- Torah and Jewish Thought
- General Questions
Debates between different Jewish groups
Question
please explain me this:
if you come to breslav they say, breslav is the only true way, others no. if you go to chabad they say well chabad is only true way, and lubavicher rebbe is only rebbe, why there is no unity and so much even hate towards others? why there are breslovers, chabad etc why there no jews anymore?
thank you
Answer
Jews are very idealistic, and there is fine line between idealism and stubborness! Maybe you've heard the saying: "if you have 2 Jews, you get 3 opinions"! We like to debate, which is a positive essential part of our analytic and critical Talmudic culture. Rav Kook explains that this is fine, for there is a truth in every group, just on condition that each group stresses the positive (!) aspect of their respective ideology, and don't put down (!) other truths. The problem begins when 1 thinks that all of the truth is just in his "pocket", and have an intolerance for the others, not seeing the truth in the other groups. This, like all extremism, is bad, for each group is necessary to stress their aspect of Judaism, and only together we can reveal all of the Godly truths. The "Wars of the Jews" (as Josephus termed them) were always a problem, and historically, the only ones who can really defeat Jews, are Jews. Rav Kook stresses that we must teach tolerance and respect and the necessity of all of the groups to complete, and eventually learn from one another. The One and Only God will be revealed when we take the love of Jews from Chabad, the happiness from Breslav, the love of Torah from the Lituanian yeshivas, the fine-ness of the Yemenites, the emotion of the Morroccan Jews, the orderliness of the Yekkes [=German Jews] etc. etc., and only thus show the world how all can live together, proving there is One Creator, and inevitably no real contradictions. The respective groups must bind each other from extremism, yet harmonize all of the different and varied good together, which is not only the secret of music, cooking, relationships etc. but of our very world, world peace and revelation of One God/Creator. The Jewish nation is an extreme microcosm of mankind, and must show how to unite & harmonize.

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Rabbi Ari Shvat
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