The book, Novarodok: The Movement that LIved in Struggle and its Unique Approach to the Problem of Man is being published in French transplation. R. Meir Levin wrote a new introduction to this edition and I post it here in English:
This book is about a movement, a spiritual discipline and a way of life that speaks directly to the heart of the modern man. We, products of Existentialism and post-modernism were suckled and weaned on the philosophy that self-expression is all that there is, that “Man as he is”, is all that there is to man, that self-actualization and fulfillment of the self is the highest goal of Life. Modern man grows up never questioning the idea that he must be true to himself, that expressing his feelings, artistry and mastery over Nature is calling, work and vocation… and that there is nothing else that matters. But what happens when man finds with a shock that his inner self is empty and that whatever there is inside of him… is not very nice.
Novarodok taught the ancient idea that Man as he is, is nothing but ashes and dung and that Man can, needs to and must sculpt himself or herself in the image of Heaven. To a believing Jew, this is a basic concept. All I thought that I did by writing Novarodok was to record a dying movement’s last embers in the pages of a book. After the book came out, I learned that I was wrong.
I began to hear from people to whom this was a revolutionary idea, to whom it was an epiphany and life changing. They said that this work was their flash in the darkness, that it illuminated their course in Life, the way forward out of the sense of helplessness and failure that ensnared and imprisoned them. That man can change and remake himself was enormously liberating. Soon I began to hear about people changing their lives because of the book, about a professor in Texas who came to Borough Park to redo his wedding, about a Russian immigrant who dedicated his life to Jewish outreach work, about the many who gained from this work the confidence to start anew. And then there was the Mussar Institute.
I would be over-reaching if I claimed credit for Alan Morinis’ work. This Rhodes scholar and former movie producer already found Mussar before reading a copy of Novarodok. It was Novarodok, however, which moved him to contact Rabbi Perr, who became his Musar mentor, and to go on to develop the Mussar Institute, a movement of thousands of Jews from all varieties of observance, who study Mussar as a spiritual discipline and find within it the inspiration toward a holier, more spiritual and more productive life. A movement with branches in many American cities, the Mussar Institute and its annual conferences, chapters and programs and demonstrates that the wisdom of Mussar has something to say to contemporary Jews. R. Avraham Yaffen once despaired of Mussar being able to survive, “the noise of New York that obscures the sun itself”. Mussar Institute demonstrates that the light of Mussar is brighter than sun itself and that there is a future for Mussar in the modern world.
I see Mussar as Jewish liberal education. Perfection of character and rebuilding of the heart goes well with anything one may do in life. It benefits a pulpit rabbi no less than a businessman, a Talmud teacher no less than an outreach professional, a chasidic pietist or devotee of Jewish mysticism as much as their not yet observant brother. The French translation is especially gratifying, for France, along with the Land Of Israel and America that gave the remnants of Novarodok a refuge. May the light of Novarodok burn proudly in La Francophonie. May it burn forever for all Jews.
With gratitude and best wished to the Script Torah project and with blessing to all our brethren,
Meir Levin
I just finished reading a compilation of articles on New Insights and Scholarship in Hebrew Bible. This was an interesting experience as I found some interesting and thought provoking material as well as much that I could not agree with or found contentious and inaccurate in sensibility or approach. The first article was why I bought the book. Gary A. Rendsburg in "Israel without Bible" presented a novel approach of asking the question: "How would Biblical history look if we attemtped to reconstruct it solely from archeological evidence, without a reference to the Biblical accounts?" His response is: "Very similar to the Biblical account".
Other articles contain some nuggets of insight but are otherwise dissapointing or of marginal interest. I liked David P. Wright's response to the proposal that Temple sacrifice represent a sublimation of human sacrifice. He points out that the actual killing of the animal (shechita) is performed by a non-cohen, thus placing the main meaning of the sacrifice not in the killing but in the offering (p.125). He derives it from Yechzkel 40:38-43,which is of course not how Talmud derives it, but this derivation is notable as a supportive, if somewhat arguable source. I also thought that Ziony Zevit was onto something in chapter 8 when he pursued the parallels between Biblical examples of outside- the- Temple- prayer and Rabbinic prayer. In this way, he contested that argument that Rabbinic Judaism is discontinuous with Biblical religion because the former has prayer while the latter had only sacrifices. I wonder whether the disagreement about the three rabbinic prayers being derived from the Avos or from the sacrifices (Brochos 17) may not be precisely about this point - about whether they are formatted after Biblical order of sacrifices or Biblical examples of out of the Temple prayer. There is, parentetically, another view, brought only in Yerushalmi, of Rabbon Gamliel, that the three daily prayers correspond to the three natural division of the day. See fascinating comments of Oruch Hashulchan about this in O"C:1.
