First off, a reminder for my readers: I despise S. Arush for continuing to whitewash and enable the most evil man alive, Amalek Berland yemach shemo vezichro.
Now, there has been much rabbinic opposition to Arush’s ideas. The chief claim harped on is the supposedly heretical one he uses to address the old paradox of Free Will versus Emunah. The issue he wrestles with is this: How can we believe Hashem has full power if he allows us to sin? And if he allows us to sin, doesn’t that imply sins aren’t so bad? On the other hand, if sins are caused by Hashem, why are we punished? And how can we have proper regret? Etc.
To answer, Arush (likely borrowing from Likutei Halachos [Breslov]) says we need to view our past as outside the realm of human choice and 100% forced. And at the same time, the future is 100% in our hands, and that includes the mitzva of feeling shame and regret in the present (in the hope of changing our future actions). Hashem has a world plan that incorporates human sins, too, completely beyond our understanding. But as far as the future, it is the absolutely worst thing in the world to do even the slightest sin, and one should pray with all one’s might to stay away.
The Yetzer Hara, on the other hand, claims the opposite: After the fact, it stresses that you had full choice in the moment, so you’re irredeemable, but beforehand, it tells you that you cannot resist the trial because it’s all preordained, anyway, so why try.
Now, it’s still a mystery how all that can coexist, but this answer at least gives a practical guide to action and calms the mind a bit by introducing the new dimension of time.
(I’m not inserting my view, just clumsily trying to explain.)
To which there arose a whole big storm in response…
A whole book was written in opposition (5771), “Uvacharta Bachaim”, with haskamos from various rabbis, especially in Breslov, explicitly attacking the counterview. Here are some samples.
Rabbi Yaakov Meir Shechter’s letter:
The Badatz:
Rabbi Moshe Shmuel Kramer (I think there’s another version):
Rabbi Moshe Zev Zorger (two pages):
And there is more…
But wait a second: Rabbi Morgenstern just said the same thing!
Here is a recent class produced in his official parsha sheet on Terumah:
Spot the differences! I can’t see any.
So, what do you think? Will there now be mass opposition to Rabbi Y.M. Morgenstern? Of course not.
I would like to offer two possible reasons for the seemingly selective outrage.
Firstly, it was all just an excuse. Arush is a bad actor with a worse “leader”, complete with delusions (“Rabbi Nachman told me himself everyone will manage to make it to Uman for Rosh Hashana” [said during the height of Corona when most failed to arrive], “Mashiach is coming this year!“, and so on), and more, so he must be opposed. If it weren’t this, it would be for something else.
(There was recently another rabbi who came out against something benign from Arush, and — unless that rabbi is a fool who is unaware he lacks a case — I suppose the main reason is the same: to deprecate and degrade the evil man.)
Secondly, Arush is so shallow, he can make anything sound awful. Here, too, he further claims that “self-blame” for sin is heretical because Hashem is in charge, and therefore one should “thank Hashem” for his sins. (Even the way he talks about basic Emuna makes you wonder if he somehow means belief in idolatry.) He often doesn’t appear to grasp his own insights because he is no gemara scholar (Note: He explicitly takes credit [even adding he worked very hard on something] when, in fact, plagiarizing earlier Breslov sources, and often distorting them). Whereas the brilliant genius Rabbi Morgenstern shlita, lehavdil (a quasi/demi-Breslover), well…
These are only preliminary thoughts.