(1) ומפני חטאינו גלינו מארצנו exposes Jewish philosophy of J History (2) for accordance with this needs of thinking. Sages inquired us to resign חורבן בהמ״ק. many amounts in לפנים משורתה, for שניית חינם: immunity: using; etc. ok. (3) However: enable us these answers might be, doesn't explain why בהמ״ק destroyed – hand of G-d should have destroyed Netanel Bunk of Judea... Palestine stock exchange, place of immoral indictment, theaters (תיאטרות וקאקסאות) etc etc.

The oneness of God is universally acknowledged as the foundation stone of Judaism and its main contribution to the world. The theme of the Shema, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One,” underlies every single aspect of Jewish life and thought, and permeates every page of its vast literature. So powerful is this vision of God’s unity that inevitably it must express the corollary that the divine unity is the source of a unity that encompasses all existence.[1] Nowhere is the idea of yichud ha-shem, the Unity of God, given more poignant and intense express on than in the Kabbalah. In Jewish mysticism the Unity of God is not only one of the mightiest themes, but it becomes a living reality, per-haps the only reality. God’s unity is taken not alone as an arithmetic proposition, but as the unification of all existence, in all its awesome diversity, through God. It is symbolized, in the Kabbalah, by the unity within God Himself. It is this unity — elaborated, explained, enhanced, and expounded by kabbalists from the Zohar through the late Rav Kook — of which our modern world stands in such desperate need. If it was eve' necessary to reaffirm that theme, with its conscious rejection of all conflict, multiplicity, and fragmentation, it is today, when mankind stands poised, ready to blow itself to bits both physically and conceptually.In this paper we shall examine the treatment of the Unity of God in one expression of the Jewish spirit, the Kabbalah — particularly in the Zohar and in the works of its most recent exponent, the late Rav Kook, Chief Rabbi of the Holy Land; in one sacred institution of Judaism, the Sabbath; and in one famous hymn of the Prayerbook, the Lekhah Dodi, a kabbalistic poem which celebrates the Sabbath. Our purpose is not a his-torical presentation of the Unity Theme, but rather to see what it can yield for us in the way of instruction: its implication for moderns.The reader who is unacquainted with the atmosphere and terminology of the…

When the ancient one had reached this point he paused, and the two rabbis prostrated themselves before him, wept and said: "Had we come into this world only in order to hear these thy words from thy mouth it were sufficient." Said he: "Associates, I did not begin to speak to you merely in order to tell you what I have told you up till now, for surely an old man like myself would not limit himself to one saying, making a noise like a single coin in a jug. How many human beings live in confusion of mind, beholding not the way of truth whose dwelling is in the Torah, the Torah which calls them day by day to herself in love, but alas, they do not even turn their heads."It is indeed as I have said, that the Torah lets out a word, and emerges for a little from her sheath, and then hides herself again. But she does this only for those who understand and obey her.She is like unto a beautiful and stately damsel, who is hidden in a secluded chamber of a palace and who has a lover of whom no one knows but she. Out of his love for her he constantly passes by her gate, turning his eyes towards all sides to find her. She, knowing that he is always haunting the palace, what does she do? She opens a little door in her hidden palace, discloses for a moment her face to her lover, then swiftly hides it again. None but he notices it; but his heart and soul and all that is in him are drawn to her, knowing as he does that she has revealed herself to him for a moment because she loves him.It is the same with the Torah, which reveals her hidden secrets only to those who love her. She knows that he who is wise of heart daily haunts the gates of her house. What does she do? She shows her face to him from her palace, making a sign of love to him, and straightway returns to her hiding place again. No one understands her message save he alone, and he is drawn to her with heart and soul and all his being. Thus the Torah reveals herself mo­mentarily in love to her lovers in order to awaken fresh…

I. Background – A. Spiritual devastation of Polish Jewry by Sabbatian disaster. B. Dr. Cooper’s lecture on legends origin Besht (d. 1760). II. Reaction to S.Z. – A. "Neutralized" messianism, restored to original position. Deemphasized the eschatological. Toned down Messiah aspect of tikkun – sparks: spark-uplifting is by human effort, Messiah by divine grace. B. Hasidism originates in Podolia and Volhynia – scene of most tragic Sabbatian failure. Need for security, certainty, leaders. C. But Hasidism much more than reaction to Sabbatianism or dry Talmudism. III. Immanentism – A. Lurianic doctrine of sparks – memaleh kol almin – where S.Z.: by intending good! Besht: redirecting (Freud! sublimation). B. Besht–Kotzk: lo yihyeh bekha el zar. C. A “adiaphora”: classical Rabbinism – only issur and heter (S.Z. – nothing); Hasidism – sanctify all life (Kook – before Buber! – the holy and the not-yet-holy). Be’khol derakhekha da’ehu – hence: eating, working, tying shoes; Enoch – cobbler – awl: unify Name, raise sparks. D. R. Lebele Eger: “Before, I believed there’s a God; now I know.” IV. Deveikut – ecstatic, emotional. Constant communion – not by withdrawal, but by involvement. Berditchever on torah im derekh eretz (contrast R.H. Volozhiner). Requires stimha – external stimulus (story: Ropshitzer – why Hasidim drink schnapps – “shehakol”); dance, song – banish le’ush. V. Simplicity (temimut) – cast lot on God – no worry. Not shy before God. Kozhnitzer: “Envy them! They’re already simple, I’m trying.” Hence: deemphasis Luria; anti-philosophic. “Atzaltavor! Greatest hokhmah – to know there is more before Him.” VI. Dignity and status even to am ha’aretz – story of prayer by whistle. VII. Spontaneity – in derashah (R. Barukh Medzibozer: “May I be struck dumb before I speak ‘beautifully’”). In prayer: hitlahavut (although often overdone – Tanya and R. Kalisker); emotional factor essential. “The niggun” – name Besht: violin player, dancers, and devekut in all life. “What most im…

