Aharon Shmuel Posted - 05 December 2001 15:56
I have a few questions mabye this has been discussed in several sections. As a BT who has learned much about yiddishkeit from all different types of Chassidishe groups (I have had very little exposure to the litvish communities) I noticed that I do some things quite differently that it seems only Chassidishe people do and I don't really understand why non-chassidshe jews don't partake in similar customs such as:
- Sleeping in Tzitzits.
- Going to the Mikvah every morning.
- Davening Late or Davening Mincha after Shkia.
- Putting on Tefillin in the middle of the day (sometimes)
- Dancing
- Davening by the graves of Tzaddikim
- Tish or Farbrengen
- Saying Tehillim in Davening
- Rabbenu Tam Tefillin.
Or, maybe I'm wrong and some non-chassidishe jews do this stuff and I just don't know about it and need more exposure. Maybe people would be able to respond to let me know if this stuff is only chassidishe or other jews do it as well and why or why not.
MODERATOR Posted - 18 December 2001 14:46
Sleeping in Tzitzits -- This comes from the Arizal, and there is a source in the Gemara Menachos 43a, where it implies that Dovid Hamelech wore his Tzitzis all night. This does not mean to say there is any obligation to do so, nor is it a Halachic Mitzvah, but rather a Kabbalistic behavior that benefits the wearer. It is as much a Sefardishe thing as a Chasidishe thing, since the Chida says to do it and the Ben Ish Chai Kaf HaChaim say that this is the prevailing Minhag.
Going to the Mikvah every morning - This is all over Kabbalah. Going to the Mikvah purifies the soul in important ways. Especialyl before learning Torah or praying it is brought that Mikvah is important.
Davening Late or Davening Mincha after Shkia. - Davening Minchah after Shkiya is the opinion of Rebbeinu Tam, the Shulchan Aruch, and the majority of Rishonim. They hold that the Shkiyah is really like 40 to 58 1/2 minutes later than what you are referring to as shkiyah. Until then it is day.
This is a halachic opinion, and has nothing to do with chasidim. R. Akiva Eger held like that, and so did tons of other poskim. The Vilna Gaon held differently, and he had a tremendous influence in Lithuania, and so it became a Litvishe thing that you have to daven minchah before "shkiyah", but in reality the majority of Rishonim disagree.
This machlokes applies to every halachah that depends on night, Shabbos included - it was the custom in many places in Hungary and Poland to do melachah after shkiyah (See Kitzur shulchan Aruch)! However, since shabbos is d'oraysah, most of those who daven minchah after shkiyah will mostly keep shabbos once shkiyah occurs, but only as a chumrah.
Davening shachris late is another thing. That is a chasidishe thing, and it is because the Rebbes (and chasidim in the olden days) used to prepare for their davening early and their preparations, they held, was considered the beginning of their davening. These preparations were always started during the zman tefilah. Once you start davening - or preparing for davening - during the proper zman, you may, according to many shitos (see Aruch Hashulchan hilchos tefilas haderech) continue your davening even if it extends way past the zman. So if they began their preparations during the zman, they may pray the actual shmona esrai afterwards, they held.
According to this, it would be prohibited for chasidim to begin davening after the zman, if they are not involved in such preparations beforehand. I do not know of a heter to do that.
Putting on Tefillin in the middle of the day (sometimes) - if you mean davening shachris in the middle of the day, see above. If you mean for Minchah, it is because really we should wear tefilin a whole day, but since we cannot properly maintain ourselves all day in a manner befitting for tefillin, we limit our wearing them to davening. So why woudl minchah be different than shachris? This is not only a chasidishe thing.
Dancing - its part of what you do when you are celebrating a mitzvah. Simchah shel mitzvah is a wonderful thing according to everyone. If you mean dancing on Shabbos despite the halachah of shema yesaken, the Minchas Elozor permits halachicly. Please refer to his Teshuva.
Davening by the graves of Tzaddikim - This too is way before chasidim, in the Arizal and the Zohar even. Not all Chasidim are so keen on this, by the way. But the idea is that we pray to Hashem in the merit of the Tzadik.
Tish or Farbrengen - In the Arizal youll find that the table of a Tzadik is like a mizbeach and his food is like a Korbon. You will find this concept even in the Ruach Chaim of Rav Chaim Volozhen on Pirkei Avos (K'ilu achlu m'zivchei meisim). The shirayim of the Tzadik therefore is like eating from a korbon.
Saying Tehillim in Davening - I dont understand what you mean
Rabbenu Tam Tefillin - kabalistically, Rabbeinu Tam Tefilin is not only a different Halachic opinion, but a special unique type of Tefillin. It is brought that Rashi himself wore Rabbeinu Tam Tefillin and vice versa.
Truth Seeker Posted - 20 March 2003 3:42
Sleeping in Tzitzits -- This comes from the Arizal, and there is a source in the Gemara Menachos 43a, where it implies that Dovid Hamelech wore his Tzitzis all night. This does not mean to say there is any obligation to do so, nor is it a Halachic Mitzvah, but rather a Kabbalistic behavior that benefits the wearer.
What about the shitos that the _mitzvah_ of tzitzis applies even at night when wearing a garment worn primarily during the day?
Once you start davening - or preparing for davening - during the proper zman, you may, according to many shitos (see Aruch Hashulchan hilchos tefilas haderech) continue your davening even if it extends way past the zman. So if they began their preparations during the zman, they may pray the actual shmona esrai afterwards, they held.