The epilogue, however, is what I found most interesting. In it, E. Greensplan compares and contrasts the three modern ways of interpeting BIble: historico-critical methods, as sacred literature ( with the interpretation determined by a particular body of believers) and literary interpretation. I will now do the same thing but from a personal perspective, commennting on what is positive and negative in each approach.
The historical-critical approach sees each book of the Bible, and sometimes even each chapter or sentence, as presenting different points of view that come out of different religious groups with disparate theologies and perspectives. Somehow, at some time, someone cobbled all these different perspectives and documents together. Why didn't the Redactor eliminate contradictions? Because the culture of the times did not see anything wrong in contradictatons since the goal was to preserve a record of different communities and views ( I know that this is weak and I know that you recognize it too). This approach has a great deal of explanatory power because of the way we think nowadays. The reductionist scientific approach makes this thought pattern appealing to those who are educated in it, and it frees one from the burden of having to reconcile contradictions. This is why it is not questioned beyond the traditionalist circles.
On the other hand, it does not explain the most remakable and obvious truth about the BIble - its unparalleled power of ideas, its ability over and over again to change societies and redirect human history, its ability to claim allegience of millions and millions in generation after generation. In short, it misses exactly what is unique and central to the Bible - its religious potency. It is like looking at the Last Supper and seeing only what is on the plates. In short, it misses THE point.
Traditional interpretations are focused precisely on the sacredness of Scripture, not only on its text. Certain kinds of interpretation, the ones that are not consistent with the message that a particular religious community subscribes to, cannot possibly be true, because it is not about the Bible ' as we know it". On the other hand, they cannot be "proven" by one community to another. Most believers, however, do not look for proof, they are in pursuit of meaning.
Literary approaches are compatible with the either method. On one hand, they are not interested in the source of the text or in how a text came together. On the other hand, they are not interested in the message of the text but in what it says. They shortchange everyone equally. To understand Bible as literature, they approach Bible as a literary text, trying to understand what techniques are being employed, what the effect on the reader may be and how it is accomplished. There are many types of literary approaches and while they can results in unexpectedly enlightening insights, even some that have unintentional Meaning to a traditionalsit, they are ultimately sterile because they are also not interested in the Truth but only in literality. They also, miss the big picture of Biblical Religious Meaning.
What is the take home message? Do not draw after them (Psalms 37). The sources of religious meaning are: Personal experience and longing, Tradition and Text. If literary methods add to your sophistication as in intepreter who can uncover Meaning - fine. But it is Meaning and only Meaning after which you must draw.
I previousely posted a review of the book, "Dawn of Redemption..".
Here is another, a more detailed review from the perspective of a Biblical scholar, with some interesting points, from the current issue of Jewish Bible Quarterly.
I hope to soon post the author's response to some of the important points of methodology and outlook in contemporary Orthodox Biblical Interpretation that this review raises.
I always wondered how it would be if a non-Lubavitcher translated Tanya. I can't imagine a reading ot Tanya divorced from its environment of thousands of volumes of Chabad literature that build on it and explicate it. I was struck to recently learn that Otzros Hachochma offers a optional Chabad module that can be added to its database - seven thousand volumes.
On the other hand, there have been many Chassidic Rebbes and even on-Chassidim who studied Tanya and did not study its surrounding literature.
But a translation of Tanya by Reform Rabbi!
Who would rush in where angels fear to tread?
Now Rami Shapiro did it. Is it a New-Age take on Tanya? I had not read it and can't comment but perhaps one of the readers of this blog can share an opinion.
Here is how Rabb Rami spends Rosh Hashana (from his blog):
"Tonight is Erev Rosh HaShanah, the beginning of Judaism’s Ten Days of Awe that end at sundown on Yom Kippur. Millions of Jews will undoubtedly go to synagogue during this period. I won’t be one of them.
My reason for not going is simple: I find the experience unfulfilling. When I do participate in conventional Jewish prayer I find myself arguing with what I am reading. I don’t relate to the metaphor of God as father, king, and lord; I don’t believe that God is in control of my life; and I find the medieval worldview of the machzor (High Holy Day prayer book) incompatible with what I know to be true about life. So rather than sit and complain, I stay home.
