Serious question: What do you want Chabad to do? The rebbe heavily implied he was the Mashiach in the Nun-Aleph Nun -Beis Sichos. They have to either renounce those sichos, which will kill the rebbe's authority in any way, or redefine them, which the more intellectually honest learners will realize.
The reason you hear ridiculous apologetics is because in Chabad, people need the Rebbe's authority to believe.
I don't see a way out of this for chabad that doesn't result in a large amount of the younger generation going off the derech.
At one point the Jewish world in general and Chabad especially must grapple with the question of what constitutes "off the derech". Which derech are we talking about? If your whole belief in God rests on one man being the messiah, then perhaps we are not speaking of the Jewish derech...
I say this with all due respect and in the interest of generating introspective though not debate.
I think you covered it beautifully. I was one of those that Lubavitch found wandering in the wilderness. Over the years I started to see the societal cracks, the theological cracks, and having had the benefit of secular education and awareness of history and culture, it was very difficult to continue down the path and feel intellectually honest.
The stories of Rebbe supermen were hard to reconcile with knowing that pogroms sent Jews frequently flying across the Pale with hardly a thought. The famous story of the Alter Rebbe blowing the shofar early and "beating Napoleon" seem incredulous when you see that somehow superman still had to go to jail. Even the famous story of "stopping the boat for kiddush levana". People found it so inspiring, I always wondered "if it was like that, why didn't he just lead them to Eretz Yisrael?". The Friedeker Rebbe being beaten within an inch of his life and coming in a wheelchair just furthered that belief, as did the last Rebbe's fleeing the Nazis. Somehow he could "kill Stalin with a niggun during a farbrengen and a hand gesture" but had to run from the Nazis and sacrifice his chassidim to Stalin's gulags to educate people about alef bet.
I think that Chabad, and really the chassidic movement in general, has painted itself into a corner with storytelling. What might have started as a comfort thing became an unquestioned belief that sits opposite very unusual and contradictory realities.
The whole thing needs an honest assessment of what reality is. If a person desires to wear a streimel or wait for Rabbeinu Tam or tie 2 sets of tefillin, *b'chofshi* (outside some of the halachic issues that emerge, specifically in Zman Rabbeinu Tam). But beyond that is an issue. Talking about the dead as if they're coming back to save us all comes eerily close to Christianity that all the audience already know about from the world around them. Talking about rebbes as superheroes in fedoras or streimels sounds childish and untrue to the intended audiences outside the fold who are secular entirely because the supermen couldn't physically save their ancestors grief or stave off the foes.
I feel bad for my peers from yeshiva who raise their kids in the fold, with yehi kippot on their heads, 100% never having met the man. A lost generation pretending they knew someone they didn't for the sake of a generation that will never know what everyone's truly been talking about.
The saddest ending considering when I was in yeshiva we BTs were told that what made us "superior" to ChaGaS was that they rely on their rebbes to do everything...and yet in the end Chabad as a movement basically does that for magic fix to all the problems.
Until you pointed out, I didn't realize the irony.
Or Chafetz Chaim.....or Avigdor Miller...or Rav Shach...
I've heard them all named in those. I'm sure if I stuck my head back in that world (via friends who engage with it) I'd hear other names too.
It's a sad state of affairs and I plan on addressing the idea in my own post at some point once I gather the ideas in my head. A lot of what I think is considered "extreme" and "radical" but a thinking person with honesty to think on hard topics will find it makes sense the way this convo has made sense ;)
Thank you, Menachem, for the enlightening history. As a non- Chabad Jew, a non- affiliated Jew, I have found Chabad rabbis to be personable, as opposed to the average dull Orthodox Rabbi. Although I had heard about the Rebbe(s), I was not aware that Chabad harbored a cult of personality. We all wait for the Messiah, but, as I now see, some more than others. I do think the cult of Rebbe almost bordered on idol worship. Such a disappointment. While I have no bias against teaching or leadership, I think most Jews would benefit from having a more personal relationship with our Lord G-d. Personalities and organizations have a tendency to interfere with our connection to the Almighty. Shalom
So Menachem, I see an extremely vibrant Lubavitch all over the US Canada Israel Europe the UK and Australia, the younger generation, say those up to 45-50 are enthusiastic about their Chabad.
