Does Breslov Chassidism encourage religious extremism?
The Second Commandment forbids us to accept any mediator between God and man. There is no sense in which the Tzaddik carries out some form of devotion which then absolves the individual Jew from fulfilling his own religious duties. On the contrary, Rebbe Nachman’s teachings call on each Jew to accept responsibility for his life and take practical steps to develop his own personal relationship with God, especially through intense prayer and hisbodidus. At the same time, Torah literature frequently portrays the Tzaddikim interceding with God on behalf of the Jewish People, as Moses did after the sin of the Golden Calf, when he prayed to God for forgiveness (Exodus 32:11-13). Similarly when the Jews were taken into exile in Babylon the soul of Rachel came forth from her grave entreating for mercy on their behalf (Rashi, Genesis 48:7). Rebbe Nachman thus emphasized the importance of turning to the Tzaddik to intercede in times of trouble. It is like when a private person is summoned to cou
