Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Debunking 'Chassidic Philosophy'

We often refer to Chassidus Chabad as ‘Chassidic Philosophy’.  I recently bumped into something that would strongly challenge that term. 

The word Philosophy originates from a Latin word that means ‘love of logic’.  In Chabad (which is an acronym for Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge) we’re very into the brain.  But, (and this is a big BUT), it’s all in order to warm the heart - to love and fear G-d.

We don’t love logic – we love love!

Anyone have an idea for a new name?

4 comments:

  1. It's actually "love of wisdom."

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  2. Thanks for the correction

    Some sources say "love of knowledge"
    http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%23111487&redirect=true

    Other sources say like you quote "love of wisdom"
    http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=philosophy&searchmode=none

    Betzalel Bassman

    ReplyDelete
  3. "But it's definitely not logic, since logic in Greek is "logos.""

    ReplyDelete