Monday, February 11, 2008

For All Your Religious Needs


Who Chabad Shluchim Help

Often times the response to criticism of Chabad by Rabbinic individuals will be "If their son or daughter goes off the derech who they gonna call?" That may be somewhat of a stretch, since we can't all sit back and wait for somebody's kid to frei out r"l. It also brings in the whole "ends justify the means" ideal, not something we subscribe to. You also cannot judge people in times of distress, so the fact that they turn to Chabad in times of need means little to me, Keyodua the story with Rav Aron Kotler and the mob. I say that as a Lubavitcher; the fact that people use Chabad when it's convenient for them is proof more of peoples' weakness of character than what they believe or don't believe in. So, the fact that he looks to a Lubavitcher for help with his child means not so much to me; he just doesn't have the guts not to, he wants his child back.

The pictures that I link to are of a Seudas Yohrtzeit in Istanbul, Turkey at the home of the Lubavitcher Shliach there, who happens to be a friend of mine - not that it matters. It sems like recently the Tziyun of the Baal Smichas Chachomim has become a hotspot for grave-hoppers, and there's a substantial Aliyah LeKever on or around his Yohrtzeit. Some of the usuals include Reb Itcher Meir Morgenstern, a Breslover/Mekubel from Yerushalayim, Rav Yekutiel Abuchatzera, and others. This year the Rachmistrivker Rebbe of Yerushalayim also was there. Of course, where would Rabbonim and Tzaddikim eat the Seudah and rest up from their journey? Do they go to the local Aish or Or Someach branch, noooo. They go to our friend the shliach, and they gives them all the comforts of home, including bulkes, and gefilte fish, so that they can have the seudah mit alle pitchevkes.

It comes as no surprise that people like the Rachmistrivker and Reb Itche Meir stay there; they're not vocal opponents of what Chabad does, and have no qualms about staying there, but there is one fellow at the table that surprised me somewhat; Rav Moshe Shapira. Readers of Gil Students's Blog may know him from proclamations he made in Rav Elyashiv's name about Rabbonim who subscribe to Slifkin etc. BeNoge'ah creation and the age of the world; namely that those who do believe in evolution or that the world is more than 5768 years old are heretics and should be removed from their posts. He's somewhat of a Reb Don Segal, and is traveling to the FSU in the near future with him to lead the VLNY's annual PR trip to the FSU. Needless to say he's no fan of Chabad. He was there for another reason, a noble one actually, to view the destruction of the ancient Jewish cemetery, something that was made possible by the local Jewish community, by them selling the land to local developers ana allowing them to do with the land as they wish. In any event, I hope that Rav Shapira will go back to Eretz Yisroel and tell his friends and colleagues about the good work Chabad does, and maybe in the FSU he'll make a detour and see what they do there too.

וה' יברך את עמו בשלום


24 comments:

  1. have no illusion that chabad is still the automatic adress for 'kids off the path'
    the litvishe world is now no less involved in this matter ditto general and campus kiruv.
    part of the frustration of chabad is that they face such competition and in fact are only the sole jewish representatives in places like istanbul and katmandoo

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  2. Yep, whilst only a fool would claim that Chabad doesn't do a sterling job in kiruv, the fact is that most Shlichim (maybe not all) get pretty nervous if anyone else has ideas of establishing a competing kiruv org anywhere near "their" region. In fact they very much discourage even other Chabadniks coming there. The Chabad turf wars are pretty well documented - ayen erech California.

    So yes, they do a good job, but like other 'businesses' they do not encourage competition.

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  3. some lubavither shluchim go out of their way to acommondate frume yiden in their place so they should be able to show their own kids a sampling of religous jewry,Some how the magic of the Meshalach is not working for them

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  4. The yehoshua's of the world who sit in the tents of Torah have no hate towards Lubavitchers.

    The problems come from the "erev rav", people who are "farmished un angezunken" (me'urav) in comparative religion, chochmos chitzoniyus, etc. These people construct a "golden calf" for themselves, turning the Rebbe into a diety ch"v, (where no normal Lubavitcher would dream of such a thing) and then turn around and scream at Lubavitchers "eleh elokecha yisrael asher he'elucho me'eretz mitzroyim".

    Far be it from me, a caring and concerned individual, to take away pleasure from these people, but I'm sorry: I've got to inform you that this avodah zoro that you created based on your limited understanding of nistar, it's not my god; My Rebbe is not Hashem, nor did he take us out of golus yet.

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  5. Thanks
    we have a kosher place where to stay in Turkey

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  6. Friendly Anonymous said:
    "My Rebbe is not Hashem, nor did he take us out of golus yet."
    why stay anonymous? why dont proclaim your statment publicly and collect signitures from fellow lubavitchers that if hashem sends mushiach to take us out of guless will go ,no matter who that mushiach is

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  7. Wasserleitung . . . Think for a second. Imagine a shliach who has been in an area for years, given his energy sweat and and blood to a place. He's lived on the brink of financial ruin in yehupitz for years etc. etc.
    Now think how he feels when some other organization moves in, with ample money to back it, and starts making claims that finally Torah Judaism has come to this place . . .

    B'chlal, I saw in Venice, that save the most Farbissina Misnagdim, everyone loves chabad unterveggens -the lovely yechi accouterments and all.
    When there's koshere essen, a shul with a minyan (and in this case chassidishe bochurim noch), they're more the nispoal from what we do.

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  8. > Anonymous said...
    Friendly Anonymous...why stay anonymous?<
    LOL

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  9. quote the Rebbe said refering to the Rashag on his Yurtzeit in 1992:, it is interesting to note the phrase Tzadik etc... Shneur will enjoy this.