Yes there are questions about how we understand the messianic push of the Rebbe ( May his merit protect us) but for so many it is not that relevant, they are busy preparing themselves for a messianic age of the future, they are committed to Torah and Mitzvis for themselves and other Yidden they can reach.
"How much longer can we be sold the stale goods of his resurrection when he’s become just another promised returnee in the pantheon of global Messiahs?"
Is there any reason why it's any more difficult 30 years on than 3? If anything, to a casual observer like me, it seems like things have pretty much stabilized. I don't see why you think that chabad kids can't watch videos of him for the next 30 years too.
To put it slightly differently, can you be more specific about what real world harms you see in the belief that he's going to come back from the dead? Is it simply that you find the belief itself repulsive, or is there something concrete?
(I'm not a lubavitcher. And I'm not likely to become one any time soon. I'm a litvak who finds the whole Crown Heights situation to be fun to visit once in a while, but that's about it. I'm simply curious why you as (I presume) an insider find the situation problematic.)
I appreciate the question, and thanks for reading the post.
In regards to 30 years on Vs 3, It's a new generation now, We were just little kids when he passed and never saw or met him. I'm sure for those who were adults 3 years on, their still vivid memories of him helped lend credence to the belief of his resurrection.
I'm sure there will be many who continue to draw inspiration from his videos in the future.
But for others, like me and many of my peers, who had more curious minds, when we saw that the Messianic prophesies he preached in those videos and written works had failed to materialize 30 years on, it had a devastating effect on how we viewed his spiritual authority, and it gave us an opening to question what we were being taught, which for some, led to a catastrophic impact on ones faith at large.
Thanks for the reply. I'm still not quite sure what you mean that the 'Messianic prophesies he preached in those videos and written works failing to materialize 30 years on' and why it should result in 'a devastating effect on how we viewed his spiritual authority.' Maybe I'm more clueless than I realized, but my general sense was that the rebbe preached pretty standard ideas about moshiach-ואף על פי שיתמהמה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא- but just put more of an emphasis on it- kind of the way the religious zionists tend to overemphasize the importance of Eretz Yisrael.
I think you may find that this resonates with you. I read it a while ago, but must have skimmed it, and not quite grasped what the author was trying to say.
Relevant quote:
"Tragically, the coronavirus has hit the Rebbe’s community in Brooklyn very hard. At least 100 members of his tight-knit community in Crown Heights passed away in the first wave of the pandemic in early 2020. Among the victims was the Rebbe’s personal long-time secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, a revered figure within the Chabad movement. Sadly, a close Chabad friend of mine, Rabbi Yehudah Dukes, age 40, recently lost his 10-month heroic battle with COVID-19. For his wife, six children, and the entire Chabad community, Rabbi Dukes’s passing was a terrible and painful blow.
"In reading responses and missives following some of these losses, it has occurred to me that the denial over the Rebbe’s death has trickled down to personal tragedies as well. Now, the Rebbe is not the only one who is only “temporarily” missing; his followers are as well. This jump from the temporarily missing Rebbe to personal loss may not have been inevitable in 1994, but it may be the logical consequence of Chabad’s inability to come to terms with the Rebbe’s earthly passing."
The Rebbe was utterly convinced he was the Messiah until close to the end. That's why he never appointed a successor or made any contingent plans until it was too late for him.
He had no inkling that he would die. For a visionary like he was, he failed to accept his own mortality. He failed in his stated mission from 1951. He failed his own generation (until 1994) and the future generations of Chabad. By mythologising his predecessor, he turned himself into almost a god eventually believing in his own divinity.
Moshiach is itself a fantasy of wishful thinking. And the idea of a Tzadik never dying is fiction. Every great leader's death leads their adherents to extreme improbable and impossible outcomes and Chabad is no different.
Did any Chabad Rebbe appoint a successor? Even the fifth Rebbe said, "I am leaving the Seforim with you," without appointing his only son.
And Moshiach is a fact, whether you like it or not. Even if Chabad made a joke of the idea. We have prophecies, rather clear ones, that have foretold it. But no worries, in Egypt it was also difficult to accept that salvation was possible, and near.
None of the previous rebbes of Lubavitch appointed successors. They didn't need to as they had sons and / or sons in law who could and would take over. In the case of the rebbe, being without children, it was his responsibility to groom potential successors but he failed to do so. This effectively ended the dynasty.