.......
I will spend most of tomorrow morning walking in the woods by the creek near my home. I will chant and pray and talk with God, allowing that the Infinite All can manifest as a finite One with whom I can meet and dialogue. I will spend the afternoon studying Jewish texts: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job for these are the books that speak to me most powerfully. In the evening I will gather with my family to renew ourselves as a family, and to share our thoughts about where we are as a new year unfurls.
During the intervening days I will seek forgiveness, humbling myself until I flow like water into the low and narrow places within me that need watering that the seeds of holiness trapped there can expand and grow and shatter the narrows, and experience and share the spaciousness of love and forgiveness. And I will give tzedakah (monetary donations) to help those, both human and canine, whose lives are bleak and broken.
I will spend Yom Kippur: fasting, walking, praying, and studying. And I will do so alone. I have community in my life, but I find that this time of year is best met alone. That’s just me. But if I were a rabbi of a community, I would no longer ask them to dress in restrictive clothing, sit in a windowless room breathing stale air, and reading old books. I would invite them to wear lose clothes and comfortable shoes, and to walk with me beside still waters, to lay with be in green pastures, allowing the rustling trees to be our liturgy, and the chirping birds to be our cantors, and the babbling brook to be our rabbi teaching us to walk the watercourse way of humility, justice, and compassion.
So for all those who choose not to attend synagogue, know that you are not bad or disloyal or even alone. Honor the holy days in whatever way allows you to deepen your humanity. And may you in this way find blessing, sweetness, and peace this New Year.
L’shana tova "
I share with the readers a review by Alan Jay Gerber of the book, " THE DAWN OF REDEMPTION: What the Books of Ruth and Yona Teach About Alienation, Despair and Return (Urim 2009).
"The reading of the Book of Ruth is one of the central events of the Shavuot festival. Inasmuch as this holiday commemorates the birth and passing of King David, this reading teaches us about the life and travails of David’s great, great, grandmother, Ruth.
Rabbi Dr. Meir Levin composed a fascinating commentary on the Book of Ruth. Titled, “The Dawn of Redemption” (Urim, 2009), the work highlights, in a mature and sophisticated manner, the entire saga, though it absents some of the more legendary aspects that have placed the work into question, both historically and theologically.
The historical value and perspective can best be demonstrated by the following observations of Dr. Levin.
“We all know that we carry our parent’s legacy with us through life, sometimes as a burden, sometimes as a blessing. However, we often do not appreciate the extent of our indebtedness to the generations that preceded us. The simple fact is that as families share similarities, inclinations and proclivities — so do nations. Some call these assortments of qualities ‘national character’ while others appeal to the collective unconscious of the entire human race, but, whatever they may be, these roots are deep, extending to the distant past, to the crucible out of which nations arose.
Every man and woman exists within this continuum of heredity and tradition. Each family and nation is given their allotted number of chances. This is true of individual failings as of communal ones.”
Ponder these words carefully as you read the events of Ruth’s sojourn, as well as current events, and consider their relevance today. Also examine the reason why the sages chose this particular work to be studied at this time.
This commentary by Dr. Levin deserves our attention because, unlike other works on Ruth, he takes this Biblical narrative as a serious historical and nationalist lesson for us, both in terms of a larger perspective and as the frail human creatures that we truly are. As the characters in the book play their roles, Dr. Levin enables us, through his commentary, to better appreciate their actions and motives.
For certain, you will never regard the Book of Ruth in the same way after learning from the pen of Dr. Meir Levin."
From a review by ZVI LESHEM
Mysticism and Madness, which analyzes several key issues in Nahman’s thinking, is largely a rejoinder to several scholarly works that have, until now, been considered definitive in describing R. Nahman’s religious world. Mark, who is very much at home in the vast corpus of both Nahman’s own writing and that of subsequent generations of Bratslav literature, presents a radically different understanding of Nahman, one that moves him closer to the kabbalistic-hassidic milieu in which he was raised (he was the great-grandson of the Ba’al Shem Tov, who was the first hassidic leader), and returns him from the radical existentialist mode into which some of his earlier interpreters had thrust him.The late Joseph Weiss, in his pioneering Hebrew studies of Nahman, emphasized his personal life (of which we are blessed with abundant material from internal Bratslav sources) and existentialist crises, downplaying the mystical elements in his life and teachings. Weiss was followed by Prof. Arthur Green, who, in his classic work Tormented Master, portrayed Nahman as a deeply conflicted individual who was blessed not only with a powerful self-awareness of his status as a tzaddik, but also with tremendous self-doubt and conflicts regarding his own faith and religious tensions. Green presented this existential portrait of Nahman as largely overriding the more mystical aspirations of the more typical hassidic rebbe, which may be subsumed under the general rubric of seeking a more intense personal and spiritual experience of God.
