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The Lubavitcher Rebbe as a god
Haaretz ^ | February 13, 2007 | Saul Sadka

Posted on 02/15/2007 12:04:29 PM PST by ChicagoHebrew

"Joy to the world the Lord has come." This misquote from Isaac Watts, along with a link to a Chabad Web site, appears on a billboard. Not a real billboard, but a Photoshopped one that appears on the Web site of a Chabad activist in the U.S. Advertisement Rabbi Ariel Sokolovsky is a Moldova-born Chabad rabbi in Portland, Oregon, and a more amiable soul would be hard to find. Yet Sokolovsky maintains a blog he entitled "Rebbegod" and refers to Schneerson as "Rebbe-Almighty" among other adulatory sobriquets. Drawing on rabbinical sources, he attempts to show that this is not as revolutionary as it sounds. He concedes that there are few people like him who will openly call the Rebbe God. He claims, however, that many people believe it, but do not say so openly for fear of scaring people away from Chabad altogether. While he argues that the Rebbe and God are not the same thing exactly, he says that he does not object to people thinking that they are the same thing. He recounts an incident in which he confronted his teacher - a senior Chabad rabbi from the former USSR - as to why he would not openly declare the Rebbe to be God. According to Sokolowsky, the senior rabbi jokingly warned him: "there can be many gods but only one Moshiach."

(Excerpt) Read more at haaretz.com ...


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KEYWORDS: christianity; israel; judaism; rebbe
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Anyone who wants to see how a new religion starts, just look at the burgeoning break between Chabad and Judaism. This will probably get me into trouble here, but I imagine a very similar thing happened about 2000 years ago. . .
1 posted on 02/15/2007 12:04:32 PM PST by ChicagoHebrew
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To: ChicagoHebrew

Gullibility is an equal opportunity disability...


2 posted on 02/15/2007 12:07:35 PM PST by snarks_when_bored
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To: ChicagoHebrew

No, it's downright odd.

My sister (a medical doctor) went reform to conservative to chabad to then modern orthodox in Houston because the chabad guys were just odd.


3 posted on 02/15/2007 12:08:44 PM PST by MeanWestTexan (Kol Hakavod Lezahal)
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To: Alouette

Might be of interest.


4 posted on 02/15/2007 12:14:10 PM PST by SJackson (A vote is like a rifle, its usefulness depends upon the character of the user, T. Roosevelt)
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To: ChicagoHebrew

Since I'm a Catholic, maybe I shouldn't get involved with this thread. But I doubt very much whether a new religion, analogous to Christianity, will emerge from this.

For one thing, not everyone in Chabad believes that the Lubavitcher Rebbe is the Messiah and still lives. I think most are waiting to see what happens.

For another, Chabad is actually more orthodox than many liberal Jews, because they still expect the Messiah, which has always been a part of the Jewish faith. Just consider all those sayings of the Prophets.

There is an unusual element because some have suggested a Messiah who dies and lives again, which does seem to draw from the Christian model. The Jewish Messiah is not necessarily expected to die and rise again--although I don't personally see how it can be ruled out on the basis of the various Messianic texts.

I'll leave it at that and let those with better knowledge reply.


5 posted on 02/15/2007 12:14:28 PM PST by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: ChicagoHebrew

Shall we go to the stoning? ["Life of Brian", quoted from memory]


6 posted on 02/15/2007 12:14:47 PM PST by GSlob
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To: GSlob

No, I think we should follow the shoe.

Or maybe the gord.


7 posted on 02/15/2007 12:16:17 PM PST by MeanWestTexan (Kol Hakavod Lezahal)
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To: ChicagoHebrew; MeanWestTexan

My husband and I (Catholics) have been invited to a wedding to be held at the local Chabad Congregation in March. We have never attended a Jewish wedding, and we understand that customs will be different. Can anyone on this thread please tell us what to expect and how to dress? Please answer privately, as my question is off topic for this thread. Thank you.


8 posted on 02/15/2007 12:24:02 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: Cicero

See # 8.


9 posted on 02/15/2007 12:25:44 PM PST by afraidfortherepublic
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To: ChicagoHebrew

We get Chabad mailings, probably because they bought a list from Brandeis where VS got a graduate degree. Unless they go through the phonebook for Jewish sounding names.

Lots of "Get ready for Moshiach", how Jews can get ready for him and how Gentiles can too, which is all very acceptable advice. But no "Moshiach has arrived."