As for Moshiach, people (not just jews) have been deluding themselves for 1500 years that utopia is coming any moment. I'm glad you've joined their deluded ranks! Meanwhile, the rest of the "normal" people of the world, understand that utopia only arises from within!
1. Your knowledge of Chabad history is quite lacking. The Baal Hatanya had a succession war, as did the Tzemach Tzedek, who was taken over by all five sons. The Maharash had three sons, and it took time until the second one took over.
2. You fail to address the source of the belief in Moshiach. People believe in germ theory too. Doesn't make it untrue.
This is how well informed you are: I am actually a Chabad historian and researcher. I think I know a thing or two about its history (and BTW, the Tzemach Tzedek had seven sons, not five, as you contend. Go learn some history before dropping your silly nonsense).
1. You just bolstered my point: they had succession wars because there was more than one potential candidate.
2. Beliefs and perdictions that remain unfulfilled for many hundreds of years can pretty much be discarded as wishful thinking and untrue.
They didn't 'appoint' successors. As I wrote. (And five children of the Zemach Tzedek became Rebbes, that was my point)
When a prediction is given for the long term, its lack of fulfillment in the short term has no bearing on its veracity. In this case, the short term is hundreds of years.
Read my earlier comment where I said that they didn't appoint successors because they didn't need to. There were several potential candidates and in fact, eventually (in each case), the next leader was forthcoming- sooner or later. The rebbe made a mistake by ignoring his own inevitable demise, causing an end to the dynasty.
When the original prophecies included warnings such as אם יתמהמה חכה לו, a long wait is not proof against it. The irrational may be fed up of waiting, but those who follow their logic are not deluded by a lengthy wait.
When a "prophecy" includes that it will happen soon, very soon, in our lifetime, now, or that it already happened (all "prophecies" that the rebbe invoked at one time or another) and 50 years (or even 5 years!) passes, you can safely say that it's wishful thinking. Add that to all the other tzadikim spanning 1500s years who made their own similar prophecies in their times, and you can be very well assured that the whole idea of moshiach is as real as the tooth fairy and Santa Clause.
First off Menachem, I think this was a really brave post. I would challenge you to consider a more spiritual answer instead of a pragmatic one though. As we know, when a tzaddik passes away, his influence is able to be more influential by way of not being tied to the physical body.
There is a whole neshama aspect that I think is missing from this piece, and perhaps from the conversation.
Of course, I cannot comment on the method of indoctrination and stories you were told as a child but as someone who has had some pretty serious spiritual experiences and choosing this lifestyle because of its inherent spiritual realities, the question of The Rebbe being Moshiach has long passed me as being irrelevant. The power of someone like The Rebbe being able to reach beyond death, beyond limitations, is far from irrelevance though.
The Chafetz Chaim has reached beyond death too, as did Rabbi Akiva Eger, the Maharsha, the Ramchal, and the Rambam.
Turns out, immortality is not that difficult.
But Chabad, being a political party and identity movement, requires the belief that the last Rebbe of theirs was somehow unique. He was, but no more unique than anyone else. If his influence lasted longer, it is only the outer locus of that influence, such as his picture, place of living and burial, and name. His inner world is no more immortal than any other Jewish leader.
I was always surprised that there was almost no voices of reason from within Chabad.
When the source of contention focuses on if a dead person did or didn’t die, intellectually speaking, there is no hope for debate.
While I am glad to see that some are waking up to the reality of a death in 1994.
I am still sad for the pain of coming out of such a long cognitive dissonance.
Serious question: What do you want Chabad to do? The rebbe heavily implied he was the Mashiach in the Nun-Aleph Nun -Beis Sichos. They have to either renounce those sichos, which will kill the rebbe's authority in any way, or redefine them, which the more intellectually honest learners will realize.
The reason you hear ridiculous apologetics is because in Chabad, people need the Rebbe's authority to believe.
I don't see a way out of this for chabad that doesn't result in a large amount of the younger generation going off the derech.
Well said.
I don't see a way out either, but judging by the reaction I received in Shul today about this post, It's starting a conversation :-)
What was the reaction?
At one point the Jewish world in general and Chabad especially must grapple with the question of what constitutes "off the derech". Which derech are we talking about? If your whole belief in God rests on one man being the messiah, then perhaps we are not speaking of the Jewish derech...
I say this with all due respect and in the interest of generating introspective though not debate.