Mark argues forcefully that Weiss, Green and those who followed them misinterpreted key passages in Nahman’s writings, consistently overlooking their obviously mystical meaning and reinterpreting them through the prism of the existentialist lens through which they wrote. While not denying Nahman’s existential struggle, his theological radicalism or his sometimes bizarre behavior, Mark uses close philological analysis to convincingly demonstrate that despite his uniqueness in the world of hassidic thought, in the last analysis, Nahman’s major concern remains that of his other hassidic colleagues, finding a path to God for himself and for his followers.
Mark achieves his goals through analysis of issues such as Nahman’s approach to imagination, prophecy, faith, silence, music and the Land of Israel, to which he traveled at the beginning of the 19th century.
He also discusses some of Nahman’s mystical and devotional techniques, such as the meditative practice of hitbodedut (conversing with God) and hand clapping during prayer. He argues that the goal of these practices is to lead the devotee to a state of bitul (self-annulment) and deveikut (cleaving to God). Mark shows us to what extent Nahman was in fact continuing trends, both in thought and deed, found in earlier mystical literature, although he often infused the earlier texts with a creative new meaning....
Aleph Shin, a book about the Messiah was produced specifically for the Orthodox market but is the same story as Samson’s Lion (ISBN 0-96770-440-5), which was distributed in the general market and is also available from most On-Line Book Stores (Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Borders, Half.com, etc.) The difference between the books is that Samson’s Lion contains expletives and a few emotional scenes between a man and a woman (in the publisher's words, "very innocuously portrayed"). The book was published byTNS, which characterizes itself as, " an avant guarde Jewish publishing company, not afraid to publish high-level literature that conforms 100% to Torah outlook. No scatological language or graphic scenes are found in our titles. However, we don’t subscribe to the censorship of mature concepts and realistic life experiences, which has relegated much of Orthodox literature to children’s books." Now, after three printings, TMS Publishing reprinted Aleph Shin in the same Volume as the new Ten Lost (Tribes). It is a prequel to Aleph Shin, in which Menachem Shabazzi, the Moschiach character of Aleph Shin, visits some lost tribes, learns martial arts, discovers the gold of Ophir, saves Yossele, kills many evil men with his bare hands, and sets up for Aleph Shin.
This is how TMS describes the plot of Aleph Shin: "
Over thirty years ago, an Israeli submarine, the Dakar, disappeared without a trace on its maiden voyage. On May 28, 1999 the wreckage of the vessel was found 2800 meters below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. Over the years, several theories had emerged as to its fate. Samson’s Lion, a fictional story, is predicated on a novel idea. The submarine was deliberately made to vanish and later scuttled. It concealed a vital, top secret mission of the Israeli secret service.
It is now the future. Missiles carrying poison gas launched from Iran rain down upon the Israeli populace in the wee hours of the morning. Israel doesn’t react. But a few hours after the onset of the attack, strange and inexplicable phenomena begin to wreak deadly havoc throughout the Middle East. Thousands of terrorist fighters on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border are plagued by an unknown deadly insect. People in the streets and squares of numerous cities throughout the Arab world begin dropping like flies, moribund to a torrent of invisible neutrons. The Aswan Dam mysteriously suffers a devastating earthquake, flooding out hundreds of thousands of dweller along the banks of the Nile River. The world can only speculate that Israel was behind this fierce and grotesquely exaggerated retaliation.
Less than one hundred men on the face of the earth knew exactly how these simultaneous responses were planned, implemented and executed. When you read Aleph Shin, you will learn about the cunning, the stealth, the boldness, and the ingenuity of the men who volunteered for this life long Mossad project, insuring the survival of the Jewish State under a Doomsday scenario.
You will learn:
How Alon Barnash, alias Abdallah Ibn Gash in the guise of a devout Muslim, raises a son who, independently, finds the path to Judaism. The boy, a computer whiz, then joins his father in planting the infrastructure to sunder the Aswan High Dam.
