Posted on 05/03/2010 6:44:30 AM PDT by Borges
JERUSALEM – Moshe Hirsch, an American-born anti-Zionist rabbi and close associate of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, has died in Jerusalem, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group said Monday. He was 86.
Hirsch was a leading figure in Neturei Karta, a tiny ultra-Orthodox sect that opposes Israel's existence as a Jewish state and has embraced its enemies. He was born in New York and attended a rabbinical academy in New Jersey.
Arafat, who died in 2004, appointed Hirsch his adviser on Jewish affairs.
The group is known for its members' 2006 trip to Iran, where they embraced the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at a Holocaust-denying conference. It also supports Gaza's Hamas rulers and the Lebanese Hezbollah militants.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Hopefully he and his friend Arafat are dungeon mates now.
I hope that was sarcasm! Or do you have Rasmussen poll results?
I read it in an Orthodox Jewish magazine.
Just FYI, there is a large segment of Orthodox Judaism that do not accept the concept of Chassidut at all and of course do not speak well of Lubavitch or any other Chassidic sect.
The so-called "ultra-Orthodox" have always opposed modern Zionism because it is historically a secular movement based not on Torah but on nineteenth century European nationalism and romanticism (the Italian Risorgimento was a particular inspiration). To this day some of the most "militant" supporters of Israel and opponents of the Arabs in the "ultra-Orthodox" world are technically "anti-Zionist." (This is also why the late Lubavitcher Rebbe set up his headquarters in Brooklyn and didn't settle in Israel himself).
However, Neturei Karta are a special case. They are rejected by even the most fanatical mainstream "anti-Zionists" in the Charedi world (such as Satmar). Furthermore, considering that Arafat (yimach shemo vezikhro!) was a Communist and a homosexual, any "rabbi" who was friends with him must be suspect.
...Lubavitch are basically split 50/50 as to whether he was divine or not...
I hope that was sarcasm! Or do you have Rasmussen poll results?
The belief that the Rebbe was Mashiach and that he was (chas vechalilah!!!) "G-d in a human body" are not the same thing. Many CHaBa"Dniks who subscribe to the former position reject the latter with horror as utter heresy and subversion (which it is).
Those who believe the Rebbe is Mashiach subscribe to one of two theories: that Mashiach will be from among the resurrected righteous (an old Talmudic idea), or that the Rebbe never actually died but, as with Moses on Sinai during the incident of the Golden Calf, the Satan showed people an illusion of the Rebbe's death.
Boruch Ellison is a very controversial figure in CHaBa"D, but while he believes the Rebbe is Mashiach, he is adamantly opposed to the "Divine incarnation" teaching.
Just FYI, there is a large segment of Orthodox Judaism that do not accept the concept of Chassidut at all and of course do not speak well of Lubavitch or any other Chassidic sect.
Just FYI, there is a large segment of Orthodox Judaism that do not accept the concept of Chassidut at all and of course do not speak well of Lubavitch or any other Chassidic sect.
Just FYI, there is a large segment of Orthodox Judaism that do not accept the concept of Chassidut at all and of course do not speak well of Lubavitch or any other Chassidic sect.
I was not aware that Boruch Ellison is even Jewish! I know he’s a bit too kooky for my taste.
Rabbi Schneerson saw hundred of thousands of people in private audiences and consultations. His advice and guidance was highly valued. He gave a new one dollar bill to everyone who came for the free consult
I believe he is a ger tzedeq.
At any rate, yes, is is out of the mainstream. And he believes the Rebbe is Mashiach. But he regards 'Eloqut as rank heresy and subversion, which shows just how bizarre and beyond the pale that belief is.
Hell is getting awfully crowded.
I am quite aware of that. Lubavitch and other sects of Chassidut are kind off in their own world.
Don’t get me wrong. Rebbe Schneerson was a good guy who did a lot of good to others, but you have those few individuals who want take who he is and what he did and mold into something else for their own purposes.
Was he a man who feared God (a tzaddik)? Yes.
Was he a blessing to his fellow man? Yes!
Was he the Messiah? No.
Was he a man whom other men should study and learn from? Of course!
I agree on all counts. He’s as close as Judaism gets to a super-Guru type of figure. People would want to see him for even a quickie consult so they could bathe in his radiance and be able to live their life knowing they had met a giant of Judaism.
I believe his study of Torah elevated him very high. I wonder if he studied Kaballah. Another very high rabbi was the Vilna Goan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilna_Gaon I think they develop certain “mystical powers” let us say. Like a Christian saint.
His father was an authority on Kabbalah so it’s a given that the Rebbe would have studied it, too.
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