    ויש לו גם-כן את ה"זרעו בחיים" - אלה הם התלמידים דתומכי תמימים... והעיקר... תחיית-המתים תיכף ומיד, כיוון שצדיקים קמים בתחילה, ובשורות טובות, ובפרט שהם באים ("זיי קומען צוגיין") עם חיל גדול - תלמידיהם ותלמידי תלמידיהם...

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  10. Is that why the Alter rebbe created Chabad ? Was his chief concern to create a network of kretchmes to serve bilkelech and oiff to orchim.? In that case why did the Rashab not create a network of Holiday Inns in White Russia ?
    Certainly many Chagas rebbes spoke highly of the tafkid of the kretchme for the Jewish traveller.
    Lehavdil let me pose a question Many Missionary groups do excellent medical relief work. They also do other excellent welfare and relief work. This was the case in Jslm in the 19th century. Did the Chachmei Yerushalim of the 19th centruy get nispoel from this and permit these groups to work in jewish Jerusalem.Of course not .
    If in fact these Misnagdim oppose Chabad today on Messianic grounds , these people are tzevuim , who sell their hashkofe for a warm quart of soup.
    But that in no way sanctions the new Messianic paths of contemporary Chabad. It reflects poorly on the moral fabric of these people rather than posatively on Chabad hashkofes.

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  11. Friendly anonymous,
    Just that you know, I have never before seen such a rational statement from a Lubavitcher.If all Lubavitchers were as upfront as you are the walls of distrust would melt.I also second the motion of why remain anonymous!

    I can tell you that I attended a farbrengen with Avremel Shemtov the big anti together with Itzel Springer the big meshichist and could not figure out there hashkafic differences.Apparently Avremel couldn't either, because he was going on and on about how they both agree about the Rebbe being moshiach etc etc, just not screaming this out all the time.
    This was motsoeh Pesach in 770 a couple of years ago.

    Chevra Lubavitcher:Please understand that you can't wipe away the suspicion and concerns that people you call 'snags' have about Lubavitch.Calling it age old hate is simply untrue.There are hardly any ripples between these people and other chasidic groups.In fact Rav Shteinman one of the leaders of these 'snags' is very close and has toured with the Gere Rebbe.
    The reason for the mistrust is that no bog names have publicly took a stand and they leave it to shluchim like Weiss and Elazarie to do the dirty work and than they cannot dare step into 770 alone.
    Peace

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  12. Well, well...
    It all depends. If your are talking about a misnagdishe notion of god, the big scary bean-counter in the sky, then a tzaddik is fill hecher.... If, however, you are talking about G-d with the musogim fun chasidus chabad, then every Jew, even the greatest tzaddik, even עולם האצילות are still ממש כלא חשיבי לפניו

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  13. Why didn't you post my comment?

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  14. responding to wasserleitung:
    one does indeed have to concede that the sinat chinom of chabad for other religious jews is no greater than their sinoh for each other!!

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  15. There was nothing wrong with it.
    You know it.
    I want to add that I'm losing respect for you.I feel you are a mecharcher riv , partisan and dishonest.To top it all you seem to think that a blog is some kind of inreach tool to turn people into Lubavitchers.That's called the failed shliach complex, you weren't chosen as a shaliach so you trying to do your shlichus here.
    And, actually in a funny way you have succeeded..........You have shown the hidden,nasty side of Lubavitch, where anything goes to 'defend' the Rebbe zatsals memory(while actually doing him a disservice).You are also always in the shadow of other posters such as Berl Crown Heights, apparently afraid to offend 'shpitz chabad'.

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  16. nussy

    I completely disagree with u
    In this blog I am finding out that Lubs are not the way I was thaught

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  17. Tzig, I'm gaining respect for you. I feel you are defender against all the mecharchey riv, partisan and brutally shonest. To top it all when people read your blog, they can't help but recondider their negative image towards Lubavitchers. That's called the "everyone is a shliach" complex, where the Rebbe asked everyone to do shlichus with the people that they have a shaychus to,so you trying to do your shlichus here.

    And, actually in a serious way you have succeeded..........You have shown the hidden,nasty side of the bashers, where anything goes to attack the Rebbe zatsals memory(while actually doing him a service).You are somewhat in the shadow of other posters such as Berl Crown Heights, but that's just because he has a wonderful way with words; some might call it semantics, but I call it fuzzy and friendly.

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  18. What does chabad do with their freied out kids?

    Nowadays there are so many of them, its a problem.

    Once upon a time they sent them to a little shtetl in Iowa, until some poor local got shot in a holdup.

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  19. הכל צריכין למרי חטיא

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  20. Psol we let them go to parties with all of the fried out Ingerishe and Snags.
    Shoitah Bistu.

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  21. Schneur
    Your demagogy is Sharpton style, by calling the Chabad houses Holiday Inns,
    Let me just describe what I saw yesterday in Chabad in Vegas this is the big season for clothing shows, I saw there real penimiusdige yiden davening intensely, and listening to a chasisishe vort of the Rav and in the evening there is shiurim in Daf Yomi and Chassidus in depth all of them were locals with nice families,all of these is the credit of the Rebbe ZT"L and multiply these in the thousands, so now tell me why is these off from the Rebbe Reshab rotzan? maybe the Belzer bachur is not learning Chassidus yet, but you have thousands of jewish souls connected to yiddishkiet with the right emuna basshem al pi chassidus.and its amazing how a yungerman takes his job so seriously teaching halacha, gemara, chassidus, brought kashrus to the area,

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  22. OK, what's the story about R. Aharon Kotler and the mob?

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  23. Do you know the name and address of the cemetery where the Smichas Chachomim is buried?
    Thank you,

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