"...a growing consensus of leading rabbis willing to name the man most suited to be the Messiah, and they are agreeing that he is the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson." The Lubavitcher Rebbe (of blessed memory) was a highly respected leader of a large hasidic sect. He passed away 10 years ago. A few years before his passing, there were some members of the movement who began to claim that he was the Messiah, although he never made that claim for himself.
Since he has passed away, it is generally now agreed that he "could have been" the Messiah but that the time was not right.
In any case this is not some weird cult but a highly respected mainstream Jewish movement, one that has played a great role in the renaissance of Jewish religious and communal life in the former Soviet Union. Here they are welcoming President Bush to the synagogue in St. Petersburg (Russian Federation)
"In any case this is not some weird cult but a highly respected mainstream Jewish movement..."
Well, thank-you, ma'am, I appreciate the clarification and education. My apologies if I came across boorish. Please understand that I've spent over a decade with many different professional people, especially during the time up to the Millenium, contending with some pretty violent cult scenarios with belief structures of every type, most based in some type of warped Christian foundation. I have to admit it's almost reactionary now on my part, everytime I come across a "movement," like the one in question, which dictates a "death sentence" simply because others don't believe as they do. I get irritated real fast.
But then this type of intellectually oppressive tact is evident every time an Islamic constructed bomb goes off somewhere in the world.
Judaism and Christianity, whether we like to admit the connection between the two, is better than that.
'kay?
who began to claim that he was the Messiah, although he never made that claim for himself. Just a point of information-
The term is the definition of messiah (moshiach) is far different in Judaism than to Christianity. You may already know all this but it helps to point it out to others.