I think you covered it beautifully. I was one of those that Lubavitch found wandering in the wilderness. Over the years I started to see the societal cracks, the theological cracks, and having had the benefit of secular education and awareness of history and culture, it was very difficult to continue down the path and feel intellectually honest.
The stories of Rebbe supermen were hard to reconcile with knowing that pogroms sent Jews frequently flying across the Pale with hardly a thought. The famous story of the Alter Rebbe blowing the shofar early and "beating Napoleon" seem incredulous when you see that somehow superman still had to go to jail. Even the famous story of "stopping the boat for kiddush levana". People found it so inspiring, I always wondered "if it was like that, why didn't he just lead them to Eretz Yisrael?". The Friedeker Rebbe being beaten within an inch of his life and coming in a wheelchair just furthered that belief, as did the last Rebbe's fleeing the Nazis. Somehow he could "kill Stalin with a niggun during a farbrengen and a hand gesture" but had to run from the Nazis and sacrifice his chassidim to Stalin's gulags to educate people about alef bet.
I think that Chabad, and really the chassidic movement in general, has painted itself into a corner with storytelling. What might have started as a comfort thing became an unquestioned belief that sits opposite very unusual and contradictory realities.
The whole thing needs an honest assessment of what reality is. If a person desires to wear a streimel or wait for Rabbeinu Tam or tie 2 sets of tefillin, *b'chofshi* (outside some of the halachic issues that emerge, specifically in Zman Rabbeinu Tam). But beyond that is an issue. Talking about the dead as if they're coming back to save us all comes eerily close to Christianity that all the audience already know about from the world around them. Talking about rebbes as superheroes in fedoras or streimels sounds childish and untrue to the intended audiences outside the fold who are secular entirely because the supermen couldn't physically save their ancestors grief or stave off the foes.
I feel bad for my peers from yeshiva who raise their kids in the fold, with yehi kippot on their heads, 100% never having met the man. A lost generation pretending they knew someone they didn't for the sake of a generation that will never know what everyone's truly been talking about.
Thank you for your detailed comment! I appreciate the time you took to read the post.
This is a good point.
It's especially ironic considering that Chabad originally started off as a chasidus opposed to Rebbe stories, based on chochma, bina, and Daas.
The saddest ending considering when I was in yeshiva we BTs were told that what made us "superior" to ChaGaS was that they rely on their rebbes to do everything...and yet in the end Chabad as a movement basically does that for magic fix to all the problems.
Until you pointed out, I didn't realize the irony.
The litvish did that too, mock Chasidim and then had R Chaim Kanievsky stories...
Or Chafetz Chaim.....or Avigdor Miller...or Rav Shach...
I've heard them all named in those. I'm sure if I stuck my head back in that world (via friends who engage with it) I'd hear other names too.
It's a sad state of affairs and I plan on addressing the idea in my own post at some point once I gather the ideas in my head. A lot of what I think is considered "extreme" and "radical" but a thinking person with honesty to think on hard topics will find it makes sense the way this convo has made sense ;)
Thank you, Menachem, for the enlightening history. As a non- Chabad Jew, a non- affiliated Jew, I have found Chabad rabbis to be personable, as opposed to the average dull Orthodox Rabbi. Although I had heard about the Rebbe(s), I was not aware that Chabad harbored a cult of personality. We all wait for the Messiah, but, as I now see, some more than others. I do think the cult of Rebbe almost bordered on idol worship. Such a disappointment. While I have no bias against teaching or leadership, I think most Jews would benefit from having a more personal relationship with our Lord G-d. Personalities and organizations have a tendency to interfere with our connection to the Almighty. Shalom
Thank you for reading the post!
So Menachem, I see an extremely vibrant Lubavitch all over the US Canada Israel Europe the UK and Australia, the younger generation, say those up to 45-50 are enthusiastic about their Chabad.
Yes there are questions about how we understand the messianic push of the Rebbe ( May his merit protect us) but for so many it is not that relevant, they are busy preparing themselves for a messianic age of the future, they are committed to Torah and Mitzvis for themselves and other Yidden they can reach.
Thank you for reading!
Yes, I acknowledge those not effected in my post.
"How much longer can we be sold the stale goods of his resurrection when he’s become just another promised returnee in the pantheon of global Messiahs?"
