"It was this teaching, of restoring the sparks from the lowest realm -
even those hidden in the crassest of sins - to the messianic state of
Atzilut, that was the main justification of Shabatai Tzvi & his
followers to transgress the Law & make permissible various
prohibitions, including of the sexual nature - & even incest (by
permitting the biblical "arayot"). They called this reinterpretation of
the Law to transgress the Law, "The Torah of Atzilut."…[I]t is this same teaching & kabbalistic
concept that Berland used to justify his acts."
Twisted tzaddik: Breslov's Rabbi Eliezer Berland
ZIY writes:
Update 1:19 pm CDT 3-29-2013 – ZIY adds the following:IIAC, "nobility" as used here [by Shuva Banim Breslov leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland] is somewhat of a mistranslation. Most likely Berland said "Olam haAtzilut" - as his student & witness to Berland's promiscuity, Itai Nachman Shalom, explicitely stated on Israeli TV as saying that this was what Berland told him when the student confronted his master about seeing him naked in bed with an underage female, that the student "merited to see his master in the world of Atzilut." (See here.)
While in general, "atzilut" can mean "nobility" (as in the biblical "Atzil ruach," meaning "noble of spirit"), in this context however it is a specific kabbalistic reference to the loftiest realm of the divine light, that state where the light is closest to the source & from which the infinite light disseminates to the realms below it, to the worlds of "beriah" (creation) "yetzirah" (formation) & "asiyah" (implementation).
"Olam ha'atzilut," as used here, then should be translated as "The World of Emanation," i.e. that most supernal dimension from which the purest form of the infinite divine light emanates below.
According to kabbalah, particularly the Lurianic stream, the world was initially in a state of perfection, of Atzilut, until Adam's eating from the Tree of Knowledge. From then on, our purpose on earth is to rectify (tikkun) that "fall" of the light & to restore it to its original form (& according to some, take it even higher), elevating the trapped sparks below in "asiyah" etc. (or even those trapped in the "Other SIde"), back to Atzilut. & this is how the messianic revelation & the fulfillment of the redemption will actualize.
It was this teaching, of restoring the sparks from the lowest realm - even those hidden in the crassest of sins - to the messianic state of Atzilut, that was the main justification of Shabatai Tzvi & his followers to transgress the Law & make permissible various prohibitions, including of the sexual nature - & even incest (by permitting the biblical "arayot"). They called this reinterpretation of the Law to transgress the Law, "The Torah of Atzilut." (see Prof. G. Scholem's seminal biography of Shabatai Tzvi, "Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah") & it is this same teaching & kabbalistic concept that Berland used to justify his acts.
Moreover, the Breslov obsession with "tikun" of sin (itself a popular Lurianic practice, which was adopted by Shabatai Tzvi's followers, primarily Nathan of Gaza), leads one into a Catholic-style vicious circle, where through habituation, that which is supposed to be the effect & repair (the tikkun to repair one's sin) actually becomes the cause (driven to sin IN ORDER to perform tikkun). This can lead one to in fact reinforce his/her negative behavior & perhaps to "fall" even lower - & to even psychologically justify one's despicable behavior.
There are some who say, even some critics of Berland, including Itai Shalom (see the clip linked above), that Berland is nebech not well psychologically, that he is a "mental patient" who needs help.
Though it is doubtful that he is psychologically impaired enough to plead insanity (on Youtube there are countless clips of the past few years where, though behaving somewhat eccentric, he in no ways exhibits madness) - but even if Berland is insane, how can this be used as a defense for Breslover, whose very teachings extoll the state of supreme madness! See Prof. Zvi Mark's astounding & under-appreciated book, "Mysticism and Madness, The Religious Thought of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav" (Bloomsbury, 2009), [Hebrew original: "Mistikah ve-Shigaon Bi-Yetsirat R. Nahman Mi-Breslav" (Am Oved, 2003)]
Another point: Since Breslov does not have a Rebbe for over 2 centuries, everyone, even the greatest Breslov leader, can claim that he is not a real Tzadik or Rebbe, that he is just like his followers, a lowly sinner, & that, in fact, he NEEDS to sin in order to relate to the followers on their level. (This is also related to the teachings of Rabbi Leiner of Ishbitz.)
Yet on the other hand, people like Berland use the other side of the coin to their advantage, that as a Tzadik, every urge & feeling he has is considered holy (for he is a tzadik after all) & is determined by God. So even if it is something that is typically prohibited, yet since the tzadik has the urge anyways it must mean ipso facto that it is kosher! (This too can find correlations to the teachings of Ishbitz & Rabbi Tzadok of Lublin, his disciple.)
As to how & why such a saint like Berland can not only sin but act in ways that even the lowest of his followers wouldn't dream of, the Talmudic phrase is often quoted, that "One who is greater than his colleague, his [evil] inclination is also greater than his [colleague's]" ("Kol hagadol mechaveroi yitzro gadol mimenu"). However, they fail to understand the obvious meaning of the text, that the Talmud is telling us that that greater person is also given the powers to combat that greater urge - for if not, the Talmud would not call him "great" in the first place!