It was the custom of anti-Semites that when a Jew was unable to repay a debt, he would be cast into a deep pit. From a hole at the top, they would once a week lower bread and water, supposedly enough to sustain him for seven days. He remained in solitary confinement until the lord’s birthday, when the nobleman held a lavish feast and invited his peers. As their hearts grew merry with wine, the Jew would be brought in and ordered to dance for their entertainment. But this was no ordinary dance. They prepared a bearskin costume which the Jew had to wear, and he would be led into the chamber in iron chains by a servant, as if he were a real bear. The servant became his dancing partner, and the lord declared: “If you dance well, follow the music, and amuse us, you may go home a free man. If you dance better than your leader, you may even beat him, like a bear would a cow. But if you fail to please us, you will be taken to the dogs – and made to dance with them.” In the courtyard, wild and vicious dogs awaited. Should the Jew fail to entertain, he would be thrown to the dogs and immediately torn to shreds. The cruelty was compounded by the fact that the Jew, after a long period of near-starvation on bread and water, barely had the strength to walk, let alone dance in a heavy bearskin. In another passage from the same work, we are told of the town of Zlatopolye, where ignorance and boorishness reigned. The people knew nothing of netilat yadayim and had fundamental misunderstandings of the laws of family purity. They had no mikvah in town, and neighboring villages shared one mikvah, one etrog, one rabbi, and one shochet – all of dubious quality. Yet, they were obsessed with the office of shamash (sexton), whom they saw as a kind of scapegoat meant to absorb all communal misfortunes. Most notably, this was due to the dreaded tokhachah (section of rebuke in the Torah), read twice annually. A superstition held that anyone receiving that aliyah, unless a perfect saint (and wh…

First Lecture: "Life and Lore." Introduction: Only about 200 years ago: Judaism experienced Renewal, Renaiisance; deeply Religious, Democratic, Romantic. One of its greatest teachings: אהבת ישראל; yet left deep Schism, Scars... Founder: No Writings, only Oral; Yet: Immense Literature, const'ly growing... Literature by it – Polemical; Ideological; Exegetical; Stories... Literature about it – provoked extreme opinions: Mitnagdim, Haskalah, Contemporary.. most flawed... Some saw it in oppos'n Halakhik Jsm; others: no problem. Both Wrong.... Stereotype Today.....all wrong ....

Second Lecture: "The Basic Principle of Hasidism." Immanence: Resume last week's explanation: every authentic Jewish conception God: Both Immanence and Transcendence. Hasism: great emphasis on Immanence. Consciousness of God everywhere. Example: quote R. Aryeh Leb Alter, Gerrer Rebbe (שפת אמת): במכתב אלול תרכ"ה (1865): דע, כי אין שום דבר, אף הרהור טוב או רע, בלי רצון הבורא ברוך הוא וברוך שמו.

Third Lecture: "Life With God." Resume: Immanentism; Optimism; Devekuth; Character; Minagdim (Rabbinic: Gaon and his school). More on opposition to Hasidim: Maskillim: Graetz, others: bitter, fanatic, almost a crusade.... 2 exceptions: Moses Hess (Western Europe – socialist affinity); Eliezer Zweifel (E. Europe, Zhitomir – thought mad, bribed...). Germanyn: Maskillim certainly opposed; Rabbinic scholars: R. Jos Steinhardt (Furth), 1773: (הקדמה ל"זכרון יוסף") והמה מדברי תורת אמת הטלים... עוסקים תמיד בספרי הקבלה והיא להם לתקלה... מאסו בלימודי יסודי התלמוד

An example of the finest Jewish aristocracy – that of Torah and scholarship – the "בית הרב." Lithuanian before RHV (R. Hayyim Volizhin) – a desert. After him "am basis. VY (Volozhin Yeshiva) has been termed "not a town, or school, but a concept." The "Dynasty": RHV; his son R. Issac (R. Itzelle); then his first son-in-law R. Eliezer Issac, who died young, had very brief term. Then controversy over succession between R. Israel's 2nd son-in-law, נצי"ב, and R. Joseph Baer Soloveitchik (בית הלוי).

I wish to express profound gratitude to Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Chairman of the Committee, who guided me in the selection of the topic of this dissertation, and whose counsel and criticism are reflected throughout the essay; and to the members of the Sponsoring Committee, whose assistance and encouragement proved invaluable: Dr. Gershon Churgin, Dr. Arthur Hyman, and Dr. Samuel K. Mirsky. Mr. Jacob I. Dienstag was unstinting in offering me direction in the location of many of the sources. I gratefully acknowledge the cooperation of the Copenhagen Communal Library which made available to me photostats of unpublished manuscript material used in this dissertation.