences to overcome, but overprotective parents who shield their child from every germ end up having vulnerable children. If by divine providence those children have a sibling who made those choices, the parents have to trust that they have the strength to grow from the situation.

P.S. Where is S.H.?

Zechor yemos olam, binu shnos dor vador

Teacher commenting to Sue Fishkoff gets her hands on Footsteps:

Speaking as a teacher in the [Crown Heights] system I would say the problem is this: we do not present enough options for kids. Shlichus is the Lubavitch version of Kollel: if you don't do it, you're a failure. This is not realistic, nor is it in keeping with what is emes. Understanding and more importantly accepting that there are many ways to be a frum erlich yid (and Lubavitcher, if one wishes) is the way to keep our kids 'in'. We don't live in the same world as yesterday, we need to give our kids the right tools and weapons to defend themselves against the outside world -- and that means assessing those dangers and responding appropriately. There are too few models shown (especially to boys) of what a respected figure looks like. There are plenty of businessmen, etc., in chassidus' history. Not everyone is going to be a rebbe or shliach, and making that the only truly acceptable choice is going to cause us to lose our future, chas v'shalom. Telling a bright kid who is not a learner "become a car mechanic" is not right, in my opinion.

In hashkafa classes I tell those who are struggling -- find your chelek in Torah! Some ask "how about non-frum Lubavitchers?" I always ask: if a chosid is someone who goes lifnim m'shuras hadin, how can someone not keep the din and still go lifnim? The fact that many teens believe in the idea that one can be Lubavitch and not frum means that we are doing something wrong somewhere.

It was never easy to remain frum, there have always been challenges. The heimishe life in the shtetl never existed in the fantasy-like image of 'everyone was frum...' Zechor yemos olam, binu shnos dor vador...

Footsteps by Aaron Dugan

I am amazed at how much Aaron plays with his pedals. Indeed his magical guitar is driven by the lower extremities.

Does the Rebbe approve of Matisyahu in Paradise?

Schneur Zalman of NY commenting to Matisyahu at Paradise in Boston:

Shlomo Carlebach sang exclusively in Lashon Kodesh. Shlomo built on nigunim and musicology he picked up in Bais Chayenu and at the tisch of the Modsitzer Rebbe Rav Saul Yedidya Taub. In Shlomo's case the times did not dictate separation of the sexes as that was not the norm in most of the Orthodox world either.

Until the advent of the counter culture Shlomo was NOT part of the rock and roll world. When he joined the counter culture with drugs, etc. that�s when the frum world gave him a get krisuth together with Zalman Schachter.

Shlomo was not a cross over figure, 99% of his concerts were aimed at Jews. Matisyahu is a cross over figure; few of his concerts are aimed at Jews. He is a follower of Reggae and rap music the culture of both are antithetical to Tore values. Reggae is I believe part of the Rasfatarian movement a religion that believed the alte Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassee was divine. Although I am not a Rav this seems to be abizaraya of Ovada Zorah RL. Have you guys ever seen Rap videos and their portrayal of females!

Today even MO concerts at YU are separate seating, so Matisyahu comes along and gives a "heter" to FRUM teens for mixed seating socialization, dancing and dress not in conformity with even MO standards. When the Village Voice put Matisyahu on its cover (last week) its a wake up call to frum Jews that there is something wrong here. As far as I recall the Rebbe was never on the cover of the VOICE. I am not going into a pilpul about Rebbe chasid relationship, do you for a moment believe that the Rebbe would shep naches from the Matisyahu concert? Of course not!!

Schneur, please take this into consideration: Matisyahu recited Shma as part of his routine, affirming the foundation of the Jewish faith. This might be the first Shma recited in the club thereby elevating the lowest sparks east of Charles River. Matisyahu explained the significance of Neshoma as represented by the lights of Chanukah to the fiery souls. Matisyahu invited a Jew on stage, helped him in reciting the brochos and lighting the candles. Matisyahu brought the Jewish experience outside of NY where for most Jews in attendance it was a step up in Judaism. Matisyahu distributed about 100 menorah sets during his performance. Matisyahu reaffirmed positive image of an observant Jew in the eyes of the gentiles preparing the gentiles for the coming of Messiah and accepting the light of Torah. The concert encouraged mingling amongst the dispersed, weakening the forces of assimilation. Matisyahu made most Jews in attendance feel cool about themselves.

Kara comments: Before I say anything, I�d like to differentiate between myself, who judges the music, and the likes of Schneur, who judge the man. Matisyahu is the most aidel, ehrlich guy, believe it or not. His enthusiasm for yiddishkeit comes through in everything he does. Don�t judge him by a cover story in the village voice�read the article. Every interview, every performance and every opportunity he has for publicity is used to spread a G-dly message. To compare him to Shlomo is ridiculous, because like marava said, SC was a Rav and a teacher of Torah. Matisyahu is still a student, but because of his talent he�s in a position of great exposure, so he uses it as best as he can to increase light in the dark circles where he mingles. The music industry is filth and the venues where he performs are obviously not appropriate for yeshiva kids. I don�t see how his presence makes it more kosher. He discourages frum kids from attending his concerts in clubs and bars (btw, he gives enough �kosher� concerts in separate halls and shuls to satisfy the frum fans). His wife even said that she doesn�t attend his every concert (even before she had a kid) because it gets uncomfortable with the mixed dancing and all. I heard of shluchim who make chanuka/purim parties and don�t allow their kids to attend because they know that the scene becomes inappropriate for frum kids, with mingling and drinking. Does that make their work wrong? Like TA said- he makes totally unaffiliated Jews feel positive about their Jewishness, he shows them it�s not unhip to be religious and he spreads a positive uplifting message. If you�re an already frum Jew, then why are you looking to him for inspiration and moral direction?

