In the obviously nicely sponsored magazine, the Baal Shem Tov explained the difference between mussar and chassidus. He likened it to a burglar that wanted to steal something. The baal mussar screamed: "You are a filthy thief!" and scared him away. The chassid held the thief so strong to his chest that he wouldn't leave anymore.
Kach hee darkah shel Torah: These are also the two ways Orthodox Judaism deals with people on the fringe: either they are being castigated and chased out of the camp, or they are being blackmailed emotionally and thus choked until they wants no freedom no more.
Meditate on that!
Blessed are You LORD our God, King of the universe, who distinguishes between the holy and the profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of work. Blessed are You, LORD, who distinguishes between the holy and the profane.Note how there is this continuous contrast: between holy and profane, between light and darkness and Shabbat and the weekdays. Likewise, Israel is compared to light and the nations (read: non-Jews) to darkness.
Now let the kiruv clowns meditate on that!
great comparison. you should type it up and surreptitiously slip copies of it into the publication!!!
ReplyDeleteIm yirtzeh Hashem! :P
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily a comparison. The blessing of Havdalah is encompassing of more distinction made by God, as is between the Sabbath and weekdays. See Pesochom 104a.
ReplyDeleteHi Mis, all the examples mention a distinction in holiness, thereby effectively telling that we, by our mere existence, are on a higher level than other human beings.
ReplyDeleteIt seems clear to me you see everything in a negative light. When the chassid embraced the thief, you call it ' blackmailed emotionally and thus choked'...!
ReplyDeleteWhats the issue with the havdalah blessing ? Do you not believe that a jew is responsible to lead a more disciplined life ? If you live a life just like the nations then I can see why you would have a problem with this statement of separation.
Thats like saying, I resent bodybuilders for looking so much better than me and being so much healthier. I feel like a schlub next to them. This is discrimination !!!
You know what ? Join a club, get into shape, work hard and eat well and in a year you will be like them. Guess what, anyone willing to take on the Torah and mitzvot can join and become CHOSEN !
I dont look down on gentiles !? I respect them as human beings no less than myself ! But I do thank HAshem for giving me the Torah and its wonderful lifestyle which I love and live. Sure its not easy, but its worth it.
You don't look down on gentiles? But there was no distinction made between good Jews and bad Jews. Also, you may know that, according to halacha a non-Jew's life is inherently worth less than the holiness on Shabbat and therefore in theory you should not save a drowning non-Jew on Shabbat (OK, the Rabbis changed that now by saying that this may cause a chilul Hashem, but this is a cop-out, especially since this would only be relevant in a case where people would notice). Also, kabbalah says that non-Jews don't have a neshoma.
DeletePerhaps you are just an enlightened Jew and for you Havdalah is not offensive ;)