Is zos Chanukah a chassidish thing?

safetynet1

Sat, Jan 04 2025, 6:27 pm

amother Waterlily wrote:

I have news for you: This person is by far not the only one who thinks like that.

I don't think people who grew up chassidish can even begin to comprehend what their hashkafah looks like to people who are completely unfamiliar with it.

I happen to have close chassidish relatives and a few chassidish friends, so I am familiar with their mehalech, but when I was in seminary in EY, a regular BY/yeshivish one with girls from all over the world and from all kinds of backgrounds (except chassidish), they took up to see a rebbe's tish one Shabbos in Chaifa. Again, I had seen this before so it was nothing remarkable to me, but for the dozens of girls seeing this for the first time, it was like watching a spectacle from another culture--or another religion.

When we got back to school after Shabbos, there were so, so many questions. Some girls said it looked like they thought the Rebbe was G-d. Or an avodah zarah. Or mashiach. Yes, that's what it can look like to people seeing this for the first time.

I personally still find myself scratching my head at some customs/hashkafos of chassidim. One thing that I really don't get is the different way they view davening at a kever of a tzaddik. I know this is a huge discussion and I've learned a lot about it through various in-depth shiurim, but I just couldn't find any mehalech that makes the following okay: There was an ad by a chassidish organization calling for donations to be made on Rochel Imainu's yahrtzei, because "Mama Rochel gives out gifts on her yahrtzeit."

What? Are we now subscribing physical power in this world to meisim? I don't want to even write the words out for what this sounds like, but yes, things like this can be really problematic for non-chassidim.

I mean no disrespect, just curiosity.

And still.. When a litvak needs a yeshua they will go to a tzaddiks kever and/or go to a chassidish rebbe or even their litvish gadol for a bracha. So how are you different like that?

amother

Catmint

Sat, Jan 04 2025, 6:48 pm

Sorry, but a yiddeshkeit where you do only exactly what halacha says and not a drop more sounds very dry.

I'm saying this a Lubavitcher, so many of our minhagim may be different than most other chassidim, but it feels like it adds beauty to serving Hashem.

In fact, the word chossid is used in halacha to refer to someone who goes lifnim meshuras hadin, above and beyond.

↑ PinkFridge

Yesterday at 9:42 pm

safetynet1 wrote:

And still.. When a litvak needs a yeshua they will go to a tzaddiks kever and/or go to a chassidish rebbe or even their litvish gadol for a bracha. So how are you different like that?

You are asking them to daven for you, or in the case of the kever, also hoping that your own tefillos will have more power coming from this makom kedushah. You're asking them to intercede, not to be po'el yeshuos from their own kochos.