And if they did, sorry, there's nothing we can tell you about it. Jews don't believe in that stuff, we were told. When we went to our parents and to our rabbis seeking out the spirituality for which our souls so much thirsted, we got the equivalent of a blank stare. Just how benign was this niceness? You need look no farther than our own generation. A folksy, theological kind of Robin Hood. That's how the Baal Shem Tov ended up being nice. When that turned out about as believable as denying the existence of George Washington, they resorted to creating a new mythology that entirely distorted everything Chassidic masters had ever taught.
And much too popular.Īt first they tried to deny the Baal Shem Tov had ever existed. The Baal Shem Tov and the Chassidic movement was a big thorn in the side of these politically correct Jews. They even went so far as to claim that Jews had never believed in mystical union with the Ein Sof, reincarnation, life after death, meditation, etc., etc. They called the Zohar the "Book of Lies." They created a myth that the Kabbalah was the creation of a lunatic fringe and was entirely grown from alien roots. "Emancipated" and "Enlightened" Jews, therefore, denounced the Kabbalah. And it has no chance of survival any longer than the waves of accepted social correctness will survive before crashing against the shore.Ī case in point - and perhaps the most painful one: There was a time when mysticism was considered irrational, bizarre, archaic and certainly not for the respectable, modern gentleman to be caught dead in.
Judaism that makes peace with the world the way it stands now is not Judaism. Political Correctness means not shaking the boat and keeping the peace. The two approaches stand at mutually exclusive extremes. Let's get this straight: There has been nothing more disastrous to Judaism than political correctness. You might want to call this Politically Correct Judaism-fully equipped with a Politically Correct Baal Shem Tov. After all, who could have anything against humanitarianism, ethics, family and being nice? Certainly not any good modern American. The whole legend, as I said before, is very nice. They said it was "very nice." I felt sick. I overheard two sweet old ladies discussing the performance.
Years ago, as a music composition major at the University of BC, I stood in a concert hall lobby at intermission, reverberating with awe in the wake of a powerful rendition of Beethoven's Violin Concerto starring soloist Yehudi Menuhin. Something we forgot about a long time ago-but the main thing is that it's not important.) (What exactly is not important is not clear. He told nice stories, and made people feel good about themselves by telling them that it wasn't really important as long as you're sincere and happy and nice to other people. So then, the Baal Shem Tov fits in very nicely. It's all about humanitarianism, ethics and the family. To appreciate the Modern Jewish Legend of the Baal Shem Tov, you must first appreciate the Modern Jewish Legend of Judaism. It's the Modern Jewish Legend of the Baal Shem Tov. Even the most fantastic ones, they say, are true - because even if the didn't actually happen, the Baal Shem Tov was capable of making them happen.īut there's at least one myth that's not true. There are many myths and legends about the Baal Shem Tov.
0 kommentar(er)
