Q&A: Is Balancing Character Traits and Morality Unique to Judaism?
Is Balancing Character Traits and Morality Unique to Judaism?
Question
There is a sage I was exposed to recently named Rabbi Ashkenazi (Manitou, of blessed memory), who bases his entire worldview on Kabbalah
on the idea that all of Judaism is based on a unique Hebrew and kabbalistic morality—connected to kabbalistic secrets about the choosing of the Patriarchs and the establishment of the nation. For him, these things are equal to, or even above, Jewish law (that is, for him Jewish law functions as a shell for a greater essence)
The videos didn’t really convince me, but it sounds like these things are being said with tremendous confidence, and as if there is some secret knowledge passed down through families of kabbalists from generation to generation.
Just out of curiosity, had you ever been exposed to kabbalistic arguments of this kind before you formed your worldview?
Answer
I don’t really know Manitou and his worldview. But I know French confidence and decisiveness very well (see Rabbis Dynovisz, Aviner, and Cherki). I too speak with confidence in many cases, but that is done in the name of logic and reason, not in the name of “Judaism” or in the name of obscure Hebrew sources and this or that gut intuition.
Discussion on Answer
Relative to what?
I have engaged with the esoteric tradition, but not with Manitou’s teachings.
Rabbi Michi gave many lessons on the topic of tzimtzum, so the answer appears to be yes..
Thanks for the answer.
I was specifically interested in whether you had engaged with the esoteric tradition, because the claim is that this teaching is what reveals the uniqueness of Jewish thought and gives a new angle from which to see reality.
To Rational (relatively),
In the past I studied Jewish philosophy for many years with Rabbi Uri Sherki, and I was in personal contact with him. From his point of view, Judaism is a culture or a national identity, and as such it has certain characteristics. What he says on this subject is based especially on the teachings of Rabbi Kook, the Kuzari, and the Maharal.
It was clear to me that your outlooks are not based on the same arguments or the same sources (and the same school—at least in the formulation of Manitou and his student Cherki—they really do say that they see the Lithuanian / rationalist approach as a different religion).
The question is—and it’s just out of interest—have you ever engaged with the esoteric tradition? (That’s exactly the card they play, saying that it supposedly changes all one’s conceptions; it doesn’t really convince me.) But still, I’d be interested to know whether you ever studied that teaching.