[Avodah] "updated" version of a story

[Micha Berger]

On Mon, Apr 20, 2026 at 10:58:33AM +0300, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
> Of course, I fully support what R' Micha Berger and R' Harry Maryles wrote
> about this story. I only want to suggest that while this may appear to be a
> problem per se, it is more accurately a *symptom* of a problem.
> 
> For more information on the actual problem itself, I refer everyone to R.
> Dr. Soloveitchik's famous "Rupture and Reconstruction", available online at
> https://www.bjpa.org/content/upload/bjpa/rupt/RuptureAndReconstruction.pdf

I don't think this is the whole problem.

Yes the cultural Ruptures caused by the Holocaust and the expulsion from
Arab lands gave our culture a tenuousness that allowed for fundamental
change.

But it doesn't explain why this particular change. Why the shift from
the pursuit of Ehrlakeit and Menchlachkeit to the pursuit of Frumkeit.

For that I blame the fact that the majority of our people were non-O.
Which means that we within O were defining our religious identity by
the issues which highlight how We aren't Them. Ritual mitzvos come to
the fore.

Nowadays, with contemporary Western values drifting so far from what was
called 60 years ago "Judeo-Christian Values", we have difference in being
adam lachaveiro and morality as well. But that's after the Reconstruction.

When I say "frumkeit", I mean not only a focus on ritual mitzvos, but
also coming from a place of what REED in Qunterus haChessed would call
"Koach haNetilah". As per R Wolbe's section of Alei Shur vol 2 (pp
152-155), titled (logically enough) "Frumkeit" (tr. R Ezra Goldschmiedt):

    On the narrow path to Truth in serving G-d there is a major impediment
    which is called frumkeit (religiosity) a term which has no clear
    and exact translation. Frumkeit is the natural urge and instinct to
    become attached to the Creator. This instinct is also found amongst
    animals. Dovid said, The lion cubs roar for their prey and ask Gd for
    their food (Tehilim 104:21). He gives to the beast his food and to the
    young ravens who call to Him (Tehilim 247:9). There is no necessity
    why these verses should be understood as metaphors [and therefore
    they will be read according to their literal meaning]. Animals
    have an instinctive feeling that there is someone who is concerned
    that they have food and this is the same instinct that works in man
    but obviously at a higher level. This natural frumkeit helps us in
    serving Gd. Without this natural assistance, serving Gd would be
    much more difficult.

    However this frumkeit, as in all instinctive urges that occur in man,
    is inherently egoistic and self-centered. Therefore frumkeit pushes
    man to do only that which is good for himself. Activities between
    people and actions which are done without ulterior motivations are
    not derived from frumkeit. One who bases his service of G-d entirely
    on frumkeit remains self-centered. Even if a person places many
    pious restrictions on himself he will never become a kind person
    and he will never reach the level of being pure motivated. This is
    why it is necessary that we base our service of G-d on commonsense
    (daas). (Study Sotah 22b lists 7 types of activities which it labels
    as foolish piety. Each one of them is a manifestation of frumkeit
    without commonsense). Commonsense has to direct our service of
    G-d. From the moment we desert commonsense and act only according
    to frumkeit, our Divine service becomes corrupted. This is true even
    for a person on the level of a Torah scholar.

Which gets us back to the thread about segulos. People are embracing
them as though Avodas Hashem doesn't mean "serving Hashem", but closer to
a way to get "the serice Hashem does" for us!

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 When a king dies, his power ends,
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   but when a prophet dies, his influence is just
Author: Widen Your Tent      beginning.
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF                  - Soren Kierkegaard