Q&A: Movements and the Trilogy
Movements and the Trilogy
Question
With God's help,
in the question of "evil speech," the Rabbi wrote that these things are said as criticism of all sectors and movements, and there is no movement that does not deserve one criticism or another.
That led me to ask: what is the straight path a person should choose for himself? And the Rabbi answered me that I should go to the trilogy.
The thread got more and more tangled up with Rabbi Nachman of Breslov. And I only wanted to know something simple and minor. (Before I really push my way into the building.)
A. I pray three times a day, set fixed times for Torah study, and try to keep Jewish law exactly as written. I have no issue at all with the Jewish religion, and I agree that there is criticism to be made of certain matters. So I tried to take from each movement what is good in it, together with what I received from my father's home and what I added on my own. But where does the trilogy meet me in my way of life, and what am I supposed to change?
B. When there is criticism of everyone, why do people purify "The Jews Are Coming" with 150 reasons??
C. What is the alternative? After all, every person nowadays has to belong, even after the fact, to some movement. His children will study in that movement's institutions and be educated in its spirit. Personally, I see the lesser evil as the moderate Haredi institutions. And in that I wanted to know whether, in the Rabbi's opinion, there is another lesser evil. Or whether there is some other alternative altogether?
D. I wanted to understand whether the trilogy is actually meant to present a new halakhic ruling different from the Shulchan Arukh?
I hope I'm not being a bother, and I'd be happy for answers even if they're short.
Answer
A. Where the trilogy meets your path—that's a question for you, not for me.
B. I have criticism of everyone. I didn't purify anyone, including "The Jews Are Coming." And you certainly didn't offer 150 reasons—not even one. I only said that it's satire, and the demonstrations and outrage about it are nonsense.
C. Choose your own alternatives.
D. It deals with method, not with the bottom line. It does indeed have implications. You need to read it to see.