Jerusalem – In an explosive interview, a well known but controversial Israeli Rabbi and lecturer came out strongly against the custom of going to Uman for Rosh Hashana, calling both the practices of needing an intermediary to approach Hashem and of flocking to the Ukraine for Rosh Hashana “a distortion of authentic Torah Judaism.”
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Rabbi David Bar Hayim, head of Jerusalem’s Machon Shilo, who prefers to be known as a Halachic Jew instead of an Orthodox Jew, has been at the center of central hotly contested issues, having made a claim in 2007 that all Jews are permitted to eat kitniyos on Pesach and that Israeli Jews should use their lulavim when the first day of Succos falls out on Shabbos. He is also a proponent of reviving the ages-old Nusach Eretz Yisroel and abandoning traditions of Eastern Europe and those established during the Babylonian exile in favor of ancient Israeli minhagim.
R’ Bar-Hayim blasted those who make the pilgrimage to the kever of the Breslover Rebbe, R’ Nachman, particularly on Rosh Hashana, saying that while the Torah does not command us to make the annual trip to the Ukraine, it does instruct Jews to live in Israel.
“Of all days you would think on Rosh Hashana a Jew would want to be, if he could be, in Eretz Yisroel.”
R’ Bar Hayim suggested that claiming that Jews need to be in a location outside of Israel on Rosh Hashana is a concept that is foreign to Torah teaching and is akin to “adding a new mesorah to the Torah.”
Saying that the notion that the only proper way to approach Hashem is by connecting with a “super-tzaddik” such as R’ Nachman, the Lubavitcher Rebbe or any other holy individual “smacks of Christianity”, R’ Bar-Hayim cautioned that many are attracted to Breslov as a means of protecting themselves from the harsh realities of life.
“This kind of approach is essentially a religious and, as it were, sanctioned form of escapism,” said Rabbi Bar Hayim. “But in fact it is not a sanctioned form of escapism. There is no such thing as sanctioned escapism. Escapism is escapism. Whether it is drugs or whether it is going to Uman, whether it is believing in a certain individual who died many years ago that he is the moshiach and insisting that this is the case. No matter how many times you repeat such statements it doesn’t make it any more true. No matter how many times a person goes to Uman it doesn’t make it any more correct.”‘
R’ Bar-Hayim acknowledged that when R’ Nachman’s followers were still living in the Ukraine, making the trek to his kever on Rosh Hashana was a logical move, meant to inspire and unite Bresolver chasidim in the absence of their rebbe. But he expressed doubt that R’ Nachman, who frequently mentioned Israel in his writings, ever intended for his followers to leave Eretz Yisroel and travel to the Ukraine for Rosh Hashana.
“This is something quite ludicrous and flies in the face of everything the Torah teaches us,” observed R’ Bar-Hayim.
Noting that many find themselves uplifted by the pilgrimage, R’ Bar-Hayim suggested that they look to a closer source for inspiration, the words of Dovid Hamelech, designed to foster a deeper connection with Hashem and an essential part of every tefilla.
“Rather than looking for some strange, foreign and very, very devious substitute, let us turn to the real McCoy, the true source of tefilla which begins with Sefer Tehillim.”
R’ Bar-Hayim blasted the Ashkenazi Rosh Hashana davening, charging that many find it lengthy, cryptic, tiring and replete with “many piyutim which are not required by halacha” and are “extraneous to the core of tefilla.” Suggesting that it be modified to a shorter nusach based on the teachings of chazal, gaonim and rishonim which would be shorter and more meaningful, R’ Bar-Hayim expressed his opinion that doing so might prevent people from looking to Uman for inspiration.
“Running away to Ukraine to escape problems of Ashkenzai davening is not the answer,” warned R’ Bar-Hayim. “It is simply creating another problem.”
He’s right about the Rosh HaShanah davening. My shul, which does not shlep and does not have a break takes between 5 and 6 hours. Why do we need to say so many piyyutim that nobody really understands anyway?
the rabbi cut his peyos is he a lubavitcher practicing. מנהג אבותיו or either sefardic and ashkenazig both didn’t allow to cut their peyoss! proably just a run off the mill typical zionist israeli rabbi. שהעמיד דבריהם על ד”ת.. when it suits them.
The whole Uman thing has become a circus. For many, it is nothing more than having some fun away from the wife an kids. It is utterly disrespectful to the holiness of the Yom Tov.
I am always amazed that so many people put so much effort into criticizing what … other people do. Why do you all care so much? Everyone should be free to do as they please. And if 30,000 people chose to go to Uman for what they find spiritually uplifting — why should you all care??
