On False Messianism, Idolatry and Lubavitch
In an extraordinary essay, David Berger argues that
the followers of the Lubavitch Rebbe revere him not
just a Messiah, but a God - thus writing themselves
out of Judaism altogether.
By David Berger (January 11, 1998)
In the fall of 1995, I published an article in
Jewish Action, the journal of the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which
decried the silence of rabbinic leaders regarding
the declaration on the part of many Lubavitch
hassidim that the late Rebbe is the Messiah. This
silence, I argued, combined with the acceptance of
Messianists as Orthodox Jews in good standing,
fundamantally transforms Judaism, betrays the
Messianic faith of our ancestors, and grants
Christian missionaries victory with respect to a
key issue in the millennial debate between Judaism
and Christianity. At its annual convention in June
1996, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA)
responded to this challenge with a declaration
that "there is not and never has been a place in
Judaism for the belief that the Messiah, a son of
David, will begin a Messianic career only to
experience death, burial, and ressurection before
completing it."
In the aftermath of both the article and the RCA
resolution, defenders of Lubavitch presented
documents which allegedly demonstrated the
acceptability of this patently un-Jewish doctrine.
They also circulated a letter in the name of
highly distinguished Rabbi R. Ahron Soloveichik of
Chicago, which he had authorized only in part and
which contains material flatly contradicting
statements that he had issued several months after
the Rebbe's death, when he affirmed that this
belief is possible in Christianity but not in
Judaism and is "repugnant to everything Judaism
represents."
In addition, they argued that Lubavitch hassidim,
unlike Christians, observe Jewish law and do not
regard their Messiah as the Diety. While I
addressed the documents in some detail, I
responded to the last point delicately,
reluctantly, and briefly. However, recent
developments have made this caution obselete and
irresponsible.
First, despite the isolated efforts of a handful
of brave Hassidim, the dominant institutions of
the Lubavitch movement are either overtly
Messianist or unwilling to declare unequivocally
that the Rebbe is not the Messiah. A formal legal
ruling (psak din) has just been issued by the head
of the Crown Heights Rabbinical Court, the Rabbi
of Kfar Chabad, the Lubavitch Vice-Chair of Agudat
Ha'rabanim, and other major leaders of the
movement, asserting that Jewish law requires
belief in the Messiahship of the Rebbe.
In my view, this declaration alone is sufficient
to exclude its promulgators from Orthodox Judaism;
Lubavitch leaders who wish to salvage the
movement's standing as an expression of authentic
Judaism face the urgent obligation to repudiate
the ruling publicly. Any Lubavitch instituition
that fulfills this obligation by assuring us of
the summary dismissal of anyone who teaches the
Messiahship of the Rebbe will deserve to be placed
at the apex of our philanthropic priorities.
Though the belief that the rebbe is the Messiah is
itself a repudiation of a fundamental doctrine, at
this point it is only the beginning. We now
confront an incredible reality which has surged
beyond the confines of false Messianism and the
"mere" affirmation of a Second Coming. A process
which developed over decades, even generations, in
Christianity and the seventeenth-century movement
of the Messianic pretender Shabtai Zvi is
unfolding with blinding speed in Lubavitch
Messianism. To a historian, this is a gripping
drama, the opportunity not of one lifetime but of
many; to a believing Jew, it is the bizarre rerun
of a nightmare. The Lubavitcher Rebbe is becoming
God.
For example, in the fall of 1996, the Israeli
weekly Sichat HaGeullah printed a revised version
of the standard Messianist slogan which read "May
our Master, Teacher, and Creator (instead of
'Rabbi') the King Messiah live forever," and a few
weeks later it declared that it is permissible to
bow to the Rebbe because "his entire essence is
divinity alone."
A Messianist catchism published in Safed describes
the Rebbe, who is still physically alive, as in
charge "of all that happens in the world. Without
his agreement no event can take place. If it is
his will, he can bring about anything and who can
tell him what to do?...In him the Holy One Blessed
be He rests in all His force just as He is...so
that this becomes his entire essence." Another
Israeli publication (Peninei Geullah) reported
approvingly that the Rebbe was addressed after his
apparent death as "Honored Rebbe, the Holy One
Blessed be He."