Putting a value judgment on the music is another story. If you don�t go for �goyish� sounding music then I assume you don�t listen to half the Jewish music out there. Whether it�s Dedi or Lipa S, Oif Simchas or 8th Day, Moshav Band or The Chevra� these are not authentic Jewish sounds (whatever that means any more). But again, that�s a different issue. And to Pop�your oldest kid is 9? I totally understand that you sensor your kid�s music, but don�t fool yourself and think that they�ll still be listening to bubble-gum pop when they�re 14+. Based on what Lubavitch kids are listening to these days, you�ll be praying that they�d only listen to Matisyahu! Personally, as a parent, I would be perfectly comfortable allowing Matisyahu�s music into my home, but at the same time not letting my kids attend his concerts in non-Jewish venues. There�s no hypocrisy or contradiction in that.

I thought about the watered-down sound of Youth again and I realized that working with Sony probably forced Matisyahu to make certain concessions that make his music a bit more mainstream and thus more marketable. (It�s the usual beef of indie groups selling out to get to the masses.) I�m sure though that when he performs, his music will retain its original Matisyahu flavor. What better way to judge a musician than by his live performance�its there that his exuberance and talent shine through.

Matisyahu at Paradise in Boston

I will add some subtitles to this post later but now this from Kara:

Kara commenting to the Billboard Matisyahu: What an upsetting coincidence. Tonight I listened to an advanced copy of Youth and all I can say is I'm terribly disappointed. There is no innovation-even worse, Matisyahu has become run of the mill, pop-rock, unoriginal and uninspired. His new album sounds exactly like the dozens and dozens of other bands that put out formula music, have possibly one or two hits but are very quickly forgotten. The reggae vibe is gone, the lyrics are like preschool poetry, and his voice is totally washed out. WHAT HAPPENED? Lame guitars, mellow vocals, hardly any rasta rhythm (not even a ska sound), and also a lot less Jewish. The jewissness is more like spirituality in the form of feel-good, reach higher lyrics. I don't know if anyone from Matisyahu�s camp scouts the net for feedback, but if someone is reading this: Don't release YOUTH. It's terrible. In my previous post I wrote with confidence that Matisyahu�s next release will be innovative and even better than his previous work--I could not have been more wrong (and as a fan I'm devastated). I still believe he can do better. ---Kara






Aaaron Dugan is what Keith Richards was to Mick Jagger - the music. What an unbelievable guitar player. Whatever is interesting about Matisyahu�s music is about Aaaron Dugan�s guitar.


Throwing menorah sets into the crowd.


Spiritual Stephanie from JP, write back soon!

Nominate your Beyond BT Chabadnik

Via email: Thanks for the recent link to Beyond BT, hopefully we can handle any snarkiness. I'm looking for a Chabad BT as a contributor to Beyond Teshuva. Preferably somebody who is not a Mashichisten. Do you know anybody?

Sue Fishkoff gets her hands on Footsteps

True to it's style, JTA is a month late to the news. The grand mistress of puff writes about the dropouts from Chasidic world.

Also, The Jewish Journal Of Greater Los Angeles reviews the Unchosen: in Rebels: The Other Face of Chasidim.

Yagdil Teyre veyadir!

Rabbi Manis Friedman is the Blogging Rabbi. Looking forward to homeopathic advise. And here comes the New Age: Chanukah Special: Wise Love:

Eight candles - eight wisdoms on any given subject. Everyone loves Chanukah, so let�s take LOVE for example. Every candle offers a deep and practical insight into this most ethereal emotion. Listen carefully each night of Chanukah and you can hear the nuances of love that the flames reflect.

The orwellian machine b'nusach Chabad

Rebbe�s Passport Photo

There have been attempts to explain the cult of personality in Chabad and penchant for the militarist jargon because of the �soviet origins of the movement� or even better Avrum Ehrlich writes that it is all somehow related to Rebbe�s years in the communist Russia and pre Nazi Germany. I say the opposite is true. The Lubavitcher Rebbe left Russia before he could witness first hand the maturity of the Orwellian machine. Same with Berlin, he left before the �golden years� of the Nazi propaganda. I can only explain that the Rebbe tolerated the mind numbing propaganda directed towards himself because he did not have a chance to experience first hand it�s debilitating influences in Russia and Germany. He had to anticipate the consequences though. Do not confuse this with brutality of the murderous regimes of which the Rebbe unfortunately knew first hand.

