THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
• c' *' <(2
Readers Forum
(c.
(Continued from Page 24)
nity. It is ironic that Rabbi
Goldman has not been ac-
cepted by this united group.
Anyone who is familiar
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with the calamity of Jewish
assimilation is aware that
Lubavitch is at the forefront
of the fight to reverse this
tragic situation and bring
Jews back to Judaism, often
with great personal self-
sacrifice by its adherents.
The hundreds of
thousands of Lubavitcher
Hasidim and supporters
throughout the world and
the sizable community of
Lubavitchers and friends
and admirers of Lubavitch
in Detroit deserve a public
retraction and apology from
Rabbi Goldman.
Rabbi Meilich Silberberg
* * *
Goldman Letter
Is Criticized
Editor, The Jewish News:
I was very distressed to
read Rabbi Jack Goldman's
sharp critique of classical
Habad hasidic tradition and
contemporary Lubavitch
activism. Although I am
neither a Torah scholar nor
a Lubavitcher adherent, I
feel compelled to correct
some factual inaccuracies in
Rabbi Goldman's letter.
The "Ray's Shulhan
Arukh" of Rabbi Shneur
Zalman of Liadi is not a sec-
tarian work, as suggested
by Rabbi Goldman, but a
normative halakhic code of
Ashkenazic Jewry. Like the
Kitzur Shulhan Arukh and
Mishna B'rurah following
it, the Ray's Shulhan Arukh
served to access practical
Halakha to the masses who
lacked the time and erudi-
tion to extract it from the
vast "Beit Yosef" of Rabbi
Joseph Karo and sub-
sequent commentaries.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman's
decisions have become
thoroughly integrated into
normative halakhic tradi-
tion over the last 170 years,
Similarly, his ethico-
mystical classic, the
"Tanya," occupies a promi-
nent place on the bookshelf
of the scholarly and laity
who share a quest for
spiritual attainment.
Rabbi Goldman ac-
cuses Lubavitch of de-
veloping "its own prayer
book, its own customs, its
own traditions, its own
brand of Judaism." Such
a charge may be directed
to any Torah-type com-
munity possessing a
unique and hallowed
tradition, as Jerusalem,
Frankfort-D'Main, and
Yemen.
The customs of Lubavitch
("Minhag Habad") derive
from the teachings and tra-
ditions of the Lurianic
kabalists as popularized by
the early hasidic masters.
They include a few cir-
cumscribed practices that
are at variance with deci-
sions rendered in the
Shulhan Arukh.
Contrary to Rabbi
Goldman's assertion, the
adoption of a new prayer
liturgy ("nusakh") was not
unique to Habad-
Lubavitch. "Nusakh
STard,"' embraced by most
hasidic sects, and "Nusakh
H:Ari,•' embrac,e1:1, by
Habad-Lubavitch, repre-
sent a concurrent shift of all
hasidic schools from
Ashkenazic to Lurianic tra-
dition. These deviations
stimulated lively dis-
cussions, and polemics
within the halakhic re-
sponsa literature of the
period.
The Lubavitch movement
should be seen for what it is
— a vibrant group with a
unique but authentically
Jewish Tradition.
Daniel A. Sklare
Friday, February 11, 1984 25
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