Reb Nachman and Rav Shick's pamphlets

You find at the beginning of Rav Shick's pamphlets that they are "based on Reb Nachman's teachings and they are interspersed with statements from the Old Testament and the Sages."  What is that supposed to mean is a mystery to me.

More than that. The whole religious world holds all kinds of practices that are supposedly based on Torah.

IF YOU CHALLENGE THEM TO PROVIDE SUPPORT they say "it's totally from the Torah! It's one hundred percent from the Torah!". This avoids the real problem, which is that the teaching is merely BASED ON THE TORAH, and not actually Torah.

What's the difference, I hear you ask. Well, have you ever watched a movie that is "based on the novel by...." whoever. And if you have read the novel, you find to your disappointment that the movie that is BASED upon it misses out a lot that is stated, and implies a whole lot more that isn't in the book. It's drawn from the book, it's based on it, but it's NOT the book!

[I have a high opinion of Rav Shick in terms of sincerity. And as an approach to Reb Nachman, it is the only sane one out there. Still because of my respect for him I feel the right to critique him. I would not bother with him otherwise.] 

The trouble seems to be השחתת המידות destruction of good character traits when one gets involved.

Breslov has taken over the non dualism approach of Hinduism and Buddhism

[1] Buddhism and Hinduism make a lot of assumptions about duality and non duality and about self. What it is and if it exists at all. And if they say it does not exist they are not very clear about what it is exactly that they are saying does not exist. In spite of great philosophical sophistication and depth, both leave me with a sense that they have some good points but those points are mixed with numerous dogmatic assumptions that seem unwarranted.




[2] The Lithuanian world seems to pride itself on its lack of interest in spirituality.To them it is learn Torah and keep mitzvot and that is that. That seems like a fairly good approach in that opening the doors of spirituality seems in fact to welcome a host of phenomenon like illusions and mental illness etc. that seem to be part and parcel of the world of Hasidim.


[3] Breslov has taken over the non dualism approach of Hinduism and Buddhism and accepted it as Halacha Le'Moshe MiSinai. [A law to Moses from mount Sinai] This is in spite of the fact that it is not  traditional Jewish doctrine.

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If you look at the personality cults that have sprouted up around him and around charismatic leaders  claiming to going in the Breslov path, then there is not much to see.