Especially — for those Israelis going to Uman: why are people not instead commending them for living there the rest of the year, and building their lives there. And for someone living in chutz l’aretz to criticize them is somewhat … hypocritical.
But, so is that way of the world — our world included.
Of course, we should all feel free to criticize ourselves for anything we need to repair and work on!
I totally agree with him, that Uman has become a bigger “religion” than Judaism to many. On the other hand, there are many to whom Judaism would be nothing if not for Uman. Rosh Hashona davening should be more inspiring in the majority of places and that gap has been filled with an escapism to Uman.
I want to know more about his views on Nusach Eretz Yisroel – what is it?
(Is it just me who smiled when I read the picture caption: “Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man carries Torah…” )
Just live and let live, man! If people get feel spiritual by going to Uman, why do you care? In one speech, the man condemns a style of prayer because it is not old minhag, and that advocates the changing of how Jews have been praying (piyutei ashkenaz). Which one is it, man? Change or no change.
If you don’t like the Rosh Hashana prayers, so don’t say them, I find them exceptionally beautiful. It seems like many MO rabbis, this guys just wants everyone and everything to fit into HIS worldview.
Talk about intolerance.
I wish that more mainstream Rabonim would also come out against this
Amei Ha’aretz Minhag . It seems that the Rabonim
are scared to voice their opinion, being so many thousands
fell into the trap and consider it a Mitzvah and a holy thing to leave
Eretz Yisroel where Hashem won’t listen to your Tefillos and go
to the Ukraine. When the Bais Hamikdash will be rebuilt, these same
people will still travel to Uman
אלול – אני לאומן ואשתי לבד
I am Orthodox and my sons are presently learning in Lakewood. They and most people in my circle agree with me that while Rebbe Nachman was alive it was a fine thing to do for whoever so wished. However, it is extremely unlikely that Rebbe Nachman would want so many yidden leaving their families (in and out of Israel) for Yom Tov and incurring the expense which many have difficulty in meeting (and probably giving less tzedaka as a result) while enriching the anti-semitic populace who my Auschwitz survivor father, olev hasolem, used to refer to as the “Ukrainische merderers”.
The Breslover ravs need to consider keeping their followers in HaEretz 365. Ukraine is traife and covered in blood.
“Saying that the notion that the only proper way to approach Hashem is by connecting with a “super-tzaddik” such as R’ Nachman, the Lubavitcher Rebbe or any other holy individual “smacks of Christianity”
No one said its “the only way”! On the contrary he is saying the only way is his way.
he seems angry that Jewish people are looking for God’s presence and it has nothing to do with him.
The first red flag came as “prefers to be known as a Halachic Jew instead of an Orthodox Jew.” It’s the well observed behavior of men who are ashamed of who they are: they want to change their name. Remember how few years ago modern orthodox became (admittedly not without reason) so ashamed of the moniker that they started calling themselves “centrist orthodox?” Didn’t work, did it? Or liberals wanting to rebrand themselves as “progressives?”
Then came more red flags. The man, whose name strongly suggest that he is sephardi, paskened, just willy-nilly, “ALL Jews are permitted to eat kitniyos on Pesach.” Then, of course, “Israeli Jews should use their lulavim when the first day of Succos falls out on Shabbos.” And last but not by any means least: “abandon traditions of Eastern Europe and those established during the Babylonian exile.” Yep, why not?
Not getting into this Uman issue, this worthless man has no credibility.
It was the minhag of many Jews in the Alterheim to go to their rebbe for a Yom Tov, even if it meant traveling a distance. Rebbe Nachman made a promise to his followers that if they came to him at Rosh Hashanah, gave a little tzedakah and recited the Tikkun HaKlali, he would be a melitz yosher for them. Do some people go for the circus aspect? I suppose, although my experience there three times was very uncircus-like.
Is he asking that we deprive the anti Semitic Ukrainians of their main source of income for the year?
Isn’t it strange that this so-called rabbi who wants to permit the eating of kitnios on Pesach for Ashkenazim, wants to abridge the Rosh Hashana davening, and use a Lulov on Shabbos all against the edicts of earlier giant rabbis. Look who is calling the kettle black? This man, is called a reform rabbi in my book and has no credibility in orthodox circles and his opinion has been rendered worthless by the mere fact he has no faith in any rabbi, especially the great rabbis of the past. No wonder he condemns the Breslovers who believe in the grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman. It seems he is a law unto himself and he doesn’t believe in any rabbi let alone Rebbe Nachman as his statements indicate. The Breslovers do believe in the entire Torah and the rabbis which he is guilty of not doing. He is doing much worse than what he is accusing the Breslovers of doing. He has no right to say anything about Judaism when he has no regard for any rabbi. Just as he condemns the rabbis so I condemn him and say he is a heretic who has no place to give his opinion about Judaism in the first place.