Eventually, all the pieces of the Shuvu Banim drama of the past few years are coming together. Until now, we thought that it was his son & grandson who were the evil ones surrounding the saintly father (holding their father hostage, extortion, the mafia, beatings, prostitution, drugs etc.). Apparently Berland's wife is not well either & had a nervous breakdown. The obsession with security & isolating the father seemed also very strange. As was his mania to speed drive & run from one place to another - as if running away from himself....
But now it makes more sense. Apparently, the children were trying to protect their father from his own ill behavior, & used what they knew about their father as blackmail in order to do what they wanted to with the Shuvu Banim community. Of course, any spouse living in such chaos would have a nervous breakdown, especially if she found out what her husband was up to.
One hopes that the more "sane" Breslover leadership, such as the Kenigs in Tzefat, have the courage to publicly ostracize Berland & reach out to help the victims. Otherwise, Berland & Shuvu Banim reflect an existential flaw in the entire Breslover theology & current leadership.
--ZIY
"One who is greater..." ("Kol Hagadol Mechavero..") - Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 54a
Sometimes biblical verses such as "There is no Tzadik on earth who does good and does not sin" (Kohelet 7, 20), & "Seven times the Tzadik shall fall and rise" (Mishlei 24, 16), are quoted to justify the leader's sins.
But if the saintly sinner of King Solomon's verse was indeed as low as everyone else he would not be called a Tzadik in the first place!
So obviously the type of sins of the ideal Tzadik are not in the same league as those done by most people. For the Tzadik, even a minor flaw, which if done by someone else would not be considered major, is considered as such for him. Even when the Tzadik "falls," he still is higher than most others at their highest.
But never is it implied that the Tzadik sins in the same way as most others. & certainly it is not a license for the Tzadik to sin in ways that would make his followers blush!
Even when Moses sinned (which according to Ishbitz was in order for Moses to relate to the sins of the suffering Israelites), it was by speaking to the stone rather than striking it - a relatively minor infraction - not by following Zimri into the Mideonite tents of iniquity...
[Nontheless, Chasidut & Kabbalah discuss in several places the concept of "the descent of the tzadik" ("yeridat hatzadik") into the realms of impurity - so all this is not new. See, for example, what the Rabbi Y.Y. of Polnoeh, prime student of the Baal Shem Tov, writes in one of the very first chasidic books ever to be published: "If the generation is wicked & he is a tzadik & totally not on their level & unable to elevate them, then sometimes the tzadik also has to descend from his level through some cause of sin that comes to him from those of his generation...& when he is on their level he can then elevate them when he returns to his level" (Ben Porat Yosef).]
Breslov is even more susceptible to this seeming contradiction of the sinning saint, for Rabbi Nachman referred to himself more than once as "a proster" (Yiddish for "a lowly crass one" or "a vulgar one") - yet at other times said that he is greater than his grandfather the Baal Shem Tov & even alluded to himself as the messiah. [How striking the similarities with the radical heretical (post-Sabbatian) leader Jacob Frank who also called himself exactly the same way, "a proster," yet then went on to proclaim that he is greater than Shabbatai Tzvi &, of course, the messiah.]
Rabbi Nachman's embodiment of these extreme, even opposing, poles, of the sublime & the mundane, has set the tone for many Breslovers who try to emulate their master in all ways - including in being "prost" (vulgar). It is just a matter of degree: how prost.
Moreover, not only are there those who wish to emulate Rabbi Nachman, but there are those (both in this generation & in the past) who claim to actually be the reincarnation of their master.
This is no minor point. Until recently, even an astute Breslover scholar like Prof. Tzvi Mark -
– who has taken Breslover studies beyond the research of Profs. Joseph Weiss & Arthur Green; is was Prof. Mark who finally decoded & published the most secretive Breslover text, the crypticly-written messianic tract "Megilat Setarim" [Ramat Gan, 2006] (translated into English as "The Scroll of Secrets: The Hidden Messianic Vision of R. Nchman of Breslov" [MA, 2010]) –
was duped by Berland's charm & charisma & was able to claim as recent as 2 years ago that, in contrast to other Bratslav rabbis who saw themselves, at least implicitly, as reincarnations of Rabbi Nachman, "I did not find any such claim in Rabbi Berland." (see: http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/week-s-end/religious-macho-1.362981 )
Yet it has recently come to light that this is precisely what Berland not only believes but encourages his followers to believe! On a Facebook page for victims of Shuvu Banim, a recent defector posted a prayer that Berland composed last year & was spread amongst his followers to "merit the public". Here it is (seems to be authentic):
רבונו של עולם כל יכול אתה הוא בעל הישועות ובעל הנחמות. זכה אותי עד פסח תשע"ג שנת "בביאת המשיח" שיתגלה הרב שלנו לכל העולם שהוא שליח רבנו בדור הזה. ונזכה להכלל ברב הקדוש והנורא הזה שהתעברה בו נשמת רבנו ממש ורבנו נתן ורבי שמעון בר יוחאי ונשמת האר"י הקדוש ונשמת הבעל שם טוב הקדוש ולא אמות כי אחיה ואספר מעשיה
Translation: "Master of the universe, Omnipotent One, You who bring salvation & comfort - merit me that by Passover 5773, the year of "the arrival of the Messiah" ["beviat hamoshiach" is gematriah (5)773], our Rabbi [Berland] reveal himself to the whole world that he is the messenger of Our Master [Rabbi Nachman] of this generation; & may we merit to be included with this holy lofty Rabbi [Berland] for WITHIN HIM HAS BEEN REINCARNATED THE [literally: impregnated] SOUL OF OUR MASTER [Rabbi Nachman], LITERALLY, & [the souls of] Rabbi Natan [Rabbi Nachman's foremost disciple] & Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai & the holy Ari [Isaac Luria] & the holy Baal Shem Tov, & 'I shall not die for I shall live & tell of the works of God' (Psalms)."
