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Most Hasidic Jews live their lives within the confines of insular
communities.
Yet, in cities around the world, from Dallas to Shanghai, members of one Hasidic movement offer kosher
food to travelers, run soup kitchens, operate centers for Jewish life on college campuses, and study Torah with Jews and non-Jews
alike.
These charitable acts can be traced to the worldview of one man, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh
rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Though he rarely left the Crown Heights section
of Brooklyn, where the group is based, his influence, Jewish scholars say, has been immense. Despite predictions that Rabbi
Schneerson's death 10 years ago – on June 12, 1994 - would be the beginning of the end for Chabad-Lubavitch, the movement
has continued to grow rapidly since it lost its beloved leader.
And while headlines have mostly focused on a faction
of Chabad promoting the idea that the rebbe would return from the dead as the Messiah – a notion he tried to dissuade when
he was alive – Lubavitchers have continued carrying his message of love for all Jews to new, often remote locales.
"In
my mind, he is one of the most remarkable religious leaders, not just Jewish, of the post-war era," said Jonathan Sarna, a
historian of American Judaism at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. "There's no [Jewish] movement that has really enjoyed
that kind of growth and success, and it continues ... Much of it was due to Menachem Mendel."
Hasidism, a highly traditionalist
form of Judaism with roots in 18th-century Europe, emphasizes the individual's ability to get close to God. Hasidim, as followers
of the tradition are known, focus on studying, praying, and following the mitzvot, or scriptural commandments. The men are
recognizable by their long black coats and fur or black hats. Women wear long skirts and wigs after they are married.
Hasidic
movements are generally centered around a charismatic leader, known as the rebbe. (A decade after his death, at age 92, Rabbi
Schneerson's followers still refer to him simply as "the rebbe.")
The Hasidic branch he led, Chabad-Lubavitch, was
founded in 1796 in the Russian town of Lubavitch. "Chabad" is an acronym of the Hebrew words for "wisdom, comprehension, and
knowledge."
After the Holocaust, the number of Hasidim in America swelled. Most settled into isolated, detached communities,
as they sought to recreate the shelter they had lost in Europe.
Rabbi Schneerson became the seventh Lubavitcher rebbe
in 1950 after the death of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Joseph I. Schneersohn, who had settled in Crown Heights.
He quickly steered Chabad in a new direction.
"Whereas most Hasidic groups decided the way to survive was
through an enclave, he decided that Lubavitcher's success would be by going out," Dr. Sarna said.
Although the group
dislikes the term "missionary" because its goal is not to convert people to Judaism, Chabad's efforts have often been likened
to those of Mormon or evangelical Christian missionaries.
Rabbi Schneerson taught that the Messiah's arrival could
be hastened if the sparks of Jewishness were lit within every Jewish soul. So thousands of young members fanned out across
the globe to engage Jews with Judaism.
"They felt they were involved in the most important activity in the history
of the world," Dr. Sarna said.
These emissaries, known as shluchim, teach classes, lead prayer services, feed the hungry,
visit hospitals, organize summer camps, lead celebrations of Jewish holidays on college campuses.
They can often be
seen on street corners or in office buildings, asking passersby, "Are you Jewish?"
Their approach may be new, especially
for Hasidism, but the message is age-old: fidelity to Jewish tradition and the joys of living a Jewish life.
In his
lifetime, the rebbe became, at least among Jews, a celebrity of sorts. Politicians and business leaders would visit him in
Brooklyn, seeking his advice and blessing. Followers would wait in line, sometimes for hours, for a few minutes with the rebbe.
Long before Ariel Sharon became prime minister of Israel, he met with the rebbe to talk about Mideast security issues.
Mr. Sharon praised Rabbi Schneerson as a "one-of-a-kind sage" and a "far-seeing strategist."
Those who knew him describe
a man whose kindness was readily evident in his words and deeds. Countless stories circulate in Chabad circles of the blessings
he offered and of the good that came to those who followed his advice.
Today, photos of Rabbi Schneerson, with his
black hat and long gray beard, are ubiquitous in Chabad households and institutions. Followers still mourn his death, and
say they wish younger Jews could have learned from the rebbe. Some address letters to his gravesite in Queens, N.Y., asking
for his prayers or advice. Thousands of people visited the grave last month to commemorate the 10th anniversary of his death.
And for all their emphasis on traditional dress and traditional values, Chabad's emissaries have embraced modern technology,
including the Web, to keep the rebbe's message alive. (See www.chabad.org.)
