Reviewing "Rabbi Hutner and Rebbe" by Rabbi Chaim Dalfin (Part Two)
Part one analyses and summarizes the first half of "Rabbi Hutner and Rebbe" by Rabbi Chaim Dalfin (Jewish Enrichment Press, 2019) whose chapter headings are: 1. Respectful Differences; 2. Slabodka and Lubavitch; 3. Students vs. Chasidim; 4. Cultural Differences; 5. Correspondence.
The following continues with brief summaries and comments about the second half of the book's chapters:
6. Gadlus Ha'adam vs. Bitul Ha'adam: In this chapter the author Rabbi Chaim Dalfin seems to struggle to find his exact footing and orientation to his subjects seemingly because the subject matter is elusive and very difficult to nail down. Rav Yitzchok Hutner (1906–1980) and the seventh and last Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), were raised and educated in their own unique Torah educational worlds. For Rav Hutner it started with home-schooling until 15, and then formally with the Slabodka Yeshiva and for Rabbi Schneerson it started with his Lubavitch home-schooling that continued into adulthood.
Yet both took on independent roads in young adulthood to continue with and add to their early learning and intellectual growth in Torah and secularly. In trying to explain to his readers the various Torah schools of thought and the instructional, scholastic, pedagogical models and systems and the Jewish moral education that influenced both of these rabbinic titans, Rabbi Dalfin looks at various key methods of teaching Jewish religious ethics, ideology, spirituality and Godliness that influenced their unique evolution into who they became and then what and how that was handed over to and impacted their disciples.
We are are told that Rav Hutner came from and was attached to a Gadlus Ha'adam ("greatness of man") approach, while the Lubavitcher Rebbe is from another school of thought and behavior called Bitul Ha'adam ("negation of man") but Rabbi Dalfin fails to make his case authoritatively and nail it all down. This is because these are Torah systems of human thought, behavior, emotion, spirituality and Godliness that in their essence defy absolute description, explanation, encapsulation and categorization. They must be lived and experienced to be understood and known.
After all, how are we, including the author Rabbi Dalfin, to make concrete heads or tails of sublime notions such as Gadlus Ha'adam (Gadlus), Bitul Ha'adam (Bitul), Shiflus Ha'adam ("lowliness of man") ? Or, that while supposedly the Gadlus approach leads to "micromanaging" people whereas the Bitul style gives more independence to the student, follower and adherent hence "macromanaging" him. Meaning to say that Rav Hutner's disciples were "micromanaged" while the Lubavitcher Rebbe's disciples were "macromanaged" which is not really a true and realistic conclusion because at the end of the day neither Rav Hutner nor the Lubavitcher Rebbe's leadership styles can be so simply pegged and pigeonholed because each shows signs of the results of the other's methodology.
In hindsight, over more than forty years since Rav Hutner's passing and thirty years after the Lubavitcher Rebbe's passing, with most of their original disciples either no longer alive or facing old age, one can look back and assess the legacies and histories of what shaped them both, how they functioned as Haredi rabbinic spiritual leaders in their own lifetimes at their peak, and then seeing what they left behind in terms of schools of devotees who follow in their footsteps.
We clearly see that all schools of thought and every method that was was invented, and taking into consideration differences in human personalities and human nature at all times and the way the world works, that within Rav Hutner's legacy one can discern things that look a lot like what Lubavitch Hasidism is ideally supposed to be, and similarly in Chabad-Lubavitch after the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, there is a lot that goes on that is strikingly similar to what goes on in the Haredi non-Hasidic yeshiva Torah world with a deep commitment to learning Torah in depth and serving God and the Jewish People in the face of an outside modern Jewish world that is overwhelmed with secularization, assimilation, intermarriage and loss of Jewish identity.
7. Rosh Yeshiva vs. Hasidic Rebbe: Rabbi Hutner was much more than a Rosh Yeshiva. His personality was way beyond just being the head of an institution. At his peak while he was alive he was the head of a movement, of a school of thought that was a system of education and leadership not just for his flock at Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, but for world Jewry from the late 1930s to 1980 when he passed away. In this sense he shared a leadership quality with the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Nevertheless, Rav Hutner was not a Hasidic Rebbe nor did he want to be, whereas the Lubavitcher Rebbe was not just a local Hasidic Rebbe for Chabad, he was the world's Rebbe. These differences among others made Rav Hutner and the Rebbe different people with different motives.