Isn't the shito of the Aruch HaShulchan that if shmoneh esrai itself is begun before the sof z'man, it may be continued after it.
If you mean for Minchah, it is because really we should wear tefilin a whole day, but since we cannot properly maintain ourselves all day in a manner befitting for tefillin, we limit our wearing them to davening. So why woudl minchah be different than shachris? This is not only a chasidishe thing.
I've heard of special _individuals_ who do this but are there any _kehilos_ that do?
Tish or Farbrengen - In the Arizal youll find that the table of a Tzadik is like a mizbeach and his food is like a Korbon. You will find this concept even in the Ruach Chaim of Rav Chaim Volozhen on Pirkei Avos (K'ilu achlu m'zivchei meisim). The shirayim of the Tzadik therefore is like eating from a korbon.
So why is it only among the Chassidim (and some Sefardim) that they have a 'tisch' where a tsadik (or one claimed to be) gives out shirayim?
MODERATOR Posted - 20 March 2003 3:53
Isn't the shito of the Aruch HaShulchan that if _shmoneh esrai_ itself is begun before the sof z'man, it may be continued after it.
Yes, thats what I said. And Chasidim extended this idea (which they came up with on their own - I am only using the Aruch HaShulchan as a non-chasidic similar example) to include not only if you started the shemoneh esray during the zman but also if you started the preparations for the shemona esray (i.e. the davening) during the zman.
I've heard of special _individuals_ who do this but are there any _kehilos_ that do?
No. Not that I know of.
So why is it only among the Chassidim (and some Sefardim) that they have a 'tisch' where a tsadik (or one claimed to be) gives out shirayim?
Because just because a table of a Tzadik is like a Mizbeach doesnt mean there is a reason to eat the shirayim. Will you say that you have to do zerikas dam or sraifah on the tzadiks food as well? This Mizbeach concept is meant, they hold, only insofar as the quality and inyanim of the avodah of the tzadik is concerned. Even after you assume that the table is like a Mizbeach therfore doesnt mean that there is a reason to eat shirayim.
What about the shitos that the mitzvah of tzitzis applies even at night when wearing a garment worn primarily during the day?
If you sleep in your daytime clothing then they would hold - and the Shulchan Aruch rules l'chatchilah you should wear tzitzis at night on day clothing - that you should keep tzitzis on them.
stamayid Posted - 12 May 2003 19:48
chassidim have a reba who might be someone who is close to Hashem but might not be the biggest talmud chacham,and there is people in every chassidishe kehila who know more torah then the reba like a dayan or the rosh yeshivia
and the chassidim go to the reba ,why is that, why don't they go to daas torah?
MODERATOR Posted - 13 May 2003 9:32
Well, in certain Chasidic sects - such a Ger and Satmar, one of the qualifications of a rebbe a Torah scholar besides a Tzadik. And in the Tanya it states that if you want someone to pray for oyu go to a Talmid Chacham - korov hashem lchol ... asher yikrauhu b'emes - and "emes" says the Tanya, means only Torah.
But there is another idea in Chsidishe seforim. That is, a Tzadik is supposed to be such a lover of Jews and so connected to each Jew that the pain of each individual Jew hurts the Tzadik as if it were his own pain. Therefore, if lets say there was a gezeirah on someone that he should c"v be childless, and thus go through that pain, there was, however, no such gezeirah on the Tzadik. But since the Tzadik is suffering as if he himself had that tzorah, and there was no gezeirah that the Tzadik should go through that, but rather he is suffering due to his bechirah and love for every Jew whose pain he feels as if it were his own, therefore, in order to alleviate the Tzdik's suffering, Hashem has to fix the childless couple. Not for their sake, but for the sake of the Tzadik.
They also believe that righteousness is part of "daas torah" -- the more a persons midos are perfected the less "negiyos" he has -- the Mesilas Yshorim says the biggest shochad is the Yetzer Horah' taavos -- and so they see their Rebbe as a clear thinker.
But there is no question -- an am haaretz sees nothing. And your question applies equally well in the Yeshiva world where you may have Kolle guys learning in Lakewood that are as big Talmidei Chachamim as any Rosh Yeshiva (you do, actually) but nobody considers them Daas Torah because they do not have any position.
The mistake of judging a person's qualities by his position regardless of whether he is chasidish or not - is a common hashkofo problem and not unique to any segment of Orthodoxy.
lilrebbetzin Posted - 27 July 2008 9:56
i wanna learn about chasidus one day, and in the rite time. but i don't live in a chasidush community so its hard for me to learn about it or even learn to live it. i think its a beautiful derech and i was wondering if u can help me
MODERATOR Posted - 27 July 2008 22:35
My suggestion is to take the approach of the holy Saraf of Muglenitz ZTL, one of the great Polish Rebbes, quoted by Rav Klonimus Kalman Shapira, the Piesetzna Rebbe ZTL (Derech Hamelech Parshas Ekev):
A group of avreichim asked my ancestor, the the holy Muglenitzer Rebbe ZTL to teach them Chasidus. He answered them in his holiness: "daven and learn and don't waste time - that is chasidus!"
Many great Rebbes have pointed out that if you want to be chasidish the first step - and this is a big one - is first to be a frum, ehlicher yid. After we have perfected that, we can take it from there. But we have to walk before we can run.