Is there any reason why it's any more difficult 30 years on than 3? If anything, to a casual observer like me, it seems like things have pretty much stabilized. I don't see why you think that chabad kids can't watch videos of him for the next 30 years too.
To put it slightly differently, can you be more specific about what real world harms you see in the belief that he's going to come back from the dead? Is it simply that you find the belief itself repulsive, or is there something concrete?
(I'm not a lubavitcher. And I'm not likely to become one any time soon. I'm a litvak who finds the whole Crown Heights situation to be fun to visit once in a while, but that's about it. I'm simply curious why you as (I presume) an insider find the situation problematic.)
I appreciate the question, and thanks for reading the post.
In regards to 30 years on Vs 3, It's a new generation now, We were just little kids when he passed and never saw or met him. I'm sure for those who were adults 3 years on, their still vivid memories of him helped lend credence to the belief of his resurrection.
I'm sure there will be many who continue to draw inspiration from his videos in the future.
But for others, like me and many of my peers, who had more curious minds, when we saw that the Messianic prophesies he preached in those videos and written works had failed to materialize 30 years on, it had a devastating effect on how we viewed his spiritual authority, and it gave us an opening to question what we were being taught, which for some, led to a catastrophic impact on ones faith at large.
Thanks for the reply. I'm still not quite sure what you mean that the 'Messianic prophesies he preached in those videos and written works failing to materialize 30 years on' and why it should result in 'a devastating effect on how we viewed his spiritual authority.' Maybe I'm more clueless than I realized, but my general sense was that the rebbe preached pretty standard ideas about moshiach-ואף על פי שיתמהמה אחכה לו בכל יום שיבוא- but just put more of an emphasis on it- kind of the way the religious zionists tend to overemphasize the importance of Eretz Yisrael.
EDIT-
https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/after-the-death-of-chabads-messiah/
I think you may find that this resonates with you. I read it a while ago, but must have skimmed it, and not quite grasped what the author was trying to say.
Relevant quote:
"Tragically, the coronavirus has hit the Rebbe’s community in Brooklyn very hard. At least 100 members of his tight-knit community in Crown Heights passed away in the first wave of the pandemic in early 2020. Among the victims was the Rebbe’s personal long-time secretary, Rabbi Leibel Groner, a revered figure within the Chabad movement. Sadly, a close Chabad friend of mine, Rabbi Yehudah Dukes, age 40, recently lost his 10-month heroic battle with COVID-19. For his wife, six children, and the entire Chabad community, Rabbi Dukes’s passing was a terrible and painful blow.
"In reading responses and missives following some of these losses, it has occurred to me that the denial over the Rebbe’s death has trickled down to personal tragedies as well. Now, the Rebbe is not the only one who is only “temporarily” missing; his followers are as well. This jump from the temporarily missing Rebbe to personal loss may not have been inevitable in 1994, but it may be the logical consequence of Chabad’s inability to come to terms with the Rebbe’s earthly passing."
Well written, Menachem, and quite accurate.
The Rebbe was utterly convinced he was the Messiah until close to the end. That's why he never appointed a successor or made any contingent plans until it was too late for him.
He had no inkling that he would die. For a visionary like he was, he failed to accept his own mortality. He failed in his stated mission from 1951. He failed his own generation (until 1994) and the future generations of Chabad. By mythologising his predecessor, he turned himself into almost a god eventually believing in his own divinity.
Moshiach is itself a fantasy of wishful thinking. And the idea of a Tzadik never dying is fiction. Every great leader's death leads their adherents to extreme improbable and impossible outcomes and Chabad is no different.
"Memento Mori": words to live by for everyone from the greatest tzadik to the lowliest gentile
Did any Chabad Rebbe appoint a successor? Even the fifth Rebbe said, "I am leaving the Seforim with you," without appointing his only son.
And Moshiach is a fact, whether you like it or not. Even if Chabad made a joke of the idea. We have prophecies, rather clear ones, that have foretold it. But no worries, in Egypt it was also difficult to accept that salvation was possible, and near.
None of the previous rebbes of Lubavitch appointed successors. They didn't need to as they had sons and / or sons in law who could and would take over. In the case of the rebbe, being without children, it was his responsibility to groom potential successors but he failed to do so. This effectively ended the dynasty.
