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Correspondence

Nov. 19, 2009

Exchange with Michael Tabor about "Shir-Ta'ev" and Kabbalah (2009)

Kabbala

1. Michael Tabor to R. Lamm

1. Michael Tabor to R. Lamm (Nov. 19, 2009)

1. Michael Tabor to R. Lamm (Nov. 19, 2009)

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Notes on R. Kook and Kabbalah

Kabbalah affirms two aspects of God – the Absolute and the Relational, the Unknowable and the Knowable – expressed in the polarity between Kudsha Brich Hu (KBH) and the Shekhinah, or between transcendence and immanence. The Shekhinah is the divine spark that vitalizes all existence. When unacknowledged, it is “silenced” – unrecognized – and thus, as it were, separated from KBH. This condition is termed alma de’piruda – the world of separation. Humanity’s function is tikkun – the restoration of divine harmony, the reuniting of KBH and the Shekhinah into alma de’yihuda, the world of unification. Hence the Kabbalistic intention formula: le-shem yihud Kudsha Brich Hu u-Shechinteih. Shabbat, too, expresses this reunion – symbolized in concepts like onah and in the mystical hymn Lekha Dodi. R. Kook, influenced by Hasidic teachings, extended this principle beyond mitzvot into the realm of reshut (the permissible or adiaphorous). Thus, he envisioned the unification of God through the world and the world through God. Modernity, by contrast, is characterized by fragmentation (pirud) and lack of yihud: division of labor reduces the craftsman to a functionary rather than a whole artisan; professional specialization narrows human identity; literature often reflects fractured experience – with today’s overemphasis on sexuality as one example; and, in the post-Hiroshima world, we witness the fission of man’s soul and the atomization of spirit. R. Kook’s goal was to re-unify the world through God and the whole personality through divine service. While acknowledging the need for specialization, he cautioned against its dominance in formulating a final worldview – it can lead to distorted conclusions. Similarly, in Jewish thought, Halakhah and Aggadah must be integrated; reverence and love, intellect and emotion must coexist. As the vort from Pirkei Avot teaches: Heveh dan et kol ha-adam le-kaf zekhut – judge the whole person, not just fragmented parts.Ask ChatGPT
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Correspondence

Exchange with Edmond Karimzadeh about Chabad and the Sefirot (1995)

Dear Rabbi Lamm, I hope you are well, and enjoyed your summer. Just a brief fax regarding our discussion on the sefirot: I hope you received my letter dated 17th Tammuz, to which a serious reply I await. (Unfortunately, in many circles, especially those which I mentioned in my first letter, there is no serious discussion of anything, since the mere possibility that the rabbi may have erred will destroy their entire world view. Of course, the Torah does not have this problem, and in fact in Avot, ch. 5, the Mishna brings intellectual honesty as a necesarry prerequisite for a Hacham – and dishonesty for a Boor).One further source which I came upon, which I trust will be the final nail in the pantheistic coffin of the Tanya, is a book entitled "Hoqer U Mequbal” by the peerless Ramchal. The Vilna Gaon described this sage as having acquired the highest understanding of Torah which is humanly possible.It is quite coincidental that the opening discussion between the philosopher and the kabbalist is precisely the subject of our discussion – the sefirot, and their deification. The Ramchal states that if the sefirot were divine, they would be "Elohim Acherim" – a position which is antithetical with that of the Tanya, and which you mistakenly claim is shared by everybody. Furthermore, Rabbi J. David Bleich, your esteemed Rosh Yeshiva, has also argued in favor of Ramchal's position, in his book "With Perfect Faith," stating that praying to the sefirot [which are other than G-D] would be tantamount to idolatory.Dr Dale Gottlieb, now at Ohr Someach claims that "G-D is identical to each of the sefirot" even though he concedes that in our world view they are ten distinct entities. One only has to open a Siddur to see that they are in fact distinct and different – by very definition. There are even trinities eg. Habad, which are euphemistically referred to as triads "Partsufim".You have on many occasions bemoaned Rav Chaim Volozhiner's "intellectual ascetism." I put it to you that …
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Correspondence

Exchange with Michael Tabor about Israel, Chabad, and Nature (1972)

Dear AdvocatieMichael: מזל טוב on your LLB! I would not have realized it had you not let the information slip in by stealth! I enjoyed your letter from כפר חב"ד. You say it confirms your views about the sociological aspects of חב"ד. I'd like you to elaborate, because I am not aware of them. Your own experience with חב"ד is so much more extensive than mine, and hence your ideas will be much more valid. I recognized your statement about למעלה מן הטבע having to be בהטבע (after all, אלקי"ם = הטב"ע), but I'm obtuse these days, & do not know how you mean this to refer to life in Israel – unless, of course, you mean that all of Israel is living on these two interpenetration planes.Incidentally, I talk up the בעל התניא's addition טבע and ווהז in my newest book, just published in Israel – תורה לשמה במשנת רבי חיים מוולוז'ין ובמחשבת הדור (by מוסד הרב קוק). If you'll let me know your address for about a month or two from now, I'll be glad to send you a complimentary copy. Have you has a chance to glance at my "Faith & Doubt?"My family speak of you often. We all join in hoping your have many merry tunes to fiddle this year, literally & metaphorically. Sorry to hear about Esther but – כן. ישנם דגים אחרים בים. כמ"ש וידגו לרוב בקרב הארץ, והזיווג המתאים לך הלואי שתזרמן לידך שזה זו ותת דרך בשנה טובה ומתוקה. שנה של שגשיג ויצירה של נחת בכל המובנים.Cordially,Norman
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