Though Chabad has faced its share of criticism
and controversy, especially over the claims of some that the rebbe was the Messiah, many Jewish organizations have imitated
the movement's programs – from alcohol and drug abuse counseling to prison ministry to public Hanukkah candle-lightings.
"A
lot of other Jewish organizations have observed Chabad, and they are mirroring some of their outreach efforts," said Bryan
Mark Rigg, an adjunct professor of history at Southern Methodist University.
Mostly, however, scholars say the rebbe's
influence can be seen in the success of Chabad's efforts to entice unaffiliated Jews to greater levels of participation in
Jewish life.
"There are dozens and dozens of stories of people whose children encountered a Chabad shaliach [emissary]
and really did become transformed by it," said Samuel Heilman, a sociologist at the City University of New York. "Although
Chabad didn't invent it [outreach], they certainly mass-produce "
Still, rolling into a city with their black hats
and Old World ways, Chabad emissaries sometimes meet with hostility from local Jews.
"There's a concern that these
guys represent an old-fashioned kind of Jewish life that many of the people, particularly in suburbia, have gone away from,"
Dr. Heilman said.
Chabad, however, does not measure its success in the number of new members it attracts. Very few
people actually become Chabad Hasidim because of the movement's outreach. Rather, it hopes to awaken an appreciation of Jewishness
in unaffiliated Jews.
In the Dallas area, there are fewer than two dozen Chabad families who define themselves as
movement adherents and dress in the traditional Hasidic manner. But some 220 families are affiliated with Chabad's three area
synagogues without fully adopting the Hasidic lifestyle.
And many more take advantage of Chabad's educational, spiritual,
and social services programs, said Rabbi Mendel Dubrawsky, director of Dallas' Chabad for the past 20 years.
The rebbe
brought Judaism to the "public square," said Paul Golin of the Jewish Outreach Institute, a New York-based group that focuses
on reaching out to unaffiliated Jews and Jews' non-Jewish spouses.
As a result, people with little or no connection
to Judaism sometimes find themselves drawn to Jews who look like they belong more in Fiddler on the Roof than in a modern,
secular city. "In a society where community is hard to achieve, and where we're full of lonely people, Lubavitch creates community,"
Dr. Sarna said.
Chabad never charges for its services. Donations sustain the movement's international outreach.
Sue
Fishkoff, author of The Rebbe's Army, which chronicles contemporary Chabad life, called the movement's approach to Judaism
a "wake-up call" for other Jewish organizations.
"It's not about sitting quietly in pews," she said. "It's about living
your life and feeling it in your kishkes [gut]."
Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union of Reform Judaism – whose
liberal worldview could hardly be more different from Chabad's – speaks warmly about certain aspects of Chabad. In a 1999
speech, he said Reform Jews could take a lesson from the rebbe.
"Many, many Jews will tell you that a Chabad rabbi
was the first one to care, to really care, about their spiritual lives," he said.
Still, he said, he and other Reform
Jews have "significant disagreements" with the teachings of Chabad.
"To say that they're welcoming to all Jews does
not suggest that they are accepting of all forms of Judaism, because of course they are not," Rabbi Yoffie said.
Chabad
leaders don't disagree. The rebbe opposed the ideologies of non-Orthodox movements, saying they compromised Jewish law.
Rabbi
Yoffie's strongest criticism of Chabad is reserved for those who promote the idea that Rabbi Schneerson was the Messiah.
Though
Rabbi Schneerson did what he could to dispel that notion, such speculation intensified in his later years, especially after
a stroke limited his ability to counter the messianists. (That he was childless and did not appoint a successor has tended
to further fuel the messianic view. The movement has not named a new rebbe, and several members devoted to his memory say
there may never be one.)
At his death, some followers reportedly celebrated, believing his return was imminent. Even
today, many in the movement refuse to reject outright the possibility that Rabbi Schneerson could return as the Messiah. Belief
in the resurrection of the dead, they note, is an accepted tenet of traditional Orthodox Judaism. And some classical Jewish
texts leave open the possibility that a Messiah will emerge from the ranks of the dead.
While "no human can play God
to categorically rule out" the possibility of the rebbe's return, his followers ought not to be fixated on that possibility,
said Chabad spokesman Zalman Shmotkin. "Their efforts would clearly be better channeled in working to make this world a better
place," he said
Chabad leaders say the messianic fervor has largely died down, with only a small handful of activists
promoting the idea through billboards and newspaper ads.