Lubavitcher Rebbes famously hosted Farbrengens ("celebrations") for their hasidim. Rabbi Hutner had attended the Tischen ("tables" of celebration) of Gerrer hasidim in Poland, taken there when he was a young boy by his uncle, a disciple of Kotzk, "Der Fetter (the uncle) Ben Tzion [Ostrover] Wiedenfeld" as he would sometimes fondly refer to him. In America in the 1940s Rav Hutner attended some of the Farbrengens of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (1880–1950). Later in life when Rav Hutner became the full-fledged Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin he led quasi-"Farbrengens/Tischen" that he would call "Mesibos" ("parties"). He used the models of the Tisch-Farbrengens as a tool to inspire his students, inculcating the holiness and sublimeness of the Jewish Holy Days.
Rabbi Hutner's personality was such that anything and anyone he perceived to be a good source to learn from, he was there. He did not look or care whether others would criticize him for going from one Jewish leader to another. As long as the person he sought out had something special to offer, he was there.
We see this in his history. He started his yeshiva life learning in the famous Slabodka Yeshiva headed by Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel (1849–1927) known as the Alter ("elder") of Slabodka in 1921. He continued studying with the Slabodka Yeshiva in Hebron from 1925-1929 and while there he became close with Rav Avraham Yitzchok Kook (1865–1935). He goes to Berlin for four months and spends time listening to lectures in the University of Berlin and meeting Rav Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1884–1966), and younger prodigies like Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik (1903–1993) the future Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva University and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the future Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Rav Hutner then returns to Warsaw and starts a close relationship with Rav Menachem Ziemba (1883–1943). In 1932 his great work Torat HaNazir ("Laws of the Nazirite") is published with laudatory written approbation from the great leader of Torah Jewry including Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky (1863–1940) who lived in Vilna, Lithuania. He married in Warsaw in 1933 to Masha Lipshitz from New York and moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1934 after spending one year in Jerusalem.
8. Lifestyle and Character: There are some interesting similarities and comparisons between the lives of Rav Hutner the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the last Lubavitcher Rebbe. Especially when it comes to the trials and tribulations they experienced leading up to their marriages to their eventual wives and with regards to their family life and the fate of their siblings about which not much is known. For example, even though this book "Rabbi Hutner and Rebbe" reveals new information about Rav Hutner's siblings, it does not reveal any information about the Lubavitcher Rebbe's siblings.
Both Rav Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe had long and complex roads and wait times until they finally got married. In the case of the Lubavitcher Rebbe his match to Chaya Mushka Schneersohn (1901–1988), the middle daughter of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, was made in 1923 but they did not marry until 1928 in Warsaw. In 1929 they moved to Berlin and in 1933 they moved to Paris and eventually escaped to New York in 1941. Until the Lubavitcher Rebbetzin's passing in 1988 they had no children, that is so very sad.
In the case of Rav Hutner when he was in Slabodka as a teenager he became a favorite of Rav Yitzchok Isaac Sher who was the son in law of the Alter of Slabodka. Rav Hutner would eat meals at the home of the Sher family and over there met their daughter Chaya Miriam Sher whom they hoped would eventually get engaged to the young Rav Hutner. However Rav Hutner went away to study in the Slabodka Yeshiva in Chevron in 1925 and by 1929 the Shers wanted to get a final answer from him. He wanted to meet them in Berlin but they turned him down. Instead Rav Hutner went by himself to Berlin in 1929 for four months and then on to Jerusalem in 1930.
In 1931 Rav Hutner returned to Warsaw where in 1933 he married Masha Lifshitz from New York and after a brief stay in Jerusalem moved to Brooklyn, New York permanently in 1934. The Hutner's had only one daughter Bruria born in 1938 and she married Rav Yonosan David in 1960 then passed away in 2023 but they had no children, which is very sad.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe was the oldest of three brothers. His middle brother Dov Ber Schneerson was murdered during the Holocaust while his youngest brother Yisroel Aryeh Leib Schneerson, who later chose to go under the name Mark Gurary, moved to Berlin in 1931 and in 1933 he moved to Tel Aviv. Two years before he passed away in 1952 he moved to England and from research into his background he was not religious but the Lubavitcher Rebbe kept up good outreach ties with him and his family.
As is well known, the Lubavitcher Rebbe's father Rav Levi Yitzchok Schneerson (1878–1944) was imprisoned, tortured and exiled by the communists in Russia. Rav Hutner was the oldest of four siblings and both his parents perished in the Holocaust as well as his sister Fraida and her husband, and they were not religious. Rav Hutner's other sister Rochel never married and became a nurse practicing in England and Poland. His brother Yehoshua Menachem Hutner moved to Paris and survived the war. He too was not religious but became more religious towards the end of his life and had a son who is religious and lives in France.
