Is Chabad the future of Judaism? Some Reform and Conservatives must think so, they're criticizing it pretty heavily these days. First some background.
WHAT'S Chabad's secret? They offer ease of entry. People taking baby steps into Jewish life are intimidated by institutions that seem to demand a deep commitment at the outset. Although individual Chabadniks are committed to "Torah-true" Judaism, the shlichim celebrate individual mitzvot, individual acts of belonging. One is fine, two is great, three's a mechaieh. No one joins Chabad on the installment plan. In fact, people tend not to "join" Chabad at all. Chabad houses tend not to have memberships. Chabadniks will say that the message is that individuals are valued for their participation, not their contribution to the building fund.Rabbi Eric Yoffie, head of the Union for Reform Judaism, recently wrote a column criticizing Chabad for offering to perform bar and bat mitzvot with few if any requirements. At typical synagogues, such requirements include religious school attendance, a commitment to study and worship, and a level of synagogue skills. Chabad "is the place that you go when you do not want to join a synagogue or subject your child to a meaningful course of study," wrote Yoffie. Hmmm. What's he worried about?Chabad is pluralist. I know, I know - theologically Chabad has about as much respect for non-Orthodox, indeed, non-Chabad streams as Ann Coulter has for liberals. But shlichim operate their centers on a come-one, come-all basis, putting up fewer barriers of behavior and biology than even some Reform synagogues.
Chabad is friendly. Oy, is it friendly. I always compare the Morristown college to the old IBM in the way it is able to churn out ambassadors who so fully and consistently reflect the mission and values of the institution. I often can't tell various shlichim apart - not because I am a dolt or a bigot, but because so many are so similarly warm and good-natured.
Finally, Chabadniks are p.r. whizzes. They were early adopters of all the latest technologies, have an enviable dominance of the Jewish web, and manage to keep their branding cutting-edge.
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Hmm. Really easy to join -- no, sorry, "participate." No pressure. No requirements.
Everyone's welcome says your extra-warm and friendly recruiter -- no, I meant "emissary."
And don't bother sweating any hard thinking.
Where have we heard this one before, Bruce?
All together: C-U-L-T.
I wouldn't go so far as to call Chabad a cult, but I agree that they use some cult-like techniques and don't disclose everything they stand for, including the really controversial idea that their rebbe was/is the Messiah. I also find it troubling that Chabad portrays itself as "the" path to Judaism when there is 1) such diversity in Jewish thought and life, and 2) Chabad isn't even mainstream Orthodoxy!
I don't see the end of "three branches of Judaism" anytime soon; even if they look different in the future, I think Judaism will always have different directions and movements, and if Chabad does mention to suck in large numbers of people, I'm sure large numbers of those people's kids will rebel 20 years down the road and we'll have the whole progressive-vs.-traditional tension thing all over again. Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it.
If you haven't noticed...no one has made any comments on this article in at least two years. Calling Chabad a cult is the most retarded thing I have heard in quite a while. By the way Bruce...I read you're Abraham book...it sucked.
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