Mrs VS


10 posted on 02/15/2007 12:34:07 PM PST by VeritatisSplendor
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To: ChicagoHebrew

This would be fuel to the fire of the professor who wrote that "Scandal of Orthodox Indifference" book, about the messianic Chabad beliefs.

One can see the parallel with Christianity, and also with some heterdox sects which split off from Islam. Some early Shia sects started proclaiming Imam Ali as divine, and worshipping him. However, they became isolated fragments, that did not last.

However, I would be surprised if even the most irregular Jewish groups started saying that the Messiah is also God Himself. Should not the Messiah should be a part of the creation - made by God?


11 posted on 02/15/2007 12:34:56 PM PST by BlackVeil
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To: ChicagoHebrew
Only the ignorant would say that Chabad is a "new" or "different" religion than Judaism. Chabad represents the teachings of the Hassidic movement which has been attacked by the various other points of view in Judaism for over 200 years.

If you can point out the "break" between Chabad and Judaism, please do so here.

12 posted on 02/15/2007 1:22:07 PM PST by Nachum
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To: Nachum
Sure -- how about that a large percentage of Chabad, perhaps a majority, now thinks that a dead Brooklyn rabbi is the Messiah? And that a small (but growing) percentage of Chabad now identifies the Rebbe as being divine? Or treats his works as almost idolotrous (such as the Chabad "custom" of turning to a random page of the Rebbe's writings to get an answer to questions).

IMO, Christianity probably started out much the same way -- devoted followers of a beloved and wise man couldn't cope with his death. As the years went by, this following grew, attracting large numbers of people who never knew the original man but were attracted to the myth of the divine superman created by those original grieving followers.

13 posted on 02/15/2007 2:36:08 PM PST by ChicagoHebrew (Hell exists, it is real. It's a quiet green meadow populated entirely by Arab goat herders.)
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To: Nachum

When discussing a religion more than 3,000 years old, couldn't a 200 year old sect be called "new."


14 posted on 02/15/2007 2:37:07 PM PST by vladimir998 (Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. St. Jerome)
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To: ChicagoHebrew
Sure -- how about that a large percentage of Chabad, perhaps a majority, now thinks that a dead Brooklyn rabbi is the Messiah

No they don't. It is a small vocal group within the Chabad movement. The Lubavitcher Rebbe himself eschewed such talk.

Or treats his works as almost idolotrous (such as the Chabad "custom" of turning to a random page of the Rebbe's writings to get an answer to questions).

Idolotry? When did this become part of Chabad's liturgy? People do many things for comfort in times of trouble.

If you are going to question the faith of Chabadniks over the righteousness or holyness of their Rebbe's, you could attack any religeous Jew who goes to seek guidance from any of the iconic figures of our history. Does the Cave of the Patriarchs, the Rambam's Tomb, or the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai get any interest from Jews who seek guidance? Is it a "custom" to pray there? It is merely a connection to the sages of our past.

HaAretz loves to "run smack" about any strong Jewish group to discredit them. This is just another "hit piece" IMHO.

15 posted on 02/15/2007 3:36:29 PM PST by Nachum
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To: vladimir998
When discussing a religion more than 3,000 years old, couldn't a 200 year old sect be called "new."

So are you suggesting that the Hassidic movement is not Judaism?

16 posted on 02/15/2007 3:38:44 PM PST by Nachum
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To: ChicagoHebrew

I am not a meshichist and the top leaders of Chabad have strongly denounced the meshichisten. Stop this slander.


17 posted on 02/15/2007 4:36:05 PM PST by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: 1st-P-In-The-Pod; A_Conservative_in_Cambridge; af_vet_rr; agrace; albyjimc2; Alexander Rubin; ...
FReepMail to be added or removed from this pro-Israel/Judaic/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

18 posted on 02/15/2007 4:40:31 PM PST by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: ChicagoHebrew
how about that a large percentage of Chabad, perhaps a majority, now thinks that a dead Brooklyn rabbi is the Messiah? And that a small (but growing) percentage of Chabad now identifies the Rebbe as being divine?

You do not know the majority of Chabad or even a large percentage of Chabad and you are not active in the highest levels of Chabad leadership, as my family is.

The top leadership of Chabad (Rabbi Krinsky) has denounced the Meshichisten and is trying to get them removed from 770.

Stop your disgusting slanders. You are just as bad as the yechi's.

19 posted on 02/15/2007 4:45:49 PM PST by Alouette (Learned Mother of Zion)
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To: ChicagoHebrew

Oh come on! Everybody knows that Sabbatai Zevi is the Messiah!


20 posted on 02/15/2007 4:47:32 PM PST by Macoraba
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