How Eli Kedem, alias Farshid Kermani, planted in Isfahan Iran, is discovered by an American business magnate, and is forced to assist in the rescue of his employees caught in the wake of a fanatical revolution.
How the heretofore secular but brilliant Benny Harkesef serendipitously found deep spiritual meaning in joining the project. Then, as Robert Benson, under deep cover in the United States, confounds an attack on Israel and helps to foil a conspiracy against the President of the United States.
Aleph Shin, blends just the right amount of action with sentimentality, politics, religious zeal and suspense, to make for a can’t-put-it-down read and an illuminating experience.
The finale’ of the book peaks in a tumultuous crescendo of abysmal mayhem. The President of the United States, under tremendous pressure to compel Israel to stop the catastrophe in the Arab world, is usurped by a conspiracy of the generals of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dissatisfied with the President’s reticence. Alas they too, cannot cajole, cannot threaten and cannot control the massive yet untraceable Israeli retaliatory measures. In a last ditch effort, they launch a cruise-missile attack against Israel, which, astoundingly backfires. As the international community coalesces to mount an all out effort to destroy Israel, salvation comes as the world is on the brink of Armageddon. An unexpected, undreamed of, series of events takes place. One man, out of nowhere begins a new wave of humanity that overturns the world order from that of cupidity, hedonism and godlessness, to one of justice, peace and prosperity.
It is a book of adventure and horror, but also one of hope. Out of a frenzied abyss of violence, evil, intrigue and chaos can emerge light and beneficence; it can be the culmination of human existence. Samson’s feat is repeated. From Samson’s Lion (Aleph Shin in Hebrew stands for Ari Shimshon – Samson’s Lion) flows forth sweet honey.".
What this description omits that all of these events were set in motion by Menachem Shabbazzi in the persona that he assumes of Colonel Rafi Schwarts of the Mossad. After arranging all this, the future Messiah retires to Yemen for a number of years to work on his elevating his soul until his triumphal overland trip in a white limousine from Yemen to Jerusalem.
So, what do you think? When I first read the book, I thought that it was fantastic and over-reaching. On the other hand, it served a purpose for it demonstrated how the events leading up to the Messianic Redemption were possible. At that time, the world appeared geopolitically stable and while I certainly believed in the coming of the Moschiach, because the Torah so commanded, the possibility of his coming in those circumstances appeared remote. The book did a service by demonstrating that it was possible to subvert the existing order and within a short period of time. In that, it performed a service for Judaism and personally for me.
It was also fast paced, well-written and read like a thriller. It was very popular. It went through three printings, and in between the printings, I remember seeing it offered on E-Bay for more than $200.00.
What troubled me about the book, besides it's assumption that miraculous events can be pre-arranged by natural means and performed by the means of nuclear materials, tse-tse flies and bursting the Aswan Dam, or by planting explosives under the mountians surrounding Jerusalem, so that the invading armies are anihilated and the mountain, as the prophets predicted, splits into two, was violence. Never mind that hundreds of thousands of Arabs and Iranians die in retaliation for the death of 28 Jews; more importantly, the last pages contain a hand to hand combat sequence between Menachem, the Messiah and General Umenkoff, the Amalekite and his consorts, in which eyes are gouged out, spleens ruptured, windpipes shattered and blood spurts and sprinkles all over the place. It offended my Jewish sensibilities and disgusted my finely attuned neshama.
But if this troubled you too, please do not read Ten Lost. This book is a veritable demolition derby. In it, the future Messiah fights his way through page after page, crushing opponents rib cages, bashing in their skulls and collapsing their larynxes. Blood flows freely.
I don't generally advocate censorship but this is way over the top. Whereas Aleph Shin had redeeming features - fast paced action, a minimally plausible plot, and a positive effect on emunah, the Ten Lost is heavy, it meanders slowly and leaves one knee deep in grotesquely mutilitated bodies of the enemies. It made me ill and not once. Is this Torah literature? No way. Is it entertaining? Not really? Is it good for one's soull. Not at all. Books like this give Jews a bad name.
Aleph Shin is a work with pluses and minuses and it can be defended on its merits. Ten Lost, in my opinion. should be banished beyond the Sambatyon.
P.S. I did like the other book that TNS published, Every Man a Slave, for its faithfullness to historical detail, depth of characterization and courage in tackling a difficult topic. But the review for that book must wait until a later time.