Chanukah music special

Jewish World Review feature, DJ-ed by New York radio personality Nachum Segal: Listen while you surf.

2005 plus years of the messianic disturbance

Reflections on the conversations with Dispel Fantasies and comments by the Mashpia:

I am under-whelmed by the textual references to the Rebbe�s intentions. That Sicho or pamphlets and references by the messianics are the legacy of the Jewish tradition where the legal discourse and sourcing is the central cultural premise (as we discussed on this blog at length, particularly in the context of the Jewish education, see Eys Laasos, Heyfeyru Torasecho!).

Culture is a totality and an amalgam of many influences, we absorb them all and the textual reverences are just but a fragment of what builds our hopes. The Rebbe activated an ancient persistent archetype. This Chanukah we are not going to prolong a two thousand years old dialogue about Christianity as a convergence of Jewish and Greek cultures but the following quote is of essence:

Via Jung Talk - Greek Hero Cult and Celebrity Worship:

Rimbaud: I've been studying Greek religion. While the Greeks did not regard their heroes as being true gods, their hero worship is considered to be a legitimate aspect of their religion. I've been thinking about this in comparison with celebrity worship in our culture. While nobody would consciously claim their favorite celebrity is a real god, it is quite common for fans to refer to them as gods or goddesses as a form of exaggerated flattery. Fans worship celebrities and form cult-like mystery cliques and it is not uncommon to disparage their devotion with religious terminology like "cult following" or "teen idol". Fans collect personal belongings and mementos of their hero and arrange them in shrines or altars just like the Greeks.

Although the religious terminology is usually considered metaphoric, I would argue that the unconscious mind is more seriously invested in this worship as a means to elevate humanity to the level of the sacred. Half-seriously regarding someone as being god-like gives life more meaning and scope. Celebrity worship is a legitimate expression of spirituality which we cannot allow ourselves to fully acknowledge.

Now fast forward (or backwards) to the Lag b�Omer 1989(?). I was standing on Eastern Parkway watching the Rebbe and J.J. Hecht do their thing. Float after float paraded in front of the Rebbe. Rebbe was looking at hundreds of poster and banners of himself! I remember how I chuckled at the Machon Chana float, it was an rectangular column about 20 feet high in the middle of a flat bed track with the pictures of the Rebbes wrapped around the column, a classically phallic dream by the BT girls.

That day I telephoned a friend and asked about precipitous future and the dangers of the abyss that follows cults of personalities. I was waved off. The same night I was in a taxi with now frequent "shpitz" contributor to this blog. I asked him the question and was told a matter of factly that perhaps "if the Rebbe dies, the Judaism will come to it�s end."

The textual references in the messianic debates might have worked in the time of RAMBAN. But today nothing will sugar coat the cult of personality that existed in the full view of the Rebbe. From the cradle up thousands of kids were indoctrinated in the superhuman aspects of the Rebbe. It was all reinforced with saturation bombing by the iconic images of the Rebbe. No matter how much people disliked my comparison to Stalin, all the portraits, hero worshiping, miraculous tales, etc. is a cult of personality vocabulary and people are influenced but it more than by any obscure Sicho.

The Rise of the Ephemeral City

Reuters - Sergei Karpukhin

An interesting article in the Metropolis Magazine: The Rise of the Ephemeral City.




Reuters - Sergei Karpukhin

Who is paying you people? IMRA: Internet trend: Talkbacks for sale.

Billboard Matisyahu

The new Matisyahu video is out here. I don't like it but I will see you all in the Paradise Club in Boston on Monday for the concert.

Kara comments: This video is a top quality production and with his new producers and the music keeps getting better and better (this version is really polished). Matisyahu is a serious musician so his music speaks for itself. The video is just a way to get the song played on MTV (cuz that affects sales and distribution). Think about the White Stripes or other serious lo-fi groups, their videos are pretty low key- no huge stunts or sappy story lines. I think the animation is a little sneaky though; it removes the in-your-face 'chassid-ness' of Matisyahu from MTV viewers. The whole image is not as jarring as it was earlier-- or at least it's believable that the voice comes from the guy in front of you. That's a shame because a huge part of his appeal is the contradiction of chassid v. reggea star. The lyrics floating around the band is brilliant because, after all, his message and entire mission is in the words. The rasta accent makes the lyrics otherwise a little tough to make out, so they animation is great! I think the biggest weakness of this video is that last clip of that exchange (what the hell was that? a drug deal, lol?) between the teenage depresso and Matisyahu. Whatever, a little cliche. But all in all, a great video!

Chanukah and beheading by the brave Jewess

(this is a rerun of the lasts year's post)
Did you know that the festive Chanukah latke is related to the apocryphal story of Judith beheading Holofornes? But did you know that many significant artists dedicated their talents to the beheading by the brave Jewess? Collection of paintings and sculptures to put it all in perspective. Some paintings are graphic:

photography night at mentalblog.com

Chris Jordan photography.
Eric Myer Photography.
James Nachtwey Photography. and this:

NASA: Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive.
This is a nice Chanuka photo: 2004 August 22 - Earth at Night.

