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Rabbi Menachem Mendel Lefin is known mostly for his book Cheshbon HaNefesh. While researching biographical notes about him, I came across the following sentence on Wikipedia:

He campaigned in favor of adding general education to the standard curriculum in Jewish schools, and he was a fierce opponent of the Hasidic movement and the Kabbalah, which he viewed as "nonsense."

You can find the quote here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menachem_Mendel_Lefin

Whoever wrote that line did not provide a source and so I'm asking if anyone knows of a source to back up the idea that Rabbi Lefin "was a fierce opponent of the Hasidic movement and the Kabbalah, which he viewed as "nonsense."

Gavriel
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  • Your title asks about kabbalah in general, the body about kabbalah and hassidut. One can be opposed to the latter but not the former. Consider clarifying. – mevaqesh May 24 '17 at 18:57
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    is this on-topic? this seems to be a question about an historical figure? – Bach May 24 '17 at 19:44
  • He might have been affiliated with members of the Haskalah and the Reformation. – ezra May 25 '17 at 02:15
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    would make sense he would be against those things. as an early leader in the haskallah movement he likely thought many aspects of Judaism to be nonsense – Laser123 May 25 '17 at 06:44
  • @Bach that a question is about an historical figure doesn't render it off-topic. This question is about Judaism (also), so is on-topic. – msh210 May 25 '17 at 20:14
  • @Laser123 Is it true that being a maskil necessarily meant that you rejected kaballah (the Zohar) or that you viewed kaballah in general as nonsense? – Gavriel May 27 '17 at 21:59
  • I thought that being a maskil generally meant that you wanted a synthesis between "traditional" Judaism and modern "western" ideas. That does not necessarily mean rejecting kaballah, although it might. – Gavriel May 27 '17 at 22:01

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