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What do the most important Rabbis think of Chabad-Lubavitch? While most American Jews consider Chabad to be just another form of Orthodox Judaism, every Rabbi in Israel, where religion is taken much more seriously, consider Chabad to be a completely different religion! Rabbi Elazar Shach a long-time Jewish leader was involved in a number of public disputes with Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement from the 1970s through Rav Schneerson's death in 1994. Rav Shach compared Chabad and Rabbi Schneerson to the followers of the 17th-century false messiah Sabbatai Zevi and accused them of false Messianism. Rabbi Shach advocated a complete boycott of Chabad, its institutions and projects. When asked which religion was theologically closest to Judaism, Rabbi Shach responded "Chabad". Rabbi Shach described Schneerson as "the madman who sits in New York and drives the whole world crazy." Rabbi Elazar Shach was the first major Jewish leader to openly criticise Schneerson and Chabad over Messianist fervor. Rav Schach repeatedly and bitterly attacked Schneerson and his followers on a number of issues, among them messianism, describing Schneerson himself as "insane" an "infidel" and a "false messiah". Rabbi Schach stated that Chabad followers are idol worshipers. Rabbi Shach followers refuse to eat meat slaughtered by Lubavich shochetim or to recognize members of Chabad as adherents of authentic Judaism. A Kashrut certificate or Kosher supervision, a Get (Jewish religious divorce), or a Jewish Conversion done by Chabad are not recognized as valid by most Orthodox Jews. Chabad Rabbis consider the Tanya to be over and above traditional Jewish texts such as the Tanach and the Talmud. Most Orthodox Jews have never even seen the Tanya, a book that was written by the founder of the Chabad movement around 1797. The text was later corrected by his followers in 1814, about 2 years after the founder of the movement had died. Among the problems with this movement is the prediction that the 7th Chabad Rebbe would become Moschiach. By making this assertion, Chabad declared itself to be above all other Jews. That is, members of Chabad actually believe that the 7th Rebbe of Chabad will become the King of the Jews, and the King of the world. This religious cult ideology has nothing to do with the Jewish religion. The response of the great Jewish Rabbis to Chabad messianism, both before and after the death of Schneerson, has been universally negative, though they differ on the appropriate response and remedy. Rabbi Aharon Kotler (1892-1962), founder of the Lakewood Yeshivah in New Jersey, was severely critical of Lubavich, in part because of the extreme emphasis on messianism evident even at that time. Rabbi Aharon Feldman, dean of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College wrote "...it is clear that [messianists] are ignorant of Torah, thus, it is impossible to rely on their decisions in Torah matters... One who believes that amongst all those who have ever lived, the late leader of the Chabad movement is the best candidate to be our redeemer shows that he lacks any understanding of Torah values. The rulings of such a man cannot be relied upon in any matter of Torah, and a fortiori he cannot serve as a leader or Rabbi." Members of Chabad-Lubavitch are divided into two categories: The "Elokists" and the "Mishichists". Elokists believe that the Rebbe is God, while Mishichists believe the Rebbe is the Messiah. Rabbi Aharon Feldman makes a clear distinction between the "Mishichists" and the "Elokists". He rules that it is forbidden to associate with Elokists under any circumstances due to their heresy and they cannot be counted for a Minyan. He rules it is also forbidden to support the mishichists in any way that lends credence to their messianic beliefs though they are not strictly heretics. Ynetnews.com - 29-May-06. Is Chabad part of Orthodox Judaism? Hassidim petition High Court after local religious council refuses to approve building mikveh with two immersion pools saying Chabad is not part of Orthodox Judaism. Attorney Motti Mintzer, representative of local religious council and a resident of Elkana, told Ynet: "There is mikveh in Elkana since it was established. We moved to the permanent community and decided to build a new mikveh, according to the instructions of the local rabbi, and he ruled according to rulings of outstanding rabbis throughout the generations." "The local hassidim from Chabad are from a messianic cult and want to force the community to build the mikveh according to their specifications," he said. In response to Chabad's claims that the religious council does not consider them part of the Orthodox Judaism, Mintzer said: "We don't claim, we never did and we never will. Obviously they are kosher Jews, until they begin acting in a compulsive way, all the while refuting the authority of the community rabbi." Rabbi Elya Svei, one of the rosh yeshivas of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, and other Rabbis, launched an effort to decertify Oholei Torah/Oholai Menachem (a major Lubavitch yeshiva in which the messianist belief is proclaimed) from the Association of Advanced Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools (AARTS). Rabbi Zev Leff stated, "The concept of a dead Moshiach who comes back to be Messiah is not a Jewish concept." Also, "To daven [pray] in a shul [synagogue] where the majority have crooked ideas about Yiddishkeit [Judaism] and recite things that have no place as part of the davening [prayer], better not to daven in a shul like that." Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg, a rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel, told an enquiring student (even before the Rebbe's death) that he should pray alone rather than in a Chabad synagogue because "they pray to a different deity". In 1996 the largest Orthodox group in the United States, the Rabbinical Council of America, approved a resolution that read: "In the light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish Community, the Rabbinical Council of America in convention assembled declares that there is not and has never been a place in Judaism for the belief that the Messiah will begin his mission only to experience death, burial and resurrection before completing it." The Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb stated "The belief [messianism] is certainly not mainstream Judaism, and in the eyes of many is a blasphemy to Judaism." On January 17, 2000, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel released the following announcement: "Individuals who are undesirable in the eyes of rabbinic scholars are exploiting the signatures of Rabbis and turning the simple faith in the coming of the Messiah into propaganda whose end cannot be foreseen. One must be careful and warn people that one must believe in the straightforward faith that the Messiah will come as our Rabbis have taught us, and anyone who adds diminishes." FailedMessiah.com - Chabad's messianism is the most disturbing and problematic feature of the Chabad movement. FailedMessiah.com contains hundreds of posts about Chabad, and Chabad theology. These posts are heavy on controversy and are not meant to present a complete picture of the movement. The aim is to call attention to the problems with Chabad theology and corporate behavior that negatively effect those of us outside Chabad. !!! 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.