As for Moshiach, people (not just jews) have been deluding themselves for 1500 years that utopia is coming any moment. I'm glad you've joined their deluded ranks! Meanwhile, the rest of the "normal" people of the world, understand that utopia only arises from within!
1. Your knowledge of Chabad history is quite lacking. The Baal Hatanya had a succession war, as did the Tzemach Tzedek, who was taken over by all five sons. The Maharash had three sons, and it took time until the second one took over.
2. You fail to address the source of the belief in Moshiach. People believe in germ theory too. Doesn't make it untrue.
This is how well informed you are: I am actually a Chabad historian and researcher. I think I know a thing or two about its history (and BTW, the Tzemach Tzedek had seven sons, not five, as you contend. Go learn some history before dropping your silly nonsense).
1. You just bolstered my point: they had succession wars because there was more than one potential candidate.
2. Beliefs and perdictions that remain unfulfilled for many hundreds of years can pretty much be discarded as wishful thinking and untrue.
They didn't 'appoint' successors. As I wrote. (And five children of the Zemach Tzedek became Rebbes, that was my point)
When a prediction is given for the long term, its lack of fulfillment in the short term has no bearing on its veracity. In this case, the short term is hundreds of years.
Read my earlier comment where I said that they didn't appoint successors because they didn't need to. There were several potential candidates and in fact, eventually (in each case), the next leader was forthcoming- sooner or later. The rebbe made a mistake by ignoring his own inevitable demise, causing an end to the dynasty.
When the original prophecies included warnings such as אם יתמהמה חכה לו, a long wait is not proof against it. The irrational may be fed up of waiting, but those who follow their logic are not deluded by a lengthy wait.
When a "prophecy" includes that it will happen soon, very soon, in our lifetime, now, or that it already happened (all "prophecies" that the rebbe invoked at one time or another) and 50 years (or even 5 years!) passes, you can safely say that it's wishful thinking. Add that to all the other tzadikim spanning 1500s years who made their own similar prophecies in their times, and you can be very well assured that the whole idea of moshiach is as real as the tooth fairy and Santa Clause.
First off Menachem, I think this was a really brave post. I would challenge you to consider a more spiritual answer instead of a pragmatic one though. As we know, when a tzaddik passes away, his influence is able to be more influential by way of not being tied to the physical body.
There is a whole neshama aspect that I think is missing from this piece, and perhaps from the conversation.
Of course, I cannot comment on the method of indoctrination and stories you were told as a child but as someone who has had some pretty serious spiritual experiences and choosing this lifestyle because of its inherent spiritual realities, the question of The Rebbe being Moshiach has long passed me as being irrelevant. The power of someone like The Rebbe being able to reach beyond death, beyond limitations, is far from irrelevance though.
Thank you taking time to read it! I understand and respect your perspective.
The Chafetz Chaim has reached beyond death too, as did Rabbi Akiva Eger, the Maharsha, the Ramchal, and the Rambam.
Turns out, immortality is not that difficult.
But Chabad, being a political party and identity movement, requires the belief that the last Rebbe of theirs was somehow unique. He was, but no more unique than anyone else. If his influence lasted longer, it is only the outer locus of that influence, such as his picture, place of living and burial, and name. His inner world is no more immortal than any other Jewish leader.
Lol. When it comes to other types of yiddishkeit you see through the bs claims no problem.
You are chasing me around with the spurious claim that I fail to see through the bs in our system.
In reality, you are claiming they have a warped ideal. I am claiming that the ideal is fine, its actualization is filled with bs.
The ideal is warped for young teens. I stand by my claim. (This is not the same re adults or older teens).
And again, your reading comprehension never fails to match your comprehension of life in general.
Said the guy living in the bubble.
Very thought provoking.
Can I ask what your personal connection to chabad is?
Thanks for reading! I was raised and educated in a Chabad community.
Great writing and important point. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Thank you Ben! I appreciate your feedback!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your well written article. It really resonated with me.
I'm looking forward to reading what you will write about next.
Thank you Esther!
Wow! Speaking straight powerful truths. Wonderfully written Menachem, thanks for sharing!
Professor Samuel Heilman: Who Will Lead Us - good chapter on Lubavitch.
Credibility level - low to zero
?
Much Mahalo
שבת שלום
Amazing writing. Keep it coming.
I appreciate the feedback!
Beautifully written. I learned so much. Thank you!
Thank you Sharon!