THE SPIRITUAL LEADER

Menachem Schneerson died 10 years ago, yet many continue his work and seek his blessing, and some say he will return as the messiah

Sunday, June 20, 2004

BY JEFF DIAMANT

Star-Ledger Staff

Two days before his wedding earlier this month, Avi Herbstman of Morristown visited the Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn to use the prayer book of his deceased spiritual leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the rebbe to his Jewish followers.

Ziva Endzweig of Crown Heights, N.Y., still keeps in her wallet three dollar bills Schneerson gave her in the 1980s. She treasures 500 more, each distributed with a blessing, in a drawer at home.

And a cadre of Lubavitch rabbis from New Jersey crosses the Hudson and East rivers every week or so to visit Schneerson's grave site in Queens. Like hundreds of others, they ask Schneerson's spirit to intercede on their behalf with God.

A decade after his death at age 92, Schneerson's followers say they believe his spirit still guides them and their fast-growing Orthodox Lubavitch movement.

Schneerson's 10th yahrzeit, Yiddish for anniversary of a death, will be observed Tuesday. Although Schneerson died June 12, 1994, the anniversary is observed this year on Tuesday, due to differences in the Gregorian and lunar-based Hebrew clanedars. Thousands are expected at his grave in Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, and Lubavitchers will study, more than usual, his writings and speeches.

"It's more than a regular yahrzeit," said Lubavitch Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of Monroe in Middlesex County. "It's a time also of introspection to kind of zoom in on your personal relationship with the rebbe ... and your involvement in perpetuating his legacy."

Schneerson's death devastated Lubavitchers, leading to predictions that the movement would fade because of power struggles over his succession. Ten years later, there is still no successor.

However, there are more Lubavitch emissaries than ever -- about 4,000 compared with about 2,200 when Schneerson died -- who have moved to such far-flung places as New Zealand or Siberia to devote their lives to Schneerson's goal of helping Jews observe Jewish rituals and hasten the messiah's arrival.

"The rebbe is alive in this country in this respect, that his actions are actually being done," said Rabbi Yossi Hirsch, a Lubavitch rabbi in East Brunswick. "His actions have not ceased one second from the time of his death to now. Just the opposite. Now, 10 years later, his actions are being done more than when he was here."

Perhaps the most controversial issue among Lubavitchers is whether Schneerson will return as the long-awaited messiah, or moshiach in Hebrew, prophesied in the Bible to redeem the Jewish people and rid the world of problems.

A SENSE OF MISSION

The Lubavitch movement stems from ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Judaism, which dates to the 18th century in Ukraine. Several sects of Hasidic Judaism developed -- such as Lubavitch, Satmar, Bobover -- each with its own leader known as rebbe.

Schneerson was the seventh Lubavitch rebbe, replacing his deceased father-in-law in 1951. At that time, the movement was small and troubled, recovering from anti-Semitism in Russia after the 1917 revolution and dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Menachem Schneerson had a secular education in engineering, and, by all accounts, strong organizational skills, and charisma. He spoke fluent Yiddish and was known for his white beard and piercing blue eyes.

In addition, Schneerson was a master scholar of the Talmud, said Rabbi Moshe Herson, dean of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, a training ground for many Lubavitch rabbis.

But most important, said Jonathan Sarna, a Brandeis University professor of American Jewish relations and author of "American Judaism," was Schneerson's vision that if more Jews were religiously observant and performed more mitzvahs, Yiddish for good deeds, the awaited messiah would come sooner.

His charismatic leadership still resonates throughout the Lubavitch community, and it has fueled the movement's growth in the past decade to an estimated 200,000 people worldwide, Sarna said.

"By any reasonable measure, it's one of the most successful movements in American religion in the post-(World War II) era," Sarna said. "Here's a movement that was scarcely known in 1940, when it came to America. It had only a small number of followers ...

"When one looks at how Lubavitch has grown over the six decades or so from his assumption of this post, it's a remarkable story."

