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| '''Chabad Messianism''' is a belief by some within the ] ] movement that believe that the late Rabbi and leader of that movement ] will be the ]. Adherents to this belief are termed '''Mishichist''' in ] (Plural: '''Mishichisten'''). | |||
| Before Schnerrson's death in ] a significant body of Chabad Hasidim believed that he was soon to be crowned as the Messiah - an event that would herald the ] and the construction of the ]. Books and pamphlets were written containing purported proofs for the Rabbi's status as Messiah, some of which Schneerson opposed. | |||
| Attempts by his followers to persuade him to reveal himself as the Messiah were to no avail. Followers routinely sang the mantra ''"Long live our master, our teacher and our rabbi, King Messiah for ever and ever"'' in his presence - a chant that he often encouraged in his last years. | |||
| During the later years of his life Rabbi Schneerson's teachings were interpreted by many to mean that he was claiming to be the ]. | |||
| His death in 1994 did not remove the messianist fervor. Believers soon developed new rationales to justify the belief the Schneerson was the Messiah despite being dead. Some argued that he had in fact not died at all and was still physically present. Others argued that though he was dead Judaism did not rule out the possibility of the Messiah returning from the dead. | |||
| The development of this messianism and its impact on Chabad in specific — and ] in general — has been the subject of much discussion in the Jewish press, as well as within the pages of peer-reviewed journals. | |||
| ==Expresions of Messianism in Chabad== | |||
| *Some express the belief that Rabbi Schneerson was the best candidate for the Messiah in his generation, but now say that people were mistaken to believe that he was the Messiah. Rather, he ''could'' have been the messiah if God willed it to be so, but it was not to be. As such, the Messiah will come nonetheless in the person of some other great leader. | |||
| *Some emphasize the belief that the classic meaning of ] does not apply to a truly righteous person such as Rabbi Schneerson. <ref></ref> In this view Rabbi Schneerson never "died", and is still alive in some way that ordinary humans cannot perceive. According to this view, the Rebbe would later be revealed as Messiah. <ref>(see e.g. Rabbi Levi Yitzchack Ginsberg, of Kfar Chabad Yeshiva, in his book ''Mashiah Akhshav'', volume IV, 1996)</ref>. Many Chabad Hasidim refuse to put the typical honorifics for the dead (e.g. '']'' or ''zecher tzaddik livrocho'', "may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing") after Rabbi Schneerson's name. They rely upon the Rebbe's statement that the world has entered a new period in its history and that, contrary to what has happened in the past, the leader of the generation will not be hidden "even through burial", but that he would remain alive until the revelation of the Messiah. <ref>Dvar Malchut, Parashat Shoftim, 5751; Sefer Hisvaadiyus 1991 vol. 4 Page 204</ref>. | |||
| *Some argue that one leader in every generation has the potential to be the Messiah and that since Schneerson is still alive (in their view) he remains the only possibility in this generation. | |||
| *Some elements within Chabad go further still describing Schnnerson as the greatest man who ever lived and/or perfect. They view Schneerson as godly to the extent that his soul a ''part'' of God and is God "clothed in a body". The prevalence of this position within Chabad is disputed, but certainly exists to some degree. | |||
| ] | |||
| These beliefs had been criticized by David Berger. However, Berger's claims have been attacked as false and misleading by several books written in response to his claims. | |||
| *David Singer, Director of Research for the ], wrote a lengthy criticism of Dr. Berger at OrthodoxyToday.org, stating, among other things, that Berger has "emerged as a would-be ] on the Orthodox scene, demanding a policy of 'intolerance' and 'exclusion' toward those he deems to be heretical to Orthodoxy". <ref> </ref> | |||
| *Rabbi ] expressed concern for voices attacking Chabad. He urged that there not be unnecessary controversy, demanded respect for Chabad, and expressed praise for its work and stated that its beliefs are not outside the realm of Orthodox Judaism. | |||
| *Rav Eliyahu Shmerler, ] Rosh Yeshiva, signed a document saying that he believes that the Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach even now. (Dalfin, Chaim, "Attack on Lubavitch") | |||
| *Rav Yaakov Yosef, Rav ]'s son, signed a document saying that he believes that the Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach. (Dalfin, Chaim, "Attack on Lubavitch") | |||
| *Rav Hirshprung, ''Av Beth Din'' of Montreal has said that the belief that the Lubavitcher Rebbe is Moshiach is totally valid. (In a signed letter dated 13th of ] 5757 (1997) Printed in the "Algemeiner Journal".)<ref> Dalfin, Chaim, "Attack on Lubavitch")</ref> | |||
| *Likewise, Professor ], chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy at ], strongly disputes Berger's claims that new Chabad teachings amount to heresy; however, he does not believe that such beliefs are correct. In regards to those who wait for Schneerson to return from the dead as a messiah, Ravitzky stated "Torah does not prohibit a person from being stupid". | |||
| *AdMo"R Aaron Leifer, Grand Rabbi of ]-Safed, signed a halachic decree along with over a hundred others declaring the Lubavitcher Rebbe to be the Messiah, and urging Jews to recite "Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu v'Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L'Olam Va'ed" ("Long live our master, teacher and rabbi, the anointed king forever"). | |||
| *Moshe Idel, the Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought at ], considered the world's foremost academic authority on Kabbalah <ref></ref>, or Jewish mysticism, disagrees with Berger's key point, that Judaism abhors the idea of a messiah who rises from the dead, arguing that the late ] is considered in Jewish literature as a leading candidate for the post of Messiah <ref>(Yanover)</ref>. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *]''] | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| *Dalfin, Chaim. ''Attack on Lubavitch: A Response'', Jewish Enrichment Press, February 2002 (ISBN 1-880880-66-0) | |||
| *Fishkoff, Sue. ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch'', Schocken, 2003 (ISBN 0-8052-4189-2) | |||
| *]. ''Irresponsible Slander'' ] | |||
| *Rapoport, Chaim ''The Messiah Problem; Berger, The Angel and the Scandal of Reckless Indiscrimination Chaim Rapoport'' 2002 | |||
| *Schochet, Rabbi J. Immanuel. ''The Professor, Messiah, & Scandal of Calumnies.'' . | |||
| *Yanover, Yori. ''Attack on Chabad Is Called Unredeemable'' ] | |||
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