It is well know that Breslov is anything BUT Chasiddus. When the Bal Shem Tov was nifter there was never a thought of NOT replacing him. The Ikar of Chassidus is to be connected to a living Rebbe who can guide you.
So many of the Gedolim of the 1800’s warned us about Breslov and they were proven to be 100% correct.
. All the insanity’s like Na Nach, Burka women, refusing to go to doctors, etc come from this break off of Yiddeshkiet. Going to daven by a grave in blood soaked Ukraine is just the tip of the iceberg. What I am saying isn’t Sinas Chinam it’s Ahavas Hashem and Ahavas HaTorah.
Being a Chosid of someone who died close to 200 years ago is insanity and has nothing to do with Yiddishkiet.
My bro is a Breslover and a very big learner who has covered shas
And poskim. He also makes the trek to umam for Rosh Hashanah every year. So while I’m not Breslov nor have I been or plan to go I wouldn’t rush to bash a sect of yidden. To say its like the notzrim is ludicrous. Breslovers don’t hold it’s the yud gimmel ikrim but they are very much into it. They get a chizuk.
normally i agree with the ‘live and let live’ way ot thinking. but when there are so many poor people who need to collect for weddings etc from the ‘rich’ americans and organizations like yad eliezer and misamchei lev who raise money to feed the kids, yet recipeients of tzedaka find the money to go to uman, i am outraged. i dont understand how the leaders of this community can promote going to uman, what a waste of money.
A man who leaves his wife for Rosh Hashana, leaves the shechina as well. Let the single men go and daven for you.
nobody is forcing anybody to go.some personalities use to return to their yeshivos for the Whole month of elul.live and let live!
The Gedolim I am referring to lived in the 1800’s . The Holocaust happened on the 1930’s. Please get your dates straight.
Most importantly your mockery of the Gedolim of Europe shows you are a true Breslover who scorn Talmidie Chachamim and hold there are no more true Tzadikim, a notion that is total Apikorsis. It was a known takana that no Breslov Sefarim were allowed in Chassidishe Batie Medrashim. Breslov doesn’t fall under the category of “Elu V’Elu…”.
Caleb went to Hebron before he spied on Canaan. The Gemara (Sotah 34b) says to daven at the Maaras Hamachpela. He prayed there for mercy on his soul and he was saved from the fateful decision of the other spies. Why doesn’t asking any tzaddik, living or dead, to intercede on our behalf constitute making an intermediate between ourselves and G‑d? The Maharam Schick says in the name of the Chasam Sofer: It is permissible for a Jew to ask another Jew to be an intermediary between him and G‑d. When one Jew approaches another and tells of the pain he is suffering, the other Jew feels it just as he does. Now they are both in need of prayer. The Jew does not feel he is praying for an “other”–he is praying for himself.
To continue: All Jews can be considered as one body. If the toe hurts, it needs the head and the heart to help it. One who is in need can call upon all other Jews–and especially those who are the head and the heart of our people–to pray for him. Because if one Jew is hurting, we are all hurting.
According to Gemara and Zohar, tzaddikim who passed away are still very much in touch with their students and family and care for them and their problems. We petition them to pray on our behalf. They do, and often their prayers are more effective than our own. We often don’t fathom the seriousness of these problems from our limited perspective as much as they might from their lofty view.
Praying at a gravesite does not mean you are beseeching this dead person to rise from the grave and appear before you. That is an abomination. Neither are you, G‑d forbid, praying to the dead—a practice that is most certainly forbidden. But you are able to connect with these souls, since, when it comes to the soul, all of us are truly one.
You are simply expressing your faith that the righteous never really die, truth is never truly lost and even the grave cannot prevent you from connecting to this great teacher and righteous soul. Just as this tzaddik took care of others during his lifetime–not as “others” but as he cared for his own soul–so too now, nothing has changed and he still can feel your pain and pray with you.
The Zohar states that the tzaddik is with us after his passing even more than before. During his lifetime, the tzaddik was limited within a physical body. Now he has transcended those limitations. But he never transcends his sympathy for the plight of another soul–no matter where that soul may be found. Just as during his lifetime, he ignored the boundaries of “I and you,” so now he can ignore the boundaries of life and afterlife.
To continue:
That is the fundamental reasoning behind beseeching those in the grave to intercede on our behalf. And this has been the common practice in Jewish communities around the world.
