Menachem Shmei,
I’m not talking as an outsider about a secular approach to who wrote the Torah.
I’m discussing the historical narrative of Chasidism based on how it was created & structured. Jews (inc. Chasidim) don’t live in a bubble. Chasidism didn’t start when it did by random chance. The world entered the “Modern Era” around 1,700. 2 factors were at play. The “Enlightenment” which questioned everything about the world including religion & “Emancipation” Jews lived in forced Kehillas were they were told how to live & how to practice. These 2 issues rocked the Jewish world to its core. The question was how to deal with this new world? Various methods developed. For instance “Reform” Judaism. In order to fit into this new & modern era we literally need to REFORM how Judaism is practiced.
Another modern movement was “Chasidism” It’s not a “coincidence” when it started. It was a direct reaction to what was going on in this new world. (Almost all) Chasidic sects existed based on 2 principles. 1. With the pull of the new ideas it’s not enough to be Jewish, to survive you need to be “Super” Jewish. Everything is taken to the next level to keep Jews from getting near any modernization. This dealt with Enlightenment. 2. Emancipation, where Jews were no longer forced to live as part of a real Kehilla that had the power to fine you, jail you, tax you, & tell you how to practice Judaism. Chasidism is a direct response to Emancipation by (re)creating the Kehilla albeit with less power & on a volunteer basis (which actually makes members more loyal). This model worked by have an all powerful (in the sect) Rebbe who can navigate the waters of modernization as one unified group. Take a govt decree, how can an individual fight them? They can’t. But if a Rebbe tells his thousands of followers not to do it there’s nothing much the govt (before Stalin) could do. This almost militaristic passive resistance is what enabled Chasidism to flourishing & attract many new members. This ONLY works when there is a Rebbe controlling & guiding his followers.
I understand your special relationship with a Rebbe which you feel is above the natural world & that’s fine. But at the same time we live in this world & I stand by the reality that “There is no such thing as a Chosid without a Rebbe”
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