Today, Lubavitch emissaries are everywhere, from big cities to small towns. They hold synagogue services, give out Sabbath candles, serve kosher meals and do whatever else they can to help secular Jews become more observant.

Lubavitchers have helped their own popularity by downplaying beliefs that are controversial to the larger Jewish population, such as views that Schneerson is the messiah and Schneerson's support for right-wing Israeli political positions and opposition to abortion rights, Sarna said.

"It has been very clever in America to stress those areas where it is most likely to be attractive to the bulk of Jews, and to play down anti-abortion, or other church-state issues," he said.

TALK OF THE TOWN

When Schneerson was alive, Crown Heights buzzed with word of his every statement or activity.

Beepers went off when it was time for his weekly Saturday speech, given at a farbrengen, Yiddish for get-together. Children stood in awe at rallies where Schneerson distributed words of wisdom and dimes. People lined up for hours for blessings or advice by Schneerson and to receive a dollar meant for charity. Many would hold onto that dollar as a keepsake and give another one to charity.

"Everything we did," recalled Hirsch, who grew up in Crown Heights, "was based around what was going on with the rebbe. 'Would the rebbe give a talk today?' 'Would the rebbe come out and have a rally with the kids?'"

Such interactions inspired many to devote their lives to Schneerson's goals, Lubavitchers said.

More proof of the continued high regard for Schneerson is at his Queens grave site, where each week thousands pay their respects and ask for blessings.

"They felt he had an impact on their lives, and they continue to communicate with his spirit to receive inspiration from him," said Rabbi Abba Refson, who runs what Lubavitchers call the ohel, or tent, next to his grave site.

Visiting the grave of a tzaddik, a righteous, holy man in Yiddish, is viewed by many Jews as an opportunity to better communicate with God. People stop by and write letters to Schneerson, often asking him to intercede with God on their behalf.

They ask for blessings before birthdays, operations, weddings, expected births and to meet a prospective husband or wife. They take the letter to his grave site, tear it up, and sprinkle the paper on the grave.

THE MOSHIACH QUESTION

The Lubavitchers' belief that they can help usher in the messianic age by following Schneerson's goals contributes to the most controversial part of the movement -- the notion that Schneerson himself will still reveal himself as the messiah, despite his death 10 years ago.

Official Lubavitch leadership publicly repudiates this position, aware the belief alienates many non-Lubavitch Jews.

"Based on our sages' writings, no one can know with certainty, and clearly should not campaign about, who Moshiach may or may not be," said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, a high-ranking Lubavitch leader who was Schneerson's spokesman and secretary for more than 30 years.

It is tricky terrain, which separates those saying they "know" Schneerson will be the messiah from those who "believe" or "hope" and, of course, from those who are uncertain or doubt it.

It was Schneerson's words combined with Jewish belief that each generation has at least one person eligible to be the messiah, the Hasidic tendency to view their own rebbe as the best candidate, and the lack of an apparent successor to Schneerson, that led many to think Schneerson will be the one.

David Berger, an Orthodox non-Lubavitch Jew and a Jewish history professor at Brooklyn College, said he once hoped that Schneerson would be the messiah. But then Schneerson died.

Although Lubavitchers cite scattered Jewish sources that say the messiah can come from the living or the dead, Berger believes the notion of a messiah coming from the dead diverges from Jewish belief.

"In my opinion," said Berger, author of "The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference," "the belief that the real messiah will come to the world to announce that his generation is that of the redemption, and then die in an unredeemed world, is a betrayal of the messianic faith of Judaism."

Lubavitch officials say most of the 4,000 official emissaries -- the main contact the public has with Lubavitchers -- do not believe Schneerson is the messiah.

Hirsch, an ordained Lubavitch rabbi but not an official emissary, said he believes Schneerson is the messiah but sees no need to broadcast it.

"If I know it'll turn somebody off to Judaism, I don't have to relate it to other people. It's a personal opinion, not something I need to convince anybody of," he said.




