Strashelye (Hasidic dynasty)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strashelye, is a branch of Hasidic Judaism, named after the town Strashelye, where its leader lived. Like all Hasidim it is based on the teachings and customs of Chasidut as taught by the Baal Shem Tov, based on the Kabbalistic works of Rabbi Isaac Luria (also know as the Arizal).
Contents |
[edit] Disagreements over succession
Rabbi Aharon HaLevi Horowitz, the founder of Strashelye, was a student of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812), the founder of the Chabad Chassidic school of thought. While both Strashelye and Lubavitch consider Rabbi Schneur Zalman to have been the first rebbe of their respective schools, the former consider Rabbi Aharon HaLevi Horowitz the continuation of the dynasty. The latter consider Rabbi Dovber Schneuri the second rebbe. Inasmuch as that is the case, the Strashelye branch of Chabad Chassidus began in 1812, when R' Schneur Zalman died.
[edit] Disagreement over Prayer
While both were good friends R' Dov Ber and R' Aharon disagreed about the place for emotional expression in Chassidic prayer. According to R' Dov Ber[1], the greatest service a Chassid can perform in worship is to totally nullify himself before his creator. Therefore, maintained R' Dov Ber, it is necessary for a person's meditation to be cold and logical. One should not allow emotions (which may not intrinsically be directed towards divine service, but which may merely be an indulgence on the self as opposed to a spontaneous consequence of the meditation) to interfere with his prayer. When R' Dov Ber prayed, he stayed perfectly still, hardly moving. His countenance remained unaffected.
R' Aharon disagreed, claiming that it is acceptable and even commendable for a Chassid to get outwardly excited during prayer. R' Schneur Zalman himself was known to pound his fist so hard on the wall while praying that he sometimes literally bled from his hand. R' Aharon had a similar outward involvement and intensity during prayer. Moreover, he encouraged others to similarly express themselves openly during prayer.
[edit] Disagreement over education
Furthermore, the two disagreed with one another about the extent to which the deepest elements of Chassidic wisdom should be taught openly. R' Dov Ber, in his magnum opus Sha'ar HaYichud (The Gate of Unity), explains the entire spiritual superstructure of creation. R' Aharon argued that it was dangerous to discuss certain aspects of creation because it could lead a person to inadvertently view God anthropomorphically. It is enough for a person to know that God is so great that the existence of God precludes the existence of created beings, and that created beings nonetheless still exist. The paradox is a testimony to the greatness of God. While his teachings involve some of the deepest aspects of Kabbalistic wisdom, they nonetheless entreat the reader to use the deep intellectual wisdom of Kabbala in order to inspire simple love and fear for God.
[edit] The succession
At some point before R' Schneur Zalman's passing, R' Dov Ber and R' Aharon had a disagreement. It is not known what disagreement was about. What is known is that R' Aharon left Liadi (where he, R' Schneur Zalman and R' Dov Ber lived), and settled in his home town of Strashelye. After R' Schneur Zalman died, R' Dov Ber moved to the city of Lubavitch. Seeking to become the leader of the Chabad school, R' Dov Ber became the Rebbe of the Lubavitch school of Chabad Chassidus. R' Aharon, similarly seeking to be the leader of the Chabad school, became the Rebbe of the Strashelye school of Chabad Chassidus. The two competing schools held strongly to the ideological distinctions between their leaders.
[edit] The First Rebbe
As Rebbe, R' Aharon was said to be incredibly charismatic. Stories that were canonized by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, R' Joseph Isaac Schneerson, claimed that some Chassidim of R' Dov Ber went to visit R' Aharon and were so taken by his charisma that they stayed despite their promises to the contrary.
[edit] R' Aharon's books
R' Aharon's two books were based on R' Schneur Zalman's magnum opus, Tanya. R' Aharon's first book, Sharei HaYichud v'Haemuna (The Gates of Unity and Faith), is based on the part of Tanya of a similar name. In it, R' Aharon argues that the corresponding part of Tanya was incomplete, and that it is therefore necessary to learn his book in order to understand it fully. Sharei HaYichud v'HaEmuna focuses on the creation of the universe, and the universe's relationship with God. It develops the concept of Pela (wonder), which refers to the paradox caused by God's and the universe's simultaneous existence. It then argues that one will never "understand" God, because God is incomparable with created existence. Therefore, the closest thing man can come to "grasping" God is to meditate on the Pela, and to constantly desire to understand God further. The book further elaborates on the relationship between the universe, God, and the Ten Sefiros.
The second of his books is called Sha'arei HaAvoda (The Gates of Divine Service). It is based on the first book of the Tanya, which outlines the specific divine service of the Beinoni (Average Man, see the article on Tanya. The concept of Beinoni is difficult to describe in this limited forum. Suffice it to say that Tanya was ostensibly written for the common man to learn in order for it to affect his divine service). It was in this book, and in Avodas HaLevi, that R' Aharon systematized his approach to divine service: R' Aharon emphasized the importance of heartfelt emotions as a tool of connecting with the Divine. He argued that, contrary to R' Dov Ber Schneuri's position, cold and intellectual contemplation cannot lead to nullification. Only by openly and emotionally desiring to cleave to God can one attain something approaching nullification before the Infinite (the highest goal of Chabad Chassidism). R' Dov Ber, by contrast, called that approach a glorification of the self.
R' Aharon's students compiled many of the oral discourses that R' Aharon gave, and some of the discourses that he either wrote himself or transcribed from discourses given by R' Schneur Zalman. That compilation is called Avodas HaLevi.
Today, his books are not commonly learned within Chabad circles. However, they are very well respected in general. Furthermore, the Toldos Avraham Yitzchak Rebbe instructed his Chassidim to learn R' Aharon's books. The discourses generally constitute explanations of passages in the Torah, or concepts in Torah thought, with particular emphasis on his Chassidic outlook.
[edit] The Second Rebbe
After R' Aharon died, his son became Rebbe in his place. However, the dynasty did not last into the next generation.
[edit] See also
[edit] References and further reading
- ^ as laid out in Kuntres HisPaalus (Tract on Ecstasy)
The information in this article about R' Aharon and about his leadership comes mostly from Beis Rebbe (by Hillman) (Hebrew).
The information about his teachings come from the books themselves, and from Naftali Lowenthal's book "Communicating The Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School, (ISBN 0-226-49045-9)
