(courtesy of Wikipedia.org)I have been reading A Simple Jew's Blog for sometime now. Ive read a lot of blogs and usually loose interest but there was something different about a simple Jew and what he wrote about. This was because almost every time I read his blog it is as if I am writing it myself, except I wouldn't be so eloquent. His blog many times relates to something I'm struggling with in my yiddishkite and we usually arrive to the same conclusion in our own way so its good to get that other perspective on how to arrive to the Emes. When he asked me to write about Ger Chassidus I was of course excited but also a little scared. I know that there are many learned people who read his blogs and I thought to myself who am I this Baal Teshuvah to be writing about what I think about Ger Chassidus. Then I realized as Jews we are searching for the Truth the Emes and so if I cant find the Emes, Baruch Hashem there are other Jews to help me find the Emes. This is a way I am trying to look at criticism and correction as bringing me closer to the Emes which is Hashem. After that the words flowed. I decided I would write my experience and my feelings and if others disagreed it might help me get a bigger picture of what Ger Chassidus and Chassidus in general is all about.
Here is the link to the interview between A Simple Jew & I.
Its also found here surprisingly on JewishBlogging.com
Check out Artscroll's Book: Rebbes of Ger found here
This is what the Bilvavi Mishkan Evneh says of the Sfas Emes
"The great Sfas Emes had been made a Rebbe at age 26, and was asked how he managed to garner such great wisdom and insight at such a young age. He replied with a mashal. "It would be as if a mountain-climber who worked for years to gather a team together, to get in shape for the awesome ordeal, and to do everything he had to do for so long, then reached the mountaintop -- and came upon a kid there. 'How did you ever get here at your age?' asked the mountain-climber. 'It's simple,' said the child. 'While some have to expend the effort to reach the mountaintop, others are born and raised on it'."
5 comments:
Dear Long Beach Chasid
Like you I'm very found of the Sfas Emes and more generally of what it is called the Polish School Of Chasidism (Psychcha, Kotzk, Gur, Sochatchov...). But as become a real Gerer Chassid, What a task. The problem is not that you're a Baal teshuva. In fact, they do accept them sometimes. The problem is the incredible hard takanot between wife and husband like eating in separate rooms, not showing fondness to each other (for instance never a kiss or even take your wife in your arms, biya only the night of the mikve, never going on hollidays together,...). Nowadays, because of these rules, no young girl outside the gerer world (even in the the frum community) wants to marry a ger Chassid. I must add something. Those rules didn't exist before WWII. They were enacted by the Beis Yisroel (the son of the Imrei emes) who was the gerrer Rebbe from 1948 until 1977.
There are also lot of problems with the present Rebbe.
Thank you for your words. This was the type of information I am looking for. iy"H My wife and I will be in Jerusalem soon and we can interact with the different chassidim also with Belz, Boston, Bobov. Your words were my fear that I knew was probably a reality. Any idea why such ideas were adopted and enforced was it because of the places they came to settle that were immoral next to poland?
I sometimes davenned in gerer sthibel. About these takkanot, they won't tell you anything and i must warn you. Don't ask any questions of these types and be careful not to criticize the current Rebbe.
The Beis Yisroel was known for his asceticism and wanted all his chassidim to elevate themselves in Tahora and Quedusha. So he enacted these very hard Takkanot and was, a the time, very criticized by others rabbanim in the frum world.
As far as the present Rebbe is concerned, if you want to know more, let me know, so we can talk by e-mail.
Email me so I have your email. I thought there would be a language barrier so I didnt plan to ask person questions more so just daven in their presence. Thanks for the advice though. G-d forbid I would want to offend them.
I used to doubt that those are the taknos in ger but a my friends daughter got married to gerrer chossid and believe it or not they did not tell the girl about all these takonos untill she was ready to go to the mikvah the second time.(In a nutshell she is treated as if she were a niddah 24/7) the only time they have biya is mikva night and evrey other friday night. Even then there is no Chibbuk Vnishuk.
Post a Comment