THE SPIRITUAL LEADER Menachem Schneerson died 10 years ago, yet many continue his work and seek his blessing, and some say he will return as the messiah Sunday, June 20, 2004 BY JEFF DIAMANT Star-Ledger Staff Two days before his wedding earlier this month, Avi Herbstman of Morristown visited the Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn to use the prayer book of his deceased spiritual leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the rebbe to his Jewish followers. Ziva Endzweig of Crown Heights, N.Y., still keeps in her wallet three dollar bills Schneerson gave her in the 1980s. She treasures 500 more, each distributed with a blessing, in a drawer at home. And a cadre of Lubavitch rabbis from New Jersey crosses the Hudson and East rivers every week or so to visit Schneerson's grave site in Queens. Like hundreds of others, they ask Schneerson's spirit to intercede on their behalf with God. A decade after his death at age 92, Schneerson's followers say they believe his spirit still guides them and their fast-growing Orthodox Lubavitch movement. Schneerson's 10th yahrzeit, Yiddish for anniversary of a death, will be observed Tuesday. Although Schneerson died June 12, 1994, the anniversary is observed this year on Tuesday, due to differences in the Gregorian and lunar-based Hebrew clanedars. Thousands are expected at his grave in Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, and Lubavitchers will study, more than usual, his writings and speeches. "It's more than a regular yahrzeit," said Lubavitch Rabbi Eliezer Zaklikovsky of Monroe in Middlesex County. "It's a time also of introspection to kind of zoom in on your personal relationship with the rebbe ... and your involvement in perpetuating his legacy." Schneerson's death devastated Lubavitchers, leading to predictions that the movement would fade because of power struggles over his succession. Ten years later, there is still no successor. However, there are more Lubavitch emissaries than ever -- about 4,000 compared with about 2,200 when Schneerson died -- who have moved to such far-flung places as New Zealand or Siberia to devote their lives to Schneerson's goal of helping Jews observe Jewish rituals and hasten the messiah's arrival. "The rebbe is alive in this country in this respect, that his actions are actually being done," said Rabbi Yossi Hirsch, a Lubavitch rabbi in East Brunswick. "His actions have not ceased one second from the time of his death to now. Just the opposite. Now, 10 years later, his actions are being done more than when he was here." Perhaps the most controversial issue among Lubavitchers is whether Schneerson will return as the long-awaited messiah, or moshiach in Hebrew, prophesied in the Bible to redeem the Jewish people and rid the world of problems. A SENSE OF MISSION The Lubavitch movement stems from ultra-Orthodox Hasidic Judaism, which dates to the 18th century in Ukraine. Several sects of Hasidic Judaism developed -- such as Lubavitch, Satmar, Bobover -- each with its own leader known as rebbe. Schneerson was the seventh Lubavitch rebbe, replacing his deceased father-in-law in 1951. At that time, the movement was small and troubled, recovering from anti-Semitism in Russia after the 1917 revolution and dealing with the aftermath of the Holocaust. Menachem Schneerson had a secular education in engineering, and, by all accounts, strong organizational skills, and charisma. He spoke fluent Yiddish and was known for his white beard and piercing blue eyes. In addition, Schneerson was a master scholar of the Talmud, said Rabbi Moshe Herson, dean of the Rabbinical College of America in Morristown, a training ground for many Lubavitch rabbis. But most important, said Jonathan Sarna, a Brandeis University professor of American Jewish relations and author of "American Judaism," was Schneerson's vision that if more Jews were religiously observant and performed more mitzvahs, Yiddish for good deeds, the awaited messiah would come sooner. His charismatic leadership still resonates throughout the Lubavitch community, and it has fueled the movement's growth in the past decade to an estimated 200,000 people worldwide, Sarna said. "By any reasonable measure, it's one of the most successful movements in American religion in the post-(World War II) era," Sarna said. "Here's a movement that was scarcely known in 1940, when it came to America. It had only a small number of followers ... "When one looks at how Lubavitch has grown over the six decades or so from his assumption of this post, it's a remarkable story." Today, Lubavitch emissaries are everywhere, from big cities to small towns. They hold