Q&A: The Ger Hasidic Dynasty?!
The Ger Hasidic Dynasty?!
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to ask what the Rabbi thinks of the Ger Hasidic dynasty—whether the Rabbi sees it as a kind of cult, and what the Rabbi thinks about the conduct of taking children away from their parents and fanatical violence that is not afraid to threaten rabbis. Also, what does the Rabbi think about their various regulations and the mechanism on which the dynasty is built?
And does the Rabbi see Ger as a Siamese twin of Lev Tahor?
Answer
As far as I know, it is completely a cult. It seems to me that in its general conduct (perhaps aside from certain cases) it is a bit less extreme than Lev Tahor, but maybe that is because of its much larger scale (it is hard to control tens of thousands of people that way). On the other hand, it is far more harmful, since it has political and economic power that affects many people and the entire state. Terrible and horrifying. I have already written my opinion about their regulations. This is a cult-like tool that apparently is meant to turn their Rebbe into an angel whose intentions cannot be understood (and indeed, it is impossible to understand that in which there is no understanding or intellect). And Maimonides already wrote in Part III of The Guide for the Perplexed his view of those who oppose reasons for the commandments in order to glorify the Holy One, blessed be He. I cannot understand people who remain in that cult out of belief (and not because of force or fear). They are simply fools.
Discussion on Answer
What is wrong with the Third Way?
Does the Rabbi think that it is incumbent on us, as Haredim in particular and as Orthodox Jews in general, to denounce and dissociate ourselves from this “Hasidic dynasty”/cult (which makes up only 6% of the Haredi population in Israel and causes enormous damage) as a primary goal in reviving Orthodox Judaism and the Haredi approach?
And I would also be glad if the Rabbi would spell out the criteria for a cult because of which the Rabbi considers it one, and how one cannot say about every religious group that it is a cult.
Just a comment: it seems there is a world precedent here in a cult taking such a significant part in a democratic system of government, and having so many official positions of influence. Where else in the world is there such a thing?
I would be glad to know on the basis of what personal acquaintance or concrete information this answer was written.
And the question too sounds somewhat detached from reality. To go so far as the definition of a cult, and Lev Tahor!! No less!!!
When in practice many fine people have left and continue to leave it over the years—as have new people joined,
from which it follows that there is no factual basis for the claim that it is impossible to leave the community, and the comparison to Lev Tahor is completely exaggerated.
There they buried people and behaved with unprecedented physical and sexual violence toward men, women, and children, with senseless cruelty.
There they disconnected from every normative social framework, and certainly every religious one, in the name of the supposed uniqueness and so-called holiness of the cult members.
The Ger Hasidim, by contrast, are people of action and labor, known for their diligence and their integration into all areas of practical life and society. How do you explain that?
It seems to me that it is better to let reality take its course. The split with Rabbi Shaul Alter’s community severely damaged their standing, and since then they have been naturally weakening more and more. Politically, people no longer count them as much, and in the end this will also come to official expression when their political representative is pushed out.
I have not done any conceptual work on this, and from a brief check it seems there is no real conceptualization. But there are characteristics: strange and irrational customs; abuse of power by institutions and leaders; closed and coercive conduct; accumulation of wealth; a mystical status for the leader; and the like.
Not every religious group is like that. Whether it is strange or not is a matter of outlook (although in a Jewish context one can tie it to measures such as fit with the sources and a reasonable interpretation of them). But there is not necessarily an accumulation of power and wealth there, and not necessarily coercion and closedness. There are no all-knowing leaders whom one is forbidden to disagree with.
I am Lithuanian-style Haredi, but this slippery slope will eventually lead to saying that all Haredim are a cult (I’m not sure we’re not already there to some degree given these vague definitions), so what is the recommendation? Either become completely secular or join other cults, the Third Way and the like?