Chassidim & The Malbim

The Malbim zt"l
(Picture courtesy of Malbim.org)

Excerpt from Turnabout:

"Some Chassidim were initially suspicious of the modern style of his writings and his attitude to Chassidus despite the fact that he had, in his younger years, been a disciple of the great Kabbalist of the era, Reb Zvi Ziditchover...

The Malbim's success in striking a responsive chord in Jewish hearts with his spoken and written drashos was attributed by one of the great Chassidic leaders to his heavenly motivation. The Munkatcher Rav, author of Darchei Teshuva, heard his master, the Divrei Chaim of Sanz, testify that "all of the Malbim's drashos are l'shem Shamayim."...

Despite the Chasam Sofer's endorsement of his scholarship and the Divrei Chaim's tribute to the Malbim's sacred motivations, his works were sometimes criticized by Chassidim who resented his modern innovations in explaining Tanach. In relation to these suspicions, the renowned author Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Klapholtz of Bnei Brak, a confidant of the later Belzer Rebbe, Reb Aharon, relates a revealing story he once heard from the Rebbe about his grandfather. The Belzer Chassidim of those days complained to the Rebbe about such Malbim devices as "question marks in his commentary on Tanach." Reb Yehoshua decided to investigate their complaints by sending a trusted agent to study the Malbim. This agent spent two months in the Malbim's home and made mental notes of his host's daily schedule, down to the minutest detail. As soon as he had completed his report to the Rebbe upon his return, the Chassidim entered to hear their master's verdict.

"Out!" the Rebbe angrily shouted. "I refuse to even hear one word about the Malbim because I am convinced that he is a kadosh vetahor - a pure and saintly Jew."