9. Legacy: Rabbi Hutner teaches that the good writing of history is honest writing. Showing a person's struggles, including struggles great rabbis, leaders and Tzadikim had, makes them stronger not weaker. It makes them human while simultaneously being holy. As ordinary readers we learn to relate to such writings because we see ourselves in them. We learn from their life experiences how to navigate our lives and our struggles. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, who was a great and holy person, also faced trials and tribulations yet transformed them by overcoming them. This encapsulates Rabbi Hutner's and the Lubavitcher Rebbe's lives and legacies. Both had challenges either in personal or communal ways yet they came out stronger. Both had opponents and both thrived because of the opposition they faced.
Both Rabbi Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe came from a time and place that experienced drastic change. Both were exposed to various disciplines of sciences and culture yet both remained completely faithful to the traditions of Torah. Both grew from the challenges and this is probably one of their greatest legacies.
For example, part of the legacy that they share is their negative attitude towards Sigmund Freud's (1856–1939) understanding of man. Rav Hutner stated: "Darwin brought materialism into nature; Marx brought materialism into history; and Freud brought materialism into man's soul" expounding how Freud's understanding of man destroys free will and is the antithesis of God making man in His image. Freud's philosophy being the very opponent to the Slabodka Yeshiva's Gadlus Ha'adam ("greatness of man") model which Rav Hutner exemplified hence his vehement opposition to Freud's approach.
Similarly the Lubavitcher Rebbe once wrote that: "Freud dug and dug and found that man is dominated by lust and conversely the Alter Rebbe (the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, 1745–1812) dug and dug and found that man is his pristine, unblemished soul." In these few words the Lubavitcher Rebbe agrees with Rav Hutner but seemingly comes from the Bitul Ha'adam ("negation of man") approach and that man is beautiful because he embodies Godliness, the soul that is full of humility and modesty and it is what drives man to greatness.
10. Understanding Opposition and Growth: Rav Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe became great Jewish rabbinic leaders who had many followers. Every great man has both people who believe in him as well as opponents and each had to deal with opposition during their lives that does not detract from their greatness. Rav Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe were great rabbis and leaders of the twentieth century who left an indelible impression on thousands of people. The Lubavitcher Rebbe's impact is more global because of his thousands of Shluchim ("emissaries") who spread the teachings of Chabad-Lubavitch all over the world. While Rav Hutner through his disciples, mostly in the Lithuanian yeshiva world in America and Israel, continue his legacy of Harbotzas Torah ("spreading Torah knowledge"). Rav Hutner will always be known as the foremost teacher of the MAHARAL of Prague (Rabbi Yehuda Loew ben Betzalel, 1512–1609) in modern times.
Among Rav Hutner's leading disciples were Roshei Yeshiva ("heads of yeshivas"), Hasidic leaders, and even some notable academics and professors. Similarly the Lubavitcher Rebbe influenced many Jews to be more committed to Orthodox Judaism. In the aftermath of the terrible Holocaust that had befallen world Jewry when over six million Jews were murdered and perished, paradoxically, the Jewish People came out stronger from that ordeal with total resilience.
Both Rav Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe started from humble beginnings in America. As leaders who had gained the respect and trust of the Jewish People they guided Jews in America and beyond to a brighter future of Torah observance and a Torah lifestyle. Both Rav Hutner and the Lubavitcher Rebbe lost close relatives in the Holocaust and both grew from the devastation rather than feeling anger and despair.
The Jewish People found in both Rav Hutner, the Lubavitcher Rebbe and other great Torah leaders of true Torah greatness to be Godly agents to help the world be a better place.
Rabbi Yitschak Rudominwas born to Holocaust survivor parents in Israel, grew up in South Africa, and lives in Brooklyn, NY. He is an alumnus of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and of Teachers College–Columbia University. He heads the Jewish Professionals Institute dedicated to Jewish Adult Education and Outreach – Kiruv Rechokim. He was the Director of the Belzer Chasidim's Sinai Heritage Center of Manhattan 1988–1995, a Trustee of AJOP 1994–1997 and founder of American Friends of South African Jewish Education 1995–2015. From 2017–2024 he was a docent and tour guide at The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Downtown Manhattan, New York. He is the author of The Second World War and Jewish Education in America: The Fall and Rise of Orthodoxy. Contact Rabbi Yitschak Rudomin at [email protected]m