Perhaps the Rebbe even commenting in these blogs

Reuters - Ronen Zvulun

Y.Y. commenting to the mashichisten, you ain't seen nothing yet: Mashpia: You are one of the most honest Lubavitchers in a sea of (mostly)well meaning but very brainwashed individuals. Alas you are still an apologist. You blame the 'generals', the 'foot soldiers' but the Chief of Staff is left unscathed. My dear friend, those 'officers' and 'generals' were appointed by the Chief of Staff, the ambiguity could have easily been remedied by clear and UNAMBIGUOUS TALK. You are trying to eat your cake and keep it whole.

Mashpia responds: of course, I am apologetic. I am honest, but I do follow the Rebbe, and will try to defend his position. Of course, I don't expect people to suddenly see the light of the Rebbe, (or if they do, it won't be a result of my rhetoric and responses). I don't think that the Rebbe was some kind of ego-maniac, or someone who wanted to conquer the world. In fact, those who study the Rebbe�s life and the Rebbe�s talks would quickly realize that important fact.

Of course, those who aren't practicing Lubavitcher, but yet, had a negative experience or exposure to Lubavitch, would certainly want to blame the Rebbe for public miss-information; which is also much more sensible, should we blame thousands of individuals for going wrong, or should we blame the person whom they followed blindly. Your observation is true and correct, but you are missing some of the facts. Unfortunately, the Rebbe wasn't the only person that is followed blindly in Lubavitch (that would have been a good thing). But people who follow blindly, do so naturally, i.e. many who followed the Rebbe, didn't do so out of personal reverence and admiration of the Rebbe, recognizing his special qualities, or his ohr elokus... but rather because they needed someone to follow, they needed some meaning and direction in their lives. But since the notion of following the Rebbe had emanated from their personal need to stick to somebody, we can safely assume that their thirst wasn't quenched yet "a person does not die with more than half of his desires come true". Yes, these people didn't find it enough to follow the Rebbe, but they needed to follow other people, other generals, other commanders-in-chief, and once they will follow the generals, they will seek to follow someone who is lower in the food chain. That�s how some people work, not thinking for themselves, not really caring what it is, as long as their personal desire of "true meaning" is fulfilled.

So in truth, it wouldn't have helped, even if the Rebbe did speak about Moshiach in a different way, people would have taken it out of context. Yes, the Rebbe does hint himself as Moshiach, but regarding similar self-promotional comments from other tzadikim, ranging back to Moshe Rabbeinu, the Rebbe's subtle self promotion was cryptic at best. Why the Rebbe spoke about himself is unknown, but this is a characteristic found amongst many Jewish spiritual leaders. But getting back to my point, the Mashichisten would have found what they wanted, sooner or later. this can be proven by what we see by the Tzfatim, the T's have made the wackiest compilation of Sichos to prove that the Rebbe is walking around with us (perhaps even commenting in these blogs), and this belief is being accepted by many as "normal" or "just an opinion" (I think someone else spoke about this on this blog), whereas the truth couldn't be more opposite, the Rebbe had never ever hinted that the FR was alive bgashmius, and neither did people perceive it in such a manner, it was clear that the Rebbe was referring to certain hamshochos or chayus into this world. But yet, only 7 years after gimmel tammuz, when most people still remember the rebbe's talks and sichos, and this notion of the rebbe chay vekayam being condoned throughout lubavitch kana"l.

I must also object to your references of Lubavitch as a military hierarchy. It is not supposed to be like that, on the contrary, it were the Mashichisten who had coined the phrase, making everyone serve and accept the reign of the king, the chief, the general - kabbolas hamalchus and kabbolas oil, these are all heavily abused and cliche converted terms, in which the Mashichisten and the Tzfatim find great pleasure in. The Rebbe rarely ever showed leadership as a general or commander in chief, but rather as a caring and intellectual figure, sadly, the Mashichisten who are neither caring or intellectual, would rather ignore that aspect. Yes, people would listen and do things that the Rebbe had requested, even if they didn't understand, but that would only be as a last option, for the whole shitas chabad is only to understand what you are doing, that you - out of your own free will, should do the right thing.

So we can conclude that I am an apologist, but I am aware of the questions, and I am aware that these are difficult issues which must be dealt with. But I am an apologist for the Rebbe, since the Rebbe has appealed to me. The same way you would be an apologist for a close friend who might have erred, or for an actor who has played a very special meaning character, but yet has drug and murder charges behind him - you would still root for him (if their productions had greatly inspired you). Kol shekein v'kal v'chomer by the Rebbe. vd"l ---Mashpia.

Jews, a fiction?

OK, I am at the bottom of disappointment today but this is besides the point. But the point is that Jews are in a state of complete collapse. There are fragmented groups that live as separate entities. There are no tangible signs uniting us outside of G-ds mysterious head. Gentiles suspect that Jews are a club where members help each over in business, etc. I don�t know where nepotism is when you need it. I can�t speak for others but in my life I have seen only damage from my fellow Jews. I would have taken indifference but no, it had to be brotherly destruction. What is the point of all this? We are no longer a tribe.

mentalblog.com links

Be Grateful!: The True Meaning of UNCHOSEN v's Rechosen.
JACS: Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons and Significant Others.
Hasidic Rebel: Chasidim as Anthropology.

