Five years after the death of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the messianic movement that had formed while he was the head of the Lubavitcher Hasidim is expanding.
The Washington Post (June 20) reports that when Schneerson died in 1995, many predicted that the movement would crumble without him, and that the messianic beliefs would fade with time. Neither has happened. The Lubavitchers are divided between those (mostly the official leadership — who insist that the promotion of observant Judaism throughout the world is the heart of Schneerson’s legacy, and the messianists, “whose passion is preparing the world for the coming of Schneerson himself.” The movement has also divided families, with some marriages being arranged according to one’s stance regarding Schneerson.
The messianists have generated a loyal opposition, led by Brooklyn College historian David Berger who sponsored a resolution in the Rabbinical Council of America to condemn the group and their beliefs. “We belong to a significantly different religion than the one we belonged to five years ago,” but most modern Orthodox Jews have been silent on the matter, he adds.
Lubavitch spokesman Zalman Shmotkin says the messianist movement is steadily diminishing and points to an increase in Lubavitch religious institutions and 400 new “emissaries” (or missionaries) since Schneerson’s death. But the messianists are now actively spreading their message via a billboard campaign and ads in national newspapers, as well as a low power radio station in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.