The problem with "tzadikim" [ religious leaders] or the cult that worships tzadikim is the problem that goes along with the wider range of problems associated with the cult of celebrity. The wider problem is easier to define. Mainly it is that people with no knowledge of justice or goodness or expertise of any kind suddenly become considered experts in all these matters and all matters relating to human life. In the context of Torah it means people that have no knowledge of Torah nor are good or decent people in any sense, but are very good at doing long hard rituals, suddenly are considered to be experts in Torah and goodness. [That is the person chosen to be the head of the cult is usually a schizo type personality that has enough control over his voices and delusions to hear them only at the right times- the times that are socially accepted.]
"Everyone worships something. William Penn once said: men not ruled by God will be ruled by tyrants."
This topic is related to the larger problem of charismatic leadership. When the Torah itself is not considered obligatory then people go after a charismatic leader who then defines the Torah as to mean that everyone who serves the noble leader comes to human perfection. That is not what the Torah says but people believe this because they are no longer following the Torah.
Then next step is to make a pretense of bring people to Torah while in fact trying to get them into the cult in order to worship their Satanic leader.
[No offense intended to true tzadikim like Reb Nahman. It was not their fault that their "thing" collapsed into idolatry.]
I want to mention that it is often a very good thing to have good people to admire like the Chafetz Chaim. This is important because we humans tend to model our behavior after people we admire.
"Everyone worships something. William Penn once said: men not ruled by God will be ruled by tyrants."
This topic is related to the larger problem of charismatic leadership. When the Torah itself is not considered obligatory then people go after a charismatic leader who then defines the Torah as to mean that everyone who serves the noble leader comes to human perfection. That is not what the Torah says but people believe this because they are no longer following the Torah.
Then next step is to make a pretense of bring people to Torah while in fact trying to get them into the cult in order to worship their Satanic leader.
[No offense intended to true tzadikim like Reb Nahman. It was not their fault that their "thing" collapsed into idolatry.]
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Still we need good judgment to decide whom to admire and we need not to fall for cults that are not at all related to the idea of admiration for great people but an approach which Reb Haim from Voloshin says is pure idolatry--spiritual connection with tzadikim.