A Hassid traveling across the Brooklyn Bridge

Josh Harrison AKA chakira reviews The Unchosen in YU Commentator: Unchosen: A Book Review.( you can also read the review here)

She decided to use someone who consciously rejected Hassidism as her guide to Hassidism in America. Indeed, as if to make her findings more impressionistic, Hella eventually teamed up with Malkie Schwartz, a woman who helps Hassidim who have strayed integrate into American society.

ST responds:

Sadly, this is a very predictable response from a YU reviewer. First of all, it is intellectually dishonest. The book never proports to be a "guide to hassidism in America" and the author is very explicit in her introduction that the "rebels" might constitute a minority, but an important one nonetheless. Further, while the reviewer tries hard (to what effect, one wonders) to demonstrate his own postmodern credentials by employing terms like "script," "text" and "unpack," his review does little to illuminate or address the actual issues raised by the book: namely why people "rebel," what the experience is like, and the treatment some receive by their families and communities for doing so.

The reviewer seems to willfully misrepresent the author's intentions and experiences--by claiming, for example, without any evidence, that she was "exhausted by her impotence" and "browbeaten by her travails photographing bridges" (where on earth did he get this? And the comparison to terrorists is equally silly and melodramatic). And when he says that "Leah can step in and account for the rampant sexual molestation who (as Winston claims, as opposed to Modern Orthodox people) keep the archaic sexual laws of Niddah" he is writing fiction. Nowhere is this statement made about the Modern Orthodox and Niddah, and in no way does Leah, or anyone else in the book, tie sexual molestation to the observance of those laws.

It is almost as if the reviewer is anticipating and responding to an argument that is never actually made by the author. If the reviewer's quarrel with the book is that it fails to present the findings in a positivistic, scientific way, this is something that can be debated. But let's not confuse presentation with substance. And to try to discredit people's experience by claiming that they are insane is a tactic that betrays nothing more than the reviewer's unwillingness to confront some of the more serious issues raised by these people's stories. What of the intense pressure to conform, the confusion, rejection, and the abuse described by these people? Are these unworthy of mention? Or is it just more convenient to belittle them (and the author, for that matter) as "misfits" whose experiences have absolutely nothing to do with the context in which they were raised. It would have been nice to see something different, but again, this may be too much to ask.

Hella Winston contributes this image:

Hella writes: For the record, we also took a bunch of photos on the Williamsburg Bridge. But it's pretty ugly and nondescript, especially compared to the Brooklyn Bridge, no? (Someone also tried to Photoshop his peyos to make them more visible, but it ended up looking totally ridiculous).

The reviewer seems to want to turn the taking of poetic/aesthetic license into a "marketing ruse," the not so subtle implication being that there was some actual intent to deceive the reader, presumably not only with the photograph, but with the content of the book as well. This was and is not the case. The cover image was chosen to convey, graphically, the condition of being "between two worlds," as well as a sense of movement and journey.

mentalblog.com googling

Selected Keyphrases used on search engines:
matisyahu, 12th imam, matisyahu cd, malkie schwartz, bob dylan, munkatch, leonard cohen, rubashkin, narcissus and goldmund, shemtov, shaigetz, estelle goldfarb, gaydamak, hirschy zarchi, hella winston, kinus hashluchim, dan gertler, unusual pictures, rabbi cunin, lev leviev, nice jewish girl blog, elokism, half-jew, shidduch crisis, yudel shain, speed levitch, sholom keller, dvinsk map, barry gourary, rabbi david sears, eastern parkway, chabad franchise, moshiach now, brookline house market, snow in boston today, british enlightenment, idiots r us, rebbe site mentalblog.com, russian peasant cap, rabbi rodkin, new england hebrew academy school calendar, jews and bipolar, the life of rabbi savitsky from boston, rashab Vienna, simon jacobson, word google, mafia springfield ma, lenin speech audio recording, chabad commonwealth avenue check payable, newton ma messianic jews groups, bush hip hop dance contest, women looking for sex in satu mare, breast russia, lubavitch billboard west side.

mashichisten, you ain't seen nothing yet

Dispel Fantasies commenting to the moshiach achshav post:

Unfortunately they (Mashichisten) are the ideological majority of Lubavitch today. They forced the Anti's to accept their ideologies (at least to say "You do not hold like them...but they have "sources" and "right" to think that way).

While they are not "meshuge" as their extremist parts (which is not a "miutey demiutey" but a "miutey deminkeroh"); they grant a green light to many/most of their beliefs.

While things that were debated right after 3 Tammuz are today accepted matter of fact in the ideological arena, today we forge into new horizons, like for instance: we see today's Maariv having an article about "Rebbe alive" is believed by most Lubavitchers (just a matter of the way to publicize it). While I am not under any illusions that in reality most of Lubavitchers agree that the Rebbe is alive begashmiyoos, yet they (the Mashichisten) put this issue in the ideological arena in a way that most Lubavitchers will be forced to say: "they have sources...I don't believe...he has a right to believe...emunoh pshutoh...."

