Guardian on chabad (and messianism)
Interesting article In England's Guardian about chabad's laudatory hard work in Europe. What is once again clear is that the issue of chabad's messianism can't be swept under a rug, clearly it is visible to all.
Guardian :
...Others take a different line. '[Chabad] is a danger because it is like a sect,' said Dr Julius Schoeps of Berlin's Moses Mendelssohn Centre for Jewish Studies. 'They have the money, they have a message and a very effective educational system. It is a sort of war. They conquer the countries where Jews are living ... and that has profound, long-term consequences for Jewish communities throughout Europe.'
Schoeps, like many other Jews, is concerned about the messianic message. Chabad started in the Belarussian town of Lubavitch 250 years ago, led by rabbis who told their followers that they should prepare for a messiah who would deliver the Jews and usher in a new age of global peace. After decades on the margins, Chabad, under the leadership of a brilliant scholar called Menachem Mendel Schneerson, began to grow rapidly. Images of Schneerson appear in the movement's literature. A picture hangs in Banim's office and his restaurant.
Most controversially of all, Schneerson, who fled Nazi persecution to the US, where he died in 1994, is considered by many to be the messiah. Some believe he lives on, though not in a physical form. 'Messianism is a huge component of their philosophy - as is outreach, all mixed with an energetic, lively, happy idea of what it means to be Jewish that touches a whole range of ethnic and religious identity issues' said Dr Wilson Pickett, of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research London. 'Put it together and you have something that is far from bland, spiritual fare and can be very attractive.'...
Guardian :
...Others take a different line. '[Chabad] is a danger because it is like a sect,' said Dr Julius Schoeps of Berlin's Moses Mendelssohn Centre for Jewish Studies. 'They have the money, they have a message and a very effective educational system. It is a sort of war. They conquer the countries where Jews are living ... and that has profound, long-term consequences for Jewish communities throughout Europe.'
Schoeps, like many other Jews, is concerned about the messianic message. Chabad started in the Belarussian town of Lubavitch 250 years ago, led by rabbis who told their followers that they should prepare for a messiah who would deliver the Jews and usher in a new age of global peace. After decades on the margins, Chabad, under the leadership of a brilliant scholar called Menachem Mendel Schneerson, began to grow rapidly. Images of Schneerson appear in the movement's literature. A picture hangs in Banim's office and his restaurant.
Most controversially of all, Schneerson, who fled Nazi persecution to the US, where he died in 1994, is considered by many to be the messiah. Some believe he lives on, though not in a physical form. 'Messianism is a huge component of their philosophy - as is outreach, all mixed with an energetic, lively, happy idea of what it means to be Jewish that touches a whole range of ethnic and religious identity issues' said Dr Wilson Pickett, of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research London. 'Put it together and you have something that is far from bland, spiritual fare and can be very attractive.'...
posted by Yeshiva Orthodoxy
at 8:43 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting how you quote a Dr. from the "Mendelsohn" school! to criticize Chabad.
Read here for some history:
http://www.jewish-history.com/Chabad/haskalah1.html
I am not disscussing any heavy theological argument/debate, the internet is no place for it, i'm only pointing out the awareness in the secular world to the issues in chabad.
Like it or not perception of chabad affects them and the rest of orthodox jewry.
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