Rav Avigdor Miller on Rebbes Are Ladders

 

Rav Avigdor Miller on Rebbes Are Ladders

 

Q: Why are the Satmerer chassidim fighting the Lubavitcher chassidim? Do you approve of this?

 

A: Now if you’re chassidim, you’re going to have to bear with me because I’m going to hurt your feelings. There is a basic weakness in all chassidim. The basic weakness is “My Rebbe” “My Rebbe” is a wonderful thing. It accomplishes a lot of good things – but it causes a lot of trouble too. Before chassidim, all Jews said “My Hakodosh Boruch Hu!” and that’s all. However, when the Ba’al Shem Tov saw that a lot of Jews had stopped saying that, so he said that it’s better to say “My Rebbe” than not to say anything at all. And if you say long enough “My Rebbe”, in the course of time you’ll say “My Hakodosh Boruch Hu” too. But there have been very many plain people who never graduate past the “My Rebbe” stage. And therefore “My Rebbe,” “Your Rebbe,” and they scratch out the eyes of each other. That’s a weakness.

 

If you advance beyond that stage, all rebbes are “My Rebbe.” All rebbes! The Satmerer Rebbe! Ahh! Zol ehr lang leiben!  A wonderful man. He’s a big warrior; and he accomplished for us so much. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, zol ehr lang leiben!  He accomplished so much and he is accomplishing. They should both be our rebbes.

 

But when someone says “only this one,” and the other person says “only this one,” then trouble comes. And that’s the basic weakness.

 

It shouldn’t be because people are supposed to graduate. A rebbe is only a ladder. You climb up on your ladder. The rebbe makes it easier to climb to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. But if a man just stands on the ladder and never reaches the shelf, then we tell him, “What are you standing there for?!” There are a lot of people standing on ladders. This one says, “My ladder is better,” and this one says, “My ladder is better.” So we tell them, “Get going already. Go higher!” And that causes trouble.

 

TAPE # 165 (April 1976), 1:06:46- 1:08:59