While this practice of composing new prayers is not new to Breslov (Rabbi Natan famously wrote & self-published entire books of original prayers titled "Likutei Tefilot"), the content certainly is. This prayer in particular has set the tone over the course of this year for his faithful followers to all be in anticipation of something "special" to happen around this Passover season. How prescient....
There is another prayer posted on the Facebook page of Berland's defenders that he composed for Passover (of this year?) - a long rambling text of liturgical phrases & kabbalistic concepts pertaining to Passover & the seder. Interesting to note that buried in it Berland makes reference to the Messiah as being associated with the snake (same gematriah) - a main trope used by the Sabbatians & their interpretation of how Shabbatai Tzvi was able to act sinfully like a snake, slithering back & forth from the sacred to the profane. (see the early writings of Nathan of Gaza & Avraham Cardozo.)
Years from now, when scholars such as Prof. Mark will properly research Shuvu Banim & Berland, these prayers will becomes primary texts & the full magnitude of Berland's warped psyche will come to full light.
Since Berland believes that he is Rabbi Nachman, it is no wonder that he tries to emulate him - & then some. This explains why Berland travels spontaneously & erratically & even manifests a persecution complex - for this wanderlust-drive was a salient feature with Rabbi Nachman himself, as can be read in his biography "Chayey Moharan" ("The Life of Moharan") & he was also overwhelmed by persecutions both real (the Shpoler Zeide, some secularists etc.) & imagined (Napolean, the "forces of judgement," the "masters of evil" etc.).
In one of the few letters known to be written by Rabbi Nachman himself, he writes that he has to leave Breslov "because of the great suffering & difficult events that were thrust upon me, and now I shall wander from tent to tent in perpetual transience." Hitting the road, then, becomes a geographic reflection & extension of the traveler's own unsettledness & inability to find psychological stability. This explains why even now no one is sure where Berland is: In Switzerland? England? Brazil? Uman? Back in Israel? For, to his followers, "where" he is is less important than the fact that he is in a state of "travel" to accomplish mysterious tikkunim (spiritual repairs).
It has also come to light that, apparently, not only have the thugs of Shuvu Banim used violence, but that Berland himself has a reputation of hitting his followers, suddenly letting loose a barrage of slaps on unsuspecting individuals. This is a typical tactic used by some extreme religious movements, such as Scientology, Siddhayoga, Osho in his Rajnish days, etc.
But Berland does it better. In one case, he apparently beat up an entire class of children, then made them dance with him in joy. The effect was twofold. First he shocked them with pain when they were open with trusted love towards him, then the very source of this pain "healed" them with joy.
Of course, any corporeal punishment like this is interpreted by him as "sweetening the judgments" ("hamtakat dinim") & in fact something positive...
Some Berland defenders claim that the stories of him & the young women & girls cannot be true because of his age & health etc. But, as Lis Harris showed in the New Yorker's expose of Siddha-Yoga years ago, even old age did not prevent Muktananda from sexually abusing girls & boys (see: http://www.leavingsiddhayoga.net/o_guru_english.htm)
It should be noted that Berland has been controversial for years, & was chastised by some of the elder Breslov leadership, including by his teacher Rabbi L.Y. Bender, for things like rambling his own words during prayers & other (minor) halachic infractions. But never for acts on this scale. Until now.
It will be interesting to see if Berland's antinomian practices will be seen by his students as something only their master is privy to, or is it something that even they can begin to embrace. It was this that split the Sabbatian community into 2 camps: the believers who followed Shabbatai Tzvi & also converted to Islam & broke the Law (the Donmeh etc.), & the believers who believed that only Shabbatai Tzvi is allowed to sin while they themselves have to continue adhering to halachah (Nathan of Gaza & his followers).
Perhaps one day a student of Berland will compose a "Chayey Moharab" ("The Life of Moharab" = Moreinu Harav Eliezer Berland) & we'll find out what "really" happened.
-- ZIY
Related Post: Entering Into Breslov "Nobility".