The Rebbe: part 3
The Rebbe: Pre 11 Nissan thoughts.
Elijah on Mount Carmel and the Kabbalah of Sacred Audacity
There is a fascinating discussion in Maimonides about how to gauge if a holy man is a legitimate prophet and an authentic reliable conduit for the transmitting of the word of G-d or a charlatan — intent more on PROFITEERING than PROPHETING.
In chapter nine of the laws of “Yesodai Hatorah” he lays out those basic principles “ ..therefore if a person will arise, whether Jew or gentile, and perform a sign or wonder and say that g-d sent him to :
Add a mitzvah Subtract a mitzvah Explain a mitzvah in a manner which differs from the tradition received from Moses, Or if he says that the mitzvot given to the Jews were temporary
Then he is a false Prophet….”
Later on in that same chapter, an interesting twist…. “when a prophet who has already proven himself to be a prophet instructs us to violate one of the mitzvot of the Torah or many mitzvot for a limited time …it is a mitzvah to listen to him!”
The example given there, as the necessary scriptural support of this rather edgy, slippery slope law — is from the story of the showdown between Elijah and the priests of the Baal in the book of Kings.
Background.
There is a biblical prohibition in Deuteronomy 12:13 “be careful lest you offer your burnt offerings elsewhere” cautioning us against offering sacrifices outside Jerusalem. Anywhere outside of the temple, the holy Bait Hamikdosh is classified as CHUTZ, or outside.
Still Elijah veered from protocol. Realizing the dire circumstances of a major mass loss of faith due to the pressure of those priests and their views, he challenged them to an outdoor public “duel of offerings”. Whos0ever offerings were publicly accepted by g-d would prevail.
His high risk strategy required him to momentarily transfer the focus of JUDAISM out of the Temple, and into the streets, to the mountain top, to the CHUTZ.
This unprecedented historic moment was a brazen and bold gamble that paid off big dividends in the end.
Perhaps that’s where the word CHUTZ — PA originated .The audacious use of alternative methods when the conventional approach fails is an outgrowth of an out of the box mentality, a mental stepping away from established norms and parameters, and a movement towards the uncharted territories that exist “MICHUTZ LA — BOX …” Outside the norms of the box.
Ironically only an Elijah, a being that always seemed to be equal parts angel and man, can pull off this kind of stunt and get away with it. Only a person whose entire existence resonates with g-dliness, and pure love for his people can maneuver successfully in this tricky terrain. Only a prophet whose entire being reflects a living embodiment of Torah, has the power to change Torah!
On that day, up on that mountain top, Elijah WAS a true Prophet of his people, because he WAS Torah, the human embodiment of Torah.
This is the same Elijah who resurfaces in a different generation in a mystical encounter with the Baal Shemtov the founder of Chassidism. When the Baal Shem asks him “when will the master come” heralding the onset of the utopian era described by the prophets, he answers, not surprisingly and entirely consistent with his approach in the book of Kings — this era will commence only “when your wellsprings will spread to the OUTSIDE, to the CHUTZ.”
When thesublime ideas of Kabbalah become integrated into mainstream Jewish consciousness.
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The Rebbe was the most inspiring leader of our times not only because of his unmatched Torah erudition, or the way his clear deep eyes radiated with a soft angelic saintliness, but also for the way that he was the big picture Tzzadik of our times.
He realized that there was an entire segment of our people that felt like OUTSIDERS in their own faith, estranged from the warmth of the “Temple”, many acutely uncomfortable even walking inside one.
The Rebbe took JUDAISM out to the CHUTZ as well. The clarion call of “Ufaratzta Yama Vakedma ..You shall spread out to the west and the east” ….was the Rebbes Elijah Moment in history and the full actualization in practice — of the process that the Baal Shem began in theory.
Unlike Elijah he didn’t even have to tamper with the law. What he did have to tweak though was the outdated and ineffective strategy of insularity as a means of preserving Judaism.
For many of his Rabbinic contemporaries throughout the Jewish world at the time though, this was actually akin to establishing altars outside of Jerusalem, and the Rebbe faced serious criticism from those sectors.
Still the Rebbe was never deterred, and was our generations beacon that shined the light of CHUTZ — PA of KEDUSHA , the light of sacred audacity. A light that stemmed from a place of deep care and concern for The ENTIRETY of the Jewish people and a determination that “No Jew be left behind” on his watch.
The Sending out of emissaries — Shluchim; from the rabbinical students combing the Streets of Manhattan, TEFILLIN in hand, to the young couples sent out to establish Chabad HOUSES — not TEMPLES, in the furthest far flung communities worldwide, was the Rebbes scaling the heights of Mount Carmel, bearing an entire generation with him.
From that summit he rekindled the flame of Yiddishkeit for us all.
Shavua Tov Much love
Rabbi Yossi