Chaim Chaykl of Amdur
Chaim Chaykl of Amdur | |
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Amdur |
Chaim Chaykl (Chaika) Levin of Amdur (
Early life
Born around 1730, according to Hasidic tradition he was descended from an unbroken line of
Rabbinic career
After the death of Dov Ber of Mezeritch in 1772, Chaim Chaykl soon settled in Indura, where he established his own Hasidic court a year later in 1773. In the following years, he soon became the most ardent and uncompromising proponent of Hasidism in Lithuania-Belarus. He sent out several emissaries to spread the world of Amdur Hasidism, which led to thousands of young Lithuanian Hasids flocking to his court, leaving their Misnagdic backgrounds. This enraged local Misnagdim, leading to the outbreak of the second round of polemics between the two factions in 1781. He is described in detail by the Misnagdic writer, David of Makova in his work "Shever Poshe'im", in which he heavily criticizes Chaim Chaykl's proponency of popular tzadikism, especially his beliefs sounding Pidyonim. Some Misnagdim went as far as to spread rumours that Chaim Chaykl would eat milk and meat together, thus defying the laws of Kashrut.[1][3][4][5]
Chaim Chaykl ultimately believed that the role of the tzadik was that of a miracle worker and that the tzadik was to serve as the imputes of God by embodying and channelling the Ayin-Yesh, through a process of mystical leadership based in Kabbalah and the philosophy of the Baal Shem Tov. He believed that the tzaddik should serve as a metaphysical figure mediating between heaven and earth, stating that his Hasidim could only communicate with God through him. This belief would later go on to influence figures like the Noam Elimelech and thus huge portions of Polish Hasidism and well as the teachings of Karlin-Stolin. Chaim Chaykl emphasized the importance of prioritizing the divine will over any human will, by abjuring physical reality and stripping the commandments of their physical nature. He once famously stated that one should aspire to make himself into nothingness by means of adopting indifference to this world and its pleasures.[1][4][5][6]
Above all else, Chaim Chaykl taught that God is infinite and men cannot comprehend Him. He concluded that the observance of a
See also
- Chaim V'Chessed - Reprint of the work, published in 1975 in Jerusalem; Hebrewbooks.org.
References
- ^ a b c d "YIVO | Ḥayim Ḥaykl of Amdur". yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Indura". kehilalinks.jewishgen.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- JSTOR 1386127.
- ^ a b c "Ḥayyim Ḥaykl ben Samuel of Amdur | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4008-7280-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-691-20244-0.
- S2CID 170572794.
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