Rabbi Berel Wein on the RAMBAM's 'Guide for the Perplexed'

[muman613]

I have posted several of Rabbi Weins talks in a thread in the General Section.... This one I think is more appropriate for the Torah section...

[Ephraim Ben Noach]

Who are the two Rabbi he was talking about as the two big fish in a small pond?

[muman613]

Who are the two Rabbi he was talking about as the two big fish in a small pond?

I watched this last night. If I remember he was talking about the disagreement between two Rabbis in Lithuania, one was a rabbi for the Mitnagdim and the other was a rabbi for the Chassidim. At that time in history there were great 'schisms' in Jewish thought. The Mitnagdim (so named for their opposition to the Chassidic movement) were using Rambam to support their position while the Chassidim were using the Rambam to support their position. I may be mistaken about this, but I recall him talking about two Lithuanian rabbis who both used Rambam as a source for their teachings.

Rabbi Wein also discusses that Rambam was so despised by some segments of the religious Jewish community that it caused some to inform on him to the gentiles, and thus they began to burn his books... Eventually this backfired as the entire gentile society turned against Judaism and began burning our Talmuds...

[muman613]

Here Rabbi Pinchas Winston does a little explaining on this period in history..


http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5764/korach.html
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Today we read the writings of the Ramchal, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, with enthusiasm and pleasure, however, while he lived (1770-1746), they burned his books and forced him into exile. He had been a victim of the paranoia that had set into European Jewry. As righteous and brilliant as he was, as a Kabbalist, he spoke openly about Moshiach and the redemption, a great mitzvah:

In the Sefer Mitzvos Katan, he wrote in his explanation of the Positive Mitzvah of, "I am G-d, your G-d, Who took you out of Egypt," that it means one must know that He Who created Heaven and Earth alone controls [the world] above and below. However, to this he added, "This [mitzvah] is the basis for what the rabbis teach: At the time of a person's judgment after death, they ask him, 'Did you anticipate redemption?' (Shabbos 31a). Where is this mitzvah written? Actually, it comes from this [same mitzvah], for just as, 'I am G-d, your G-d, Who took you out of Egypt,' means that we are expected to believe that G-d redeemed us from Egypt, it also means, 'Just as I want you to believe that I took you out [from Egypt], I also want you to believe that I, G-d your G-d, will gather you in and redeem you in mercy a second time'." According to what he (Sefer Mitzvos HaKatan) has said, belief in the future redemption is part of our faith in, "I am G-d, your G-d," and thus included in the first of the Ten Commandments. However, if we examine ourselves, it seems as if we are very far from having faith in the future redemption. Occasionally we speak about G-d having made Heaven and Earth, and that He directs creation. However, when it comes to the arrival of Moshiach and the resurrection of the dead, we are quiet, as if we are embarrassed to speak about them, as if we have given up [on such realities] altogether. However, the words of the Sefer Mitzvos Katan should arouse trembling in our hearts since they are part of the mitzvah of "I am G-d, your G-d." And, anyone who is not involved with these matters is far from having any true faith . . . In truth, most of the Shemonah Esrei deals with the future redemption . . . And, just as we are lacking faith in this matter, we are also distant from the essence of prayer. We lack connection to [the blessings regarding redemption], and all of our prayers are only lip service! (Ohr Yechezkel, Emunas HaGeulah, 1960; p. 287)

As a result of the Shabbtai Tzvi disaster, the Jews of Eastern Europe charted a course of Torah learning that was as mainstream as one could get, because it was safe. Deviatation from that line of learning, one risked being branded dangerous at the least, and a heretic at worst. And, when the Ba'al Shem Tov introduced such a deviation which quickly resulted in all kinds of differences in approach to performing mitzvos and serving G-d, one that was geared more to the masses, it triggered an all-out war that included the greatest Torah scholars of the time, such as the Vilna Gaon.

Reconciliation was not forthcoming, and polarization resulted instead. While the Misnagdim focused on the essence of Torah learning, the so- called bread-and-butter of Torah tradition -(Talmud and Poskim), Chassidism focused heavily on the spirit of Judaism, sometimes at the cost of the former. And, as Rabbi Berel Wein points out, Chassidus survived the test of time, at its start it was quite volatile and anything but mainstream, with an emphasis on Kabbalistic teachings that seemed to put salt into the wounds inflicted by Shabbtai Tzvi and his followers.

The trouble is that there have always been breakaways in Jewish history, and most of them have been destructive to Torah tradition. We are a small people who have been entrusted with a sacred mission that carries with it tremendous responsibility. The world depends upon our living up to that responsibility, and it is the nature of men, when living under such conditions, to reduce everyone to either friend or foe. Change never comes easy to the Torah world, especially when it first appears as a break with tradition, as so many movements have proved to be, as opposed to just another aspect of it that had yet to be revealed.
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[muman613]

Found this video which explains this schism:

[muman613]

http://www.torah.org/learning/ravfrand/5761/chukas.html

A Guide To The Perplexing Fast Day Of Erev Shabbos Parshas Chukas

The Magen Avraham cites a 'practice of individuals' to fast on the Friday prior to the reading of Parshas Chukas [Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Chapter 580]. In general, it is an anomaly to have a fast day scheduled for a Friday. Of even greater significance is the fact that most fast days are established on a specific calendar date, while this one is not. The Magen Avraham writes that no matter what day of the month the Friday prior to Parshas Chukas falls, that is the day when 'individuals' fast.

What is the significance of this fast day? It commemorates the burning of 20 wagon-loads of the Talmud and other Sefarim [Rabbinic books] in France. When the event happened, it occurred on the 9th day of Tammuz. However, various Rabbinic authorities of that day learned through dreams that the 'cause' of the incident was not related to the day on the calendar, but to the fact that it was the day before the Torah reading of Parshas Chukas.

The Magen Avraham explains that the Aramaic Targum of the opening words of the parsha [Bamidbar 19:2] "Zos Chukas HaTorah" [This is the law of the Torah] is "da Gezeiras Oraiysa" [this is the Torah's decree]. This was understood to be a Torah decree that such a tragic event would occur on the Friday before this Torah reading.

The Imrei Shammai supplies additional historical background to this incident. He says that in the exact place where the Talmud and other Sefarim were burnt, the Jews of that town had in previous years publicly burnt the Rambam's Guide To The Perplexed (Moreh Nevuchim).

The Moreh Nevuchim was a controversial work. In those days, the Rambam did not yet have the unquestioning allegiance that he gained in later generations. As surprising as it may seem to us, he had his detractors and there were authorities who were highly critical of the Moreh Nevuchim. In fact, there were even some places where his Book of Knowledge (Sefer HaMadah) (the first volume of his Major Work "The Yad HaChazakah") was not accepted.

As a Heavenly punishment for this earlier burning of the Rambam's works, 20 cart loads of Torah books were now publicly burnt. When the Jewish community saw this, they recognized their earlier misdeed and repented by establishing a fast day. They prayed for forgiveness and subsequently there was no more controversy about the Guide To The Perplexed.

In this way they were very fortunate. They had a clear Sign from Heaven in terms of what they had done wrong. It did not take a genius to put two and two together and draw the appropriate conclusion. The connection was obvious. This is the historical background of the custom of 'individuals' to fast on the Erev Shabbos preceding Parshas Chukas.