Others say, however, that the belief is more prevalent than Chabad's
leaders admit.
"Within the Lubavitch community, you still have a schism," SMU's Dr. Rigg said. "Menachem Mendel was
the glue who held everyone together, and now they're going off in different directions."
The brouhaha hasn't stopped,
or even, apparently, slowed, the movement's worldwide growth.
In fact, after his death, "the movement grew with an
intensity it never had before," said Ms. Fishkoff, the author.
The number of Chabad emissaries tops 4,000 today, nearly
twice as many as a decade ago. The movement has most recently moved into Finland, India, Cypress, and, in the United States,
Idaho. It now has a presence in 45 states.
"I suspect that if we do have a settlement on the moon, there will be a
Chabad house there," Dr. Heilman said.
Michael Kress, a freelance writer based in Cambridge, Mass., is editor-in-chief
of the Web site MyJewishLearning.com.
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SIDEBAR: Non-Jewish 'Noahides'
Jews aren't the only ones
remembering the Lubavitcher rebbe on the 10th anniversary of his death.
A movement of non-Jews credits Rabbi Menachem
Mendel Schneerson with teaching them the "Noahide" laws, a set of precepts that, according to Jewish tradition, non-Jews must
follow.
Adherents of the movement, most of whom describe themselves as former Christians, are known as Noahides or
B'nei Noach – children of Noah. They gather weekly or monthly in fellowships, called chavurot, to study Jewish texts.
"The
Torah is not just a single path," said Terry Lanham, leader of Chavurath B'nei Noach (the Fellowship of the Children of Noah)
in Fort Worth. "The Torah is for all mankind."
The seven laws, which derive from the Book of Genesis, are: Do not
practice idol worship (or, in some translations, do not deny God); do not commit blasphemy; do not murder; do not engage in
illicit sex, such as adultery; do not steal; do not eat the limb of an animal that is still alive; and set up a court system.
Many Jewish texts expound on these and on non-Jews' responsibilities under Jewish law.
There is no formal national
or international organization of Noahides, so it's impossible to know how many there are. Adherents say their numbers are
growing. They credit the efforts of Chabad-Lubavitch, Rabbi Schneerson's Brooklyn-based Hasidic movement.
Chabad emphasizes
outreach to unaffiliated Jews. But the rebbe, as he was known to followers, also preached that Jews should teach non-Jews
about the Noahide laws.
"We have to speak up and explain and expound to people who are willing to listen," said Rabbi
Zalman Shmotkin, a Chabad spokesman.
He said it was America's openness – and the lack of centuries-old hostility here
between Jews and non-Jews – that made Noahide outreach viable.
During his lifetime, Rabbi Schneerson received numerous
presidential and congressional citations, many specifically praising his Noahide outreach.
On his 82nd birthday, for
instance, President Reagan issued a proclamation that said in part:
"In fostering and promoting a tradition of ethical
values that can trace its roots to the Seven Noahide Laws, which have often been cited as universal norms of ethical conduct
and a guarantee of fundamental human rights, the Lubavitch movement and its greatly respected leader have shown Americans
of every faith that true education involves not simply what one knows, but how one lives."
Vendyl Jones, an Arlington-based
archeologist, was studying at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1967 when he first heard about the Noahide laws.
Mr.
Jones, a former Southern Baptist minister, eventually renounced Christianity. In 1990, at a gathering in the Fort Worth Coliseum,
he announced the formal creation of a modern Noahide movement. (In practice, however, long before that official kickoff, Noahide
groups were "popping up all over the world," he said.)
Mr. Jones visited Brooklyn that year to seek Rabbi Schneerson's
blessing. "The rebbe grabbed me and put his arms around me and told me, 'Vendyl Jones, you are doing the most important work
in the world,' " he said.
A weekly study group in Mr. Jones' home attracts 10 to 70 people, he said. Mr. Lanham's
group, which meets monthly, involves about a dozen families.
Mr. Lanham cites Jewish texts with an ease that escapes
most Jews. Like many Noahides, he refers to God as "Hashem," literally "the name," a term commonly used by traditional Jews.
He said he's considered converting to Judaism, but his wife is opposed.
"It's not a requirement," he said.
"God made me a non-Jew for a very specific reason."
He said of Rabbi Schneerson and his efforts to teach Noahides,
"Thank God he did what he did."
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