Brooklyn College Magazine — Spring 2002

Broeklundian Professor David Berger is a respected scholar of medieval Jewish history. An ordained rabbi, he is a specialist in Jewish—Christian relations as well as messianism and messianic movements. Like many in the Orthodox community, Berger was alarmed by claims of some followers of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the renowned seventh Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidim, that Schneerson was "King Moshiach." Even when Schneerson died in June 1994, many followers continued to adhere to this belief. The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference (Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001) analyzes the question of why more Orthodox Jews are not alarmed and sets forth proposals to marginalize and contain this development.

Why did you write this book?

DB: I am convinced that the Jewish religion is being radically transformed by this development, and yet hardly anyone seems to appreciate its full significance. For more than a millennium, Jews have told Christians that Judaism categorically rejects the belief that the Messiah could appear, begin his redemptive career, experience death and burial in an unredeemed world, and return after his resurrection to effect the final redemption. And now, a major segment—almost certainly the majority—of a presumably Orthodox Jewish movement affirms precisely such a doctrine, and the believers continue to be treated as Orthodox rabbis in perfectly good standing. Even more remarkably, some of these believers have further blurred the line between Judaism and Christianity by attributing fully divine characteristics to their Messiah. I wrote this book to alert Jews, especially Orthodox Jews, to the fact that they are in the process of undermining their religion.

What gives you a special insight into this?

DB: The book mobilizes two major areas of my academic expertise—the history of the Jewish—Christian debate and of Jewish messianism—in the service of a religious objective. It recounts an ongoing earthquake in the history of Judaism, attempts a sociological explanation of the reasons for the failure to recognize it, analyzes the belief from the perspective of Jewish law and theology, and proposes a communal strategy to confront it. A nearly unique set of characteristics converged in me: expertise in the history of the relevant issues, rabbinic training, traditional Jewish belief, even a brief foray into religious apologetics through a coauthored book responding to Jews for Jesus. I could never have imagined that I would experience the combination of scholarly fantasy and religious nightmare that this development provides.

What has been the reaction to your book?

DB: Passionate and polarized. On—line reader reviews assign it either one star or five. A Jerusalem Post review called it "the most important book of Judaism—not about Judaism but of Judaism—-to appear this year, and the most urgent in decades." In a private letter, a learned rabbi described it as a masterpiece, and a distinguished intellectual wrote, "I cannot think of another piece of writing that has so completely re—engaged the historical study of Judaism with living Judaism." On the other hand, a Lubavitch rabbi wrote a long response called "The Professor, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Calumnies," another wrote a short book entitled Attack on Lubavitch, and an article in a Lubavitch—oriented Yiddish newspaper compared me to Osama bin Laden and the book to Mein Kampf. The real question is whether action will be taken to place the believers outside the orbit of Orthodox Judaism. There have been some glimmers of hope on that score, but the likelihood remains remote. The future of the messianic faith of Judaism hangs in
the balance.