In a French journal, the date of the Rebbe's death,
3 Tamuz, was described as the day of the King
Messiah's apotheose" (i.e. ascent to heaven as a
divinity), while an English article in the journal
Beis Moshiach characterized the Rebbe as the
"Essence and Being of God enclothed in a body,",
emphasizing that these are "neither wild
exagerations nor poetic parables." Finally, it
concluded, "so [who is our God?]...The Rebbe,
[King Messiah], that's who.", In the summer 1997
edition of The Jewish Observer, the journal of
Agudath Israel in the U.S, Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller
of the Telshe Yeshiva in Chicago cited the Beis
Moshiach article, alluded to a New York Times
advertisment which urged that prayers be directed
to the Rebbe, and spoke of a frightening turn
toward Avoda Zarah (idolatry).The director of the
Chabad Regional Headquarters of Illinois, a
mainstream Lubavitch organization which lists 15
institutions, has disseminated a response which
affirms that the material cited by Rabbi Keller is
perfectly acceptable and that an exceedingly
righteous man can become "indistinguishable" from
God. The evidence for this, which circulated in
limited editions among believers in his divinity,
consists of an absolutly literal understanding of
citations that speak of the presence of God in
rabbis and prophets (but never suggest, of course,
that those rabbis are omniscient and omnipotent).
Rabbi Keller was kind enough to share with me his
trenchant rejoinder to this letter, which, I hope,
will find its way into print.
It is evident, then, that this belief, that the
Rebbe is literally God and that he should be the
object of prayer, has entered mainstream
Lubavitch. In the terminology of Jewish law, this
is idolatry. One who teaches this theology and
urges that it be ritually expressed is an inciter
to idolatry, not an admirable educator or
practioner of outreach. One who supports an
institution in which this is taught violates a
prohibition so severe that there is a requirement
to die rather than transgress. If a believer in
this theology slaughtered an animal ritually, it
has the status of a non-kosher carcass, which can
undermine the kashrut of a restaurant or a home. A
divorce document signed by such a believer or a
Torah scroll written by him are invalid. A non Jew
who converts to this sort of Judaism remains,
nontheless, a non- Jew.
Despite its polemical tone, I regard this article
as a vehicle for information whose implications
should be beyond debate. Our ancestors gave their
lives rather than worship a divine Messiah. To the
extent that if we so much as consider the
acceptance within Orthodox Judaism of people who
direct prayers to a deceased Rabbi perceived as
the omnipotent, omniscient Deity, we launch an
assult upon the very core of the Jewish religion.
(David Berger is a professor of history at
Brooklyn College, an ordained rabbi and president
of the Association for Jewish Studies in the
United States).
Contest: A $100,000 US Dollar prize will be paid to anyone who can find even one respectable
Israeli Rabbi who says that Chabad is Jewish. You will never find any such Rabbi, but try
to find it anyway as an educational exercise if you still think that Chabad is Jewish.
!!! CHABAD IS BAD FOR THE JEWS !!!
!!! JUST SAY NO TO CHABAD !!!
Disclaimer: Please conduct your own investigation about the issues mentioned in this website.
This website is only a brief summary of the problems with Chabad. For more information, please
talk to your local community Rabbi. Also, if you really care about being Jewish,
come live in Israel and study Judaism.
Copyright Notice: According to Jewish Law, it is a Mitzva, a religious obligation, to provide
this information to every Jew in the world, in order to protect Jewish children from Chabad,
and to save Jewish lives and Jewish souls from being destroyed by Chabad. Therefore,
permission is granted to copy and reproduce all of the information found on this website in
any form and publication, including any website or blog, and to translate it to any language.
The only requirement is that you mention that the information was obtained from this website,
and in the case of internet pages, please add a link back to this website.