synagogue services, give out Sabbath candles, serve kosher meals and do whatever else they can to help secular Jews become more observant. Lubavitchers have helped their own popularity by downplaying beliefs that are controversial to the larger Jewish population, such as views that Schneerson is the messiah and Schneerson's support for right-wing Israeli political positions and opposition to abortion rights, Sarna said. "It has been very clever in America to stress those areas where it is most likely to be attractive to the bulk of Jews, and to play down anti-abortion, or other church-state issues," he said. TALK OF THE TOWN When Schneerson was alive, Crown Heights buzzed with word of his every statement or activity. Beepers went off when it was time for his weekly Saturday speech, given at a farbrengen, Yiddish for get-together. Children stood in awe at rallies where Schneerson distributed words of wisdom and dimes. People lined up for hours for blessings or advice by Schneerson and to receive a dollar meant for charity. Many would hold onto that dollar as a keepsake and give another one to charity. "Everything we did," recalled Hirsch, who grew up in Crown Heights, "was based around what was going on with the rebbe. 'Would the rebbe give a talk today?' 'Would the rebbe come out and have a rally with the kids?'" Such interactions inspired many to devote their lives to Schneerson's goals, Lubavitchers said. More proof of the continued high regard for Schneerson is at his Queens grave site, where each week thousands pay their respects and ask for blessings. "They felt he had an impact on their lives, and they continue to communicate with his spirit to receive inspiration from him," said Rabbi Abba Refson, who runs what Lubavitchers call the ohel, or tent, next to his grave site. Visiting the grave of a tzaddik, a righteous, holy man in Yiddish, is viewed by many Jews as an opportunity to better communicate with God. People stop by and write letters to Schneerson, often asking him to intercede with God on their behalf. They ask for blessings before birthdays, operations, weddings, expected births and to meet a prospective husband or wife. They take the letter to his grave site, tear it up, and sprinkle the paper on the grave. THE MOSHIACH QUESTION The Lubavitchers' belief that they can help usher in the messianic age by following Schneerson's goals contributes to the most controversial part of the movement -- the notion that Schneerson himself will still reveal himself as the messiah, despite his death 10 years ago. Official Lubavitch leadership publicly repudiates this position, aware the belief alienates many non-Lubavitch Jews. "Based on our sages' writings, no one can know with certainty, and clearly should not campaign about, who Moshiach may or may not be," said Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, a high-ranking Lubavitch leader who was Schneerson's spokesman and secretary for more than 30 years. It is tricky terrain, which separates those saying they "know" Schneerson will be the messiah from those who "believe" or "hope" and, of course, from those who are uncertain or doubt it. It was Schneerson's words combined with Jewish belief that each generation has at least one person eligible to be the messiah, the Hasidic tendency to view their own rebbe as the best candidate, and the lack of an apparent successor to Schneerson, that led many to think Schneerson will be the one. David Berger, an Orthodox non-Lubavitch Jew and a Jewish history professor at Brooklyn College, said he once hoped that Schneerson would be the messiah. But then Schneerson died. Although Lubavitchers cite scattered Jewish sources that say the messiah can come from the living or the dead, Berger believes the notion of a messiah coming from the dead diverges from Jewish belief. "In my opinion," said Berger, author of "The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference," "the belief that the real messiah will come to the world to announce that his generation is that of the redemption, and then die in an unredeemed world, is a betrayal of the messianic faith of Judaism." Lubavitch officials say most of the 4,000 official emissaries -- the main contact the public has with Lubavitchers -- do not believe Schneerson is the messiah. Hirsch, an ordained Lubavitch rabbi but not an official emissary, said he believes Schneerson is the messiah but sees no need to broadcast it. "If I know it'll turn somebody off to Judaism, I don't have to relate it to other people. It's a personal opinion, not something I need to convince anybody of," he said. 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