One of my personal heroes is Rabbi Dr. David Berger. And it gives me great pleasure to see that he has been appointed to head the department of Jewish studies at Yeshiva University’s undergraduate college. By reputation, Rabbi Berger is both a Talmid Chacham and scholar. But my encounter with him was neither through his Torah knowledge nor his academic scholarship. It was through his book, ‘The Rebbe, The Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference”.
That’s when he became one of my heroes. He has taken a courageous stand in opposition to Messianism that has plagued Lubavitch Chasidus ever since the passing of its charismatic leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson on June 12, 1994. This has caused many outside of the movement to now define them primarily that way. And with good reason.
I’ve written about this in the past and I don’t really want to re-hash it in great detail. Suffice it to say that the Messianists that populate Lubavitch exist in far greater number than many people realize.
Many in Lubavitch who oppose the more strident factions have gone to great lengths to deny the strength of their numbers and influence. And even those within the movement who oppose... are themselves unopposed in theory. They just think that beliefs about the Rebbe's possible Messiah-ship should be kept private and discussed quietly amongst themselves.
The evidence is pretty strong that the numbers are great and their influence widespread. That a man can be resurrected form the dead as the Messiah in a second coming is normative belief in Lubavitch. Based on my own obervations in various media reports and based on discussions I’ve had with many Lubavitchers themselves, the only differences between various factions are the extent to which it is believed.
Beliefs run all the way from believing in the possibility albeit unlikely resurrection… to believing he will definitely arise… to believing that he is still alive and will soon reveal himself as the Messiah… to believing …in extreme cases… that The Rebbe is the essence of God clothed in a body, the so called Elohists! And of course each faction cites proofs to their beliefs.
Very few if any Lubavitchers actually believe as mainstream Judaism does that the messiah will only come from the living and not from the dead. The struggle within Lubavitch is not to rid the movement of all their messianist notions. It is only to limit the extent of how far those notions go and to rid the movement of the outspoken messianists among them.
Rabbi Berger demonstrates why this belief is anathema to Judaism and that it endangers our future. His book details this phenomenon and the extent of it. He has also challenged Orthodox leadership of all stripes on their relative silence. It is almost as though they believed that if they are silent it will just go away.
Continued inaction can result in serious repercussions for every single Orthodox Jew. Lubavitch is heavily involved in Kiruv, in Chinuch, and in Kashrus. Many are Shochtim. Is it really a good idea for our Shochtim to believe that the Messiah will be resurrected in a second coming? What if he is he a closet Elohist? Though it is unlikely, it is not impossible. They do exist. That would make the product of his Shechita Assur.
And what are the Meshichist Lubavtichers in Kiruv teaching their Baalei Teshuva? Are they becoming Messianist along with becoming religious? Let us not forget that Lubavitch is the most pervasive presence in Kiruv. They have probably been Mekarev more Baalei Teshuva than any other group. By far. And they’re still doing it. Now more than ever.
Anyone who visits Lubavitch World Headquarters in Crown Heights, will see quite clearly that overt Messianism is alive and well. Thriving in fact.
Some of their most learned Rabbanim located mostly in Israel actually Paskined that one must believe that the Rebbe is Moshiach! (See e.g. here and here.)
Meshichist websites are all too easy to find. This website is just another example. There are probably hundreds.
Yet, except for an occasional article by Rabbi Chaim Keller, Rosh Yeshiva of Telshe, Chicago, there is virtually complete silence on this issue.
And then there is Rabbi Berger. He has picked up the gauntlet. But he has taken a lot of flak from Lubavitch and their supporters. This is understandable. People get defensive when they think they are being attacked. And that is what generated one student at Yeshiva University with connections to Chabad to ask:
“How am I, a student at Y.U., as well as someone with a strong connection to the Lubavitch movement, supposed to understand this appointment and its apparent conflict with the cultural open-mindedness espoused by the University?”
What Lubavitchers do not understand is that Rabbi Berger is not attacking them. He is attacking their mistaken belief in their Rebbe’s Messiah-ship. It is a belief that is so entrenched, and so vast, and so harmful that it may end up destroying them! …or at least marginalizing them, if it hasn’t already.
I don’t think Lubavitchers have any real idea about the extent of their rejection in the Yeshiva world. Most Bnei Torah in the Yeshiva world boycott anything and everything Lubavitch. There is also a tremendous amount of ridicule of them and their messianic beliefs in Yeshiva circles. Some refuse to even walk into a Lubavitch Shul. Some refuse to eat from any Lubavitch Shechita.
Instead of reconciling with the mainstream, Lubavitch is drifting further and further away from it. I truly do not think they realize the extent of this. And it’s probably due in part to the very silence on this issue by Orthodox rabbinic leadership that Rabbi Berger protests.
Lubavitch unfortunately does not seem to grasp that. They continue to insist that this isn’t a problem and instead will point to this or that ‘proof’ that they are indeed accepted. But based on numerous conversations I’ve had with many in the Yeshiva world… that is truly an illusion.
Meanwhile the vilification of Rabbi Berger continues as Lubavitch considers him an arch enemy. And that is simply not true.
I am happy to see that Yeshiva University will have none of that while at the same time allowing full freedom of expression to the contrary.
Congratulations to both Yeshiva University and Rabbi Dr. David Berger.