Q: When a man leaves his home on Yom Tov to visit his Rebbe, the home lacks the holiday spirit, why should a Chassid leave his home to visit his Rebbe?
A: if it is satisfactory for a woman to permit her husband to leave the home for 6 or 7 hours to attend his business in order to earn a living and support his family with its physical needs, I can’t see why should the spiritual life be different. Furthermore, the spiritual life is the main reason of creation. When a Chossid goes to his Rebbe, his reason of going is to receive his spiritual life and spiritual strength. This he also brings back home and thus betters the spiritual life of his wife and children. Therefore, if a man can attend to his business every day to receive his material strength, it should be satisfactory to receive his spiritual strength once a month etc. That is the basis of Chassidic custom to visit the Rebbe on Yom Tov which is the most proper time to receive the necessary needs and strength to carry on his spiritual life.
(from questions presented to the Lubavitcher Rebbe in 1952 and his fascinating answers)
Whatever the metaphysical benefits of going to Uman are, and how long someone’s payos are really isn’t my issue. The problem is that a significant number of pilgrims act like chazeirim. They trash the community, get drunk, insult the locals and are generally offensive. Come to think of it, they act pretty much like college students on spring break in Daytona Beach. What their behavior has to do with being mevakeish rachmei Shamayim is completely lost on me.
HaRav David Bar-Hayim shlit”a is a talmid hakham of gigantic proportions. In fact, anyone who has done more than read a slanted, second-hand article in order to form their opinions about a fellow [religious] Jew knows full well. I have personally spent many hours in discussion and conversation with the Rav and I can tell you that he is highly knowledgeable, a baal middot tovot, and can always give you sources in Shas, Geonim, Rishonim, and/or posqim for every word of halakhah that he speaks. Regarding the statement that the Rav prefers to called a “Halakhic Jew” rather than an “Orthodox Jew,” first let me say that to write such a thing in an article without explanation is placing a mikhshol lifnei iver and HaShem will judge the writers who pen such statements. Second, the distinction between “Halakhic Jew” and “Orthodox Jew” is not one of observance of or allegiance to the Torah, but rather the desire to shed a term which did not exist until it came into use in Europe in response to the kefirah of the Reforimists. The intention is to remove the artificial political labels of the Galut and return to the true religious politic and heartbeat of the Jewish Nation – the Halakhah.
And as regards the Rav’s desire to revive the minhagim and nusach of Eretz Yisrael, he certainly does have a logical basis for his positions, based on Torah sources. Rav Saadia Gaon mentions that when we return to the Land, we will change our nusach tefillah out of logical necessity. The Gra favored reviving older source-based halakhot both in and out of EY – many times contradiction to popular and established sentiment and “developed” “as is” halakhic practice. And Rav Kook also wrote extensively about the return to EY signaling the need to revive and restore the centrality of the Talmud Yerushalmi in Israeli Jewish life. Maintaining the “status quo” of Galut-Mode Judaism has strange practical consequences indeed, such as refusing to make the berakhah on rainfall in EY which is explicit in the halakhah, or the wearing of furs in a middle-eastern climate because that is way many Jews dressed in Europe, or the continuing custom to recite prayers in shul for the Torah centers of Bavel which no longer exist . One might not agree with the perspectives of the Rav, but throwing mud instead of honestly examining a position is contrary to halakhah and damaging. Gemar Be-Hatimah Tovah.
Anyone ever see any real evidence that this is the grave of R’ Nahman?
The most I can find is that the cemetery was thoroughly destroyed in the war, Stalin further razed the area and built a housing project on it, and later, some guy claimed to have found what looked like the remnants of 2 poles, and says that the Rebbe’s grave had 2 poles to support a rail, so this must be it. Does it reason that those were the only 2 poles (or, what looked like remnants of poles) in a cemetery that held well over 20,000 graves.
Much more likely that the grave is no more than wishful thinking on the part of the faithful who had lost the means to perform the Rebbe’s salvation ritual. If it hadn’t been there, they would have found it elsewhere through other supposed proofs so they could be saved by the coin and the magic formula. When something is necessary for a salvation ritual, you can be sure it will turn up.
i know rav barchayim and is an honest scholar and his honesty makes him ,i have to say sadly, naive up to not understanding that even the gaonim and yerushalmi and all the revered chaza”l as known to us are all part of the torat hagalut and so there is no way for us to move backwards, haolam is a narrow bridge, until some new ruach is going to blow from eretz israel and renew our days as before not new but new to us
shana tova to clall israel