These issues are not only "meshugeh" but are against Torah and Halacha which instructed us to conduct ourselves according to reality that Hashem created: as the Rebbe Maharash spoke in many of his Maamorim about the proof that the world is not an illusion: "Breshis Boroh Elokim...". They deny this and it leads them more and more to the slippery slope.

The Alter Rebbe whose release Chassidim celebrate today while instructing us to put in a mindset of Eyn Oyd Milvadoy" was also the author of Shulchan Oruch and part of Chassidus Chabad and it's uniqueness to other Chassidism�s is: accepting the reality in the service of Hashem of working with one's own power ("bekoach atzmoy") and not delving in Mofssim (despite that mofssim "hoben zich gevorfen unter dee tish") because the kavonoh elyonoh is work within assiyoh, etc.

In any event: The generals and mashpiim of recent past (especially right before and after 3 tamuz) cannot say "yodeynooh loy shofchoh" on the corruption of religion and changing the course that Hashem delineated in the Torah (in addition to the bizoyon of our Rebbe).

They did not reject the tenets promulgated by the Mashichisten; for *they* TAUGHT THEM! They did not offer an alternative way in Avodas Hashem, because:
1) They taught the ways of Mashichisten before 3 Tammuz and are not honest to say with an "emess" "toissi"
2) When some one of them want to offer something they talk the talk that was appropriate in Brunoi in 5707 or in Lud in the earlier 5710's but they really do not relate to the energy and chayoos generated by the Rebbe and how to relate to that post 3 Tamuz
3) Also: they want very much that there should be no "deserters" to other flavors of Judaism and Chasidus so they accept the Mashichism (because that is good way to keep the new generation in Lubavitch and not run away to any other group).

And they are not honest with themselves and others to accept that certain things the Mashichisten do or say is against Torah; all they possibly say is: It's "meshugeh" or "it embarrasses the Rebbe". The results are what we see.. and "you ain't seen nothing yet...."

REMBRANDT, Reb Paul, 1635, Oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

UPDATE: on the subject of who created the nuevo christians: mentalblog.com: Messianic disturbance.

email of the day

Tomim Cyberspacer writes:

I�m a frequent visitor of your website, and there is something that makes me come back again and again. But I don't understand, do you like Lubavitch, or do you despise it? On one hand, I�ve seen some very extreme articles about Lubavitch and the Rebbe (ok, argue that you aren't upset with the Lubavitch ideology, but with the way people are now), and on the other hand, I see that you admire certain mainstream (and not-so mainstream) personalities in Lubavitch. I don't really get it. Not that it's impossible to hate a movement and still like some people who are part of it. But I'm puzzled at the fact that you speak well of Chabad � sometimes.

Dear Tomim Cyberspacer, I am puzzled about this myself.

JDate Uber Ales

On the subject "shidduch crisis", I didn�t pay much attention to this billboard hovering over Boston�s skyline. Then one day I actually read it. Holly Molly, it�s a JDate billboard on Seaport Blvd. opposite the Federal Courthouse at Fan Pier. I didn�t know there were that many Jews in South Boston.



Jerusalem Post: Why the guy gap?


"where it happens", what exactly happens there?

Crazy Mendy "Sumashedshie Mendy"

The video:


I am also moved by these photos: FROM 770: NEWS FROM WARSAW.

Out of Step Jew: Chaim Grade and the Rabbi's Son, part 1
Out of Step Jew: Chaim Grade and the Rabbi's Son, part 2
Out of Step Jew: Chaim Grade and the Rabbi's Son, part 3

19 of Kislev: mentalblog.com: Stillness

Lipa Shmeltzer - Abi Meleibt! (very good! via yeshivabachur):

moshiach achshav

9:50 AM, Tzemach Atlas walking to 770 via Eastern Parkway. Rabbi Binyomin Kline rolls off his steps with his trademark swiftness.
T.A.: Rabbi Kline what are the horoos the Rebbe left you?
R.B.K.: "Ehh� Hmmm. The Rebbe started talking and then he did not finish. He said he would continue but he never finished. And then he went to the Ohel and he was nistalek..."
Rabbi Binyomin Kline disappears under the two geishas.





Virtually all the flag worshipers/dancers in 770 are Israeli. Why is the Moshichism such an Israeli phenomenon?

Yat Kislev b'nusach Boro Park

7:30 PM, Shabbos Night. Tzemach Atlas is feasting on Chinese noodle croutons red cabbage salad with sweet and sourer sauce chicken.
Simon Jacobson: the Rebbe was an academic, a scientist, he was not a natural administrator. His accomplishments in reviving the movement and the Jews after the blows of Holocaust, etc. are remarkable, miraculous achievements.

4:00 PB Tzemach Atlas in 770 talking to S. J.: You know I turned on my radioactivity detection devise this morning in 770. The energy level is still very high. I don�t remember such a crowd even on Tishrei in the old days. You might be right the energy is strong and sustained 10 years later, a miracle.
S.J.: You see the two Chasidim over there with the children. Look at the kids. Can you see it? I am so "nispoel" with these two, they are BTs and they are so very good with the children.
T.A.: The one who is taller is the father of Malkie Schwartz?
S.J.: Yes.

