I attended a Lubavitch wedding last night. The group there, I would say, represents the mainstream of Lubavitch in Chicago. Mainstream Lubavitchers here claim that the Meshichists are a small but vocal minority here and across the world. But you would not know it from this crowd. The Chupah ceremony (as well as every other Lubavitch wedding I ever attended since the Rebbe's death) contained the famous "Yechi" expression which declares that the Rebbe is Moshiach, long may he live! The mantra is repeated serially three times by the Rabbi given the Kibud under the Chupah and then the audience. Throughout the evening, there were references and songs proclaiming the Rebbe to be Moshiach.
There were Lubavitch antis were there and I didn't see any of them blink an eye. No Protests. Nothing! In fact, one of the leaders of the so called anti-Meshichists was the Mesader Kedushin. When I asked him about it, he said he was caught off guard but that he didn't think that this group represented mainstream Lubavitch thinking.
Right!
I know that Lubavitch leadership on a national level is against the Meshichists... or at least their public expressions of Meshichism. But I am more convinced than ever that the mainstream of Lubavitch are all true believers.
Lubavitch is huge... bigger than ever and growing by leaps and bounds. If the vast majority of them believe that the Rebbe will be resurrected as the Christ messiah, this can only cause great harm to Klal Yisroel, even if they are not eleohists. The huge numbers they produce through their vast Kiruv efforts and their high birth rates can make them the single biggest demographic in years to come.
WHY AREN’T GEDOLEI YISROEL DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!
Where is the Agudah? Mizrachi, other Chasidic Rebbes? The OU? YU? All I hear is silence.
Is Rabbi David Berger the only one with the courage to raise his voice?
