Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, I apologize for not knowing about you sooner.
Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan, has denounced the practice of going to Kabbalist rabbis (Mekubalim) for a special blessing in times of trouble.
Instead, Jews should pray to G-d for assistance, he said.
Rabbi Ariel gave his opinion in response to a question on the
Yeshiva web site. A reader asked, “We are married for seven years
without children. We went to a certain rabbi to get a blessing for a
child.
“Before we went in to the rabbi, we
had to sign a form obligating us to pay a certain amount if we get
pregnant, and another sum if there is a birth. And to invite the rabbi to be the sandak ["godfather"] at the brit milah [circumcision].
“The rabbi saw us for five minutes
and said, ‘Bracha v’hatzlacha’ [‘Blessings and success’]. My husband and
I got a very bad feeling from it. What does the rabbi [Rabbi Ariel] think of this?”
Rabbi Ariel answered that experts in halakha (Jewish law) oppose the
practice of going to rabbis or “kabbalists” for a blessing. “There are
some hidden spiritual giants who, through their righteousness, can give
blessing,” he said. “But there are few of them, and their identities are
not known.”
He urged those in need of blessing to pray to G-d directly, “without an agent.” Those seeking aid can visit the Kotel (Western Wall) or the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hevron, he added.
Rabbi Ariel told the questioner that the commitment she and her husband were required to give may not be valid.
We know a family that had a child who had a form of "yenne machlah" in his foot. The doctors advised to amputate the foot to prevent the spread of the disease. The family was obviously hesitant and went to the Rebbe for advice. The Rebbe advised them to follow the doctor's suggestion. A relative of the family didnt like that advice and went to Rabbi Ben-tov in Israel and asked his opinion. He said he saw that the disease would leave the foot, and therefore advised not to operate. The disease did indeed leave the foot - it spread to the whole body and the boy was dead within about a month. The guy went back to Rabbi Benov and asked what was up with his advise? Rabbi Bentov go very agitated and said "why didnt you tell me that the Rebbe had advised to amputate the leg? All I saw was that the disease would leave the leg, while the Rebbe was able to see the big picture."
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how this is relevant . . .
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