8:30 PM. Mozey Shabbos, TA is in the Vizhnizer Yeshiva Hall in Boro Park for the Yat Kislev Melave Malka, shocked by the number of Chasidim in attendance. Warm chalas, hot kugels and baked white fish are served.



T.A.: Disoriented, what is happening?
Y.S: This is not the Boro Park you remember.
T. A. In my days Reb Yoel had a class in the Simpson Shule with 10 Jews in attendance and the smell of the forbidden fruit in the air. He is now speaking to over a thousand Hasidim. Did I miss the perestroika?



Y.S. After the Rebbe died the other Chasidim are no longer threatened by Lubavitch.
Alter Vitebsker: This event is so popular because Chasidim felt a need to band together when Lubavitchers were attacked by Misnagdim, etc. They came together in the time of need for the Chasidic brothers.



H.T.: Both are probably true. Don�t forget that this is Chabad on Boro Park terms.
T.A.: Look around you; one can continue a Jewish nation from here. These jews are self contained from the world Jewry. The rest of the Jews can assimilate tomorrow, the BTs are of no statistical consequence, the other Jews can all dissolve and here they will continue the miracle of the nation that perseveres.
Alter Vitebsker: Every Jewish soul is precious to G-d like his only child.
T.A.: The crowded 770 is this is the result of the natural growth. Humans yearn for a group identity. The power of wearing a uniform and belonging is often overlooked; this power trumps meaning and at the end of the day meaning is elusive. Who cares that the speeches lack meaning tonight. The power of this crowd hits your stomach like a jet falling into the sudden turbulence. During the waves of assimilation only the stubborn carried the flag and became know as Jews when others fallen off. Look around, in the future many of them will assimilated when circumstance change but they will give birth to the stubborn few amongst them, the future Jews.

Crown Heights Vignettes

dailyheights.com: Where is Crow Hill?

From the WPA Guide to New York City: "Crown Heights� The section was known as Crow Hill until 1916, when Crown Street was cut through." It was a quiet, sparsely populated settlement in the original Dutch town of Breukelen.

"The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn" tells that when it was Dutch farmland, it was believed to have been called Crow Hill after its tallest hill, whose trees were always filled with crows. The book also says that the name could have come from the mid-1800's when there were African and African American settlements there, and the whites called them 'crows'. A third story has it that the 'crows' were inmates in the Kings County Penitentiary that was there from 1846 to 1907.

I was told that the lower part of the neighborhood, now Lefferts Boulevard used to be a river. I was told that 770 Eastern Parkway used to be a hospital. The hospital was shut down due to illegal abortions in 1930s (that actually explains a lot for my vantage point). It was then claimed by Lubavitch upon the arrival of the Previous Rebbe.

The glass stained window (click to enlarge) above the hastily pained AGUH sign. One can see Japanese inscriptions, a sail boat on top, a tea cattle on the left side of the bay window, two geishas in front and what looks like Buddha on the right side of the window.

The cornerstone of the 3rd Temple

On the subject of the Tombstone mason beauty.

Then:


and now:

big apple

(not the murder) only beating and stabbing at Ponevezh

Jerusalem Post: Task force established to investigate teen's slaying.

UPDATE: The Murder is not in Ponevezh, only the beating is in Ponevezh. Jake comments: There is a rough neighborhood called Pardes Katz which is legally part of Bnei Brak. When violent crimes happen there, it sounds like it happened in what we all know as Bnei Brak, even if it really happened in a different environment entirely. Especially mentlablog readers should already know to take media reports with appropriate skepticism...

Need a press pass to Matisyahu at Paradise

Ronen Zvulun - Reuters

This blog pioneered reporting on Matisyahu. A year ago it was a small crowd. I can actually follow Matisyahu touring by the origins of Matisyahu searches to this blog but I missed buying tickets for the sold out performance at the Paradise Club on December 26th in Boston. Hey, anyone got a press pass for me and my cameraman Jamie?

Backwards at Beyond BT

The Beyond BT blog is off to a promising start. We are about to witness revolutionary insights into the BT experience. For example Shayna writes:

But�living frum. That�s the ultimate in conformity. Boy, was it hard the first years. Doing things just because it�s the frum way was, at time, impossible to digest. Squelching my well-honed instinct to disagree. Giving up T.V. All the forbiddens of Shabbos. Keeping a neutral expression at racist speech. Shaving my legs. Realizing that the right thing to do or say was pretty much the opposite of my instincts.

Hey Sheyna, getting used to that bra must have been pretty hard.

Hayman Bloom - Rabbi Holding Sefer Torah

Alter Vitebsky, AKA Alter Vitebsker, AKA who knows what comments to the The Tree of Life by Hyman Bloom post:

Over the past three years I have spent many hours conversing with Hyman Bloom about his art, childhood, spiritual search, and his relation to Judaism. He believes in Hashem, and has said that if he had been exposed to pnimiyus ha-Torah during his younger years, he would have become a Chossid. In fact, part of his family stems from Kaidanover Chassidim (if I remember correctly).

