I always wondered why we have rebbes from every part of the globe, but from Mishingen in the United States we haven’t heard of even one. Does the Rabbi think the reason is that his title would be “the Meshuggener Rebbe”?

There are already rebbes today named after their cities in the U.S., such as rebbes from Boston, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh.

I preceded them.

Are there any “Hasidic tales” or miracle stories from Miror Hasidism? I’d be happy to be enlightened.

Our rabbi had the custom of standing in front of the mirror (= the miror) every morning in order to fulfill the verse, “And your eyes shall behold your teachers.” And he would marvel greatly at the beauty of his rebbe’s appearance. But he feared violating “Do not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness.” He wondered whether perhaps he should blemish himself, pierce or mutilate his ear, or the like. Until one day after the shower the mirror became covered with steam (as it is said: “By the testimony of two vapors the neck shall be covered”). Our rabbi rejoiced with tremendous joy, until his heart grew uneasy lest the saying of the Sages had been fulfilled in him: “Whoever lives outside the Land is like one who has no God.” And his mind was not put at ease until he withdrew to his room, dressed in black, and ascended to the Land of Israel to be what his heart desired. For there, even one who has not is considered as though he has. And a miracle occurred for him: his mirrors in the Land of Israel were covered with steam every single day, and the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never departed from him. And the matter remains wondrous to this very day.

🤣

The story isn’t true… a rebbe in the shower… and every single day at that… come on…

He just wants to make a mockery of everything holy to us. As is known, he’s a great heretic, God forbid.

Who? Our rabbi? Heaven forbid—he is one of the greatest of the rebbes. And that whole story of the steam is nothing but a contraction through which our rabbi contracted himself, and that shower exists only from our side and not from His side, God forbid.
And this is the aspect of “Issachar crouching between the sheepfolds,” for he is among the sons of Leah, whose eyes were tender, and “tender” has the numerical value of the holy spirit, with the kolel and without the addition, and this is the aspect of the supernal radiance in the holy beard of the 288 upper sparks.
Study all this carefully, for I have been brief. Give to the wise and he will grow wiser still. And enough said to the wise.

Do you really think that our masters, the great Hasidic teachers, and all their students—including great sages and outstanding Torah scholars throughout the generations—don’t know their right from their left, and just said and wrote stupidity and nonsense? Maybe ask a wise Hasid what they’re talking about, and maybe it’s not what you think.

Do you really think I haven’t checked? I also thought of those ad hominem arguments. People are complicated creatures. They can be very intelligent and still be captive to a discourse that seems deep and informative to them, but from an objective perspective is empty. Just look at the thinkers of postmodernism. Hasidism is part of that.

Is it possible that you’re mistaken?! Have you never considered that? How can it be that you, knower of mysteries, know everything with such great clarity? Think about it for a moment—is it possible that you don’t actually know everything, that maybe there are people who are wiser than you?

Sorry for saying this (and Heaven forbid to offend your honor and the honor of Torah), but it is Torah, and I, the small, poor, and lowly one, need to learn.

It is certainly possible that I am mistaken. About anything at all. But still, so long as I have reached some conclusion and no one has shown me my mistake, I stand by my position. And that is true even if there are people wiser than I am who think differently. This is true regarding Hasidism, regarding faith in general, regarding various sciences, regarding philosophy, and every other field. In all these areas there are sophisticated thinkers who disagree with me and with you, and nevertheless each of us must form a position. By the same token, I assume you would agree that it is possible that you are mistaken.

By the way, it seems a bit strange to me that you are so careful about my honor and the honor of my Torah, after you wrote that I am known as a great heretic whose whole business is to make fun of your rebbes. Your first statement was entirely legitimate in my view, since that is your position and you have every right to hold it. But I think honesty, consistency, and the absence of flattery are also important criteria for good conversation.

Heaven forbid, I greatly respect the Rabbi and his greatness in Torah (I’m also an enthusiastic Hasid of Your Honor). You should know that the term “heretic” among us does not carry the meaning of a halakhic status; it is more like a category.

We’re back to the Hasidic discourse that I don’t understand. 🙂

There are hidden matters; we will not understand, we will not know. It is explicit in the Zohar.