He told a sad but not atypical story of growing up in a frum immigrant family in a Boston slum with almost no Jewish education. His father, who was a Shomer Shabbos but not learned, took him to an elderly Chassidisheh Rebbe in Boston in 1920 or 1921, when he was seven or eight, for religious instruction. However, the Rebbe (whom he described as having white hair and an extremely pallid complexion) apologized to them that he was to infirm to teach anyone.

In the end, the only person they could find to teach him lashon ha-kodesh was a young maskil, who agreed to teach the young boy Chumash without Rashi -- and without answering any questions of a religious nature! Hyman said that his head was teeming with questions, such as "How could a tzaddik like Yaakov Avinu marry two sisters?" But his teacher remained stubbornly silent (no doubt due to his personal emunah problems).

At age fifteen, Bloom and another great Jewish painter from Boston, Jack Levine, were both given scholarships in the fine arts by the famous Harvard professor of art, Denman Ross (d. 1935). They were star students of Harold Zimmerman, who died while still in his thirties in 1941. By then, Bloom's yiddishkeit was pretty much forgotten.

However, his spiritual search continued, taking him into the realms of Indian music and religion, psychic research, and experimentation under scientific conditions with hallucinogens -- all in the early 50s. Throughout all this, he continued to return to Jewish religious subjects in his paintings, too.

His "Rabbi Holding Sefer Torah" theme seems transparently autobiographical -- the rabbi aging as Hyman ages, and expressing his spiritual yearnings and struggles.

email of the day

It was brought to my attention that one of your "special people", Tzemach Atlas, has an article comparing The Lubavitcher Rebbe to Stalin. Are you aware of this? I am looking at your picture, Lazer. The beard, the payos, the white Yerushalmi kippa...piety personified.

That you admire and endorse someone who has no respect for a Torah scholar (the minimal definition of what a Rebbe is) makes you and your uniform a fraud. Were the hell in Halacha you you get a heter to compare a Rebbe to Stalin? What kind of s... is this...posing as frumkeit?

Rabbi Moshe Yess

UPDATE: Dear Tzemach, How did you get this email? You sure cleaned it up - the original to me was much more horrendous. I don't answer such letters - the bizionos are healthy for my soul. Personally, I never said or wrote a word against Chabad, or any other Jew for that matter. I don't endorse all of the things you write, but you certainly deserve a place on my list of special people - and, that's precisely where you'll stay.

Warmest regards, Lazer

The Tree of Life by Hyman Bloom

The Alter Vitebsker have been asking me to go up to New Hampshire to see "the giant, the most important expressionist of the past hundred years" Hayman Bloom.

Hayman Bloom next to a custom made printing press in his studio.

Richard McBee writes Hyman Bloom's Journey: "In 1950 he is one of seven artists, including Arshile Gorky, John Marin, Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooning to represent the United States at the Venice Biennale." John Updike remembers Hyman Bloom as a teacher at Harvard. And a partial list of list of museums that own Hyman Bloom paintings.

But enough with the introductions. Through the snowy Route 3 North, I went to see the master today. Hyman is 92, I found him in good spirits and clear mind. The quality of his work is indeed unmatched. His dense, magical intestinal forests, he calls them "Landscapes" are one of the few recurring themes of his art. He says: "Must be my memories of home in Latvia, there are no forests in the West End of Boston." His other theme is prime cadavers and decaying life. Hyman supersedes his lanzman Haim Soutine.

Old Woman Dreaming ["dying", Hyman corrects the subtitle from the University of Connecticut exhibit catalogue]

Hyman Bloom: "I went to the autopsies. The students who did autopsies offered me tools to dissect, if I taken them up on it I might have become at least a doctor. My mother had different ambitions for me to be doctor or a violinist. But I rather have a piece of paper and make drawings. I experience things just visually. It is quieter. Of course it was a lonely life. If you are serious in any field you don�t find� to meet your standards".

Hyman Bloom�s iconic theme of a Rabbi with a Sefer Torah is the defining religious image that hunted him throughout his life. "My Rabbi asked me what I want to become in America when I left Latvia, I was 7 years old then and I said I wanted to become a Rov. By here I am, I come back to a Jew who holds a Torah."

Hayman's wife Stella told me that a Swiss collector is interested in this painting. "If he wants to buy it, we will erase the chalk lines. Hyman always rearranges his paintings and the chalk lines are markings of a new composition". I asked Stella to leave the chalk; it shows the work�s dynamic progress.

UPDATE: Hayman Bloom - Rabbi Holding Sefer Torah
FILE: mentalblog.com's bookmarks tagged with "Hyman.Bloom" on del.icio.us

mentalblog.com links

brownstoner: Boymelgreen Project Stuck in the Mud.
Haaretz: No love lost. I believe this is an updated translation of the article that appeared in Ivrit about the Jewish Moscow.
Frummer? Humor: Belzer Rebbe son buying a Volvo.
Craig Newmark as in "Craiglist" talks Jewish.