All is not well with the Jewish religion. I have come to the conclusion that the Judaism that I was brought up with and love has been hijacked. It has been so insidious that few have realized it was happening. I hope it is not too late to save what is so precious. What am I going on about?
The two greatest figures in Judaism are Abraham our forefather and Moses. What makes these two men stand way above any other heroes of the bible or great thinkers through the whole of human history and endeavor? Was it the fact that they actually spoke with the Supreme Creator of the universe? No - it was the fact that each of them perceived with absolute clarity the Unity of G-d and took it upon themselves to destroy idol worship and expunge this pagan concept from Jewish belief. Without a doubt, apart from murder, the greatest sins that anyone can commit from the Jewish perspective, are 'idol worship" and "Chillul Hashem" - desecrating the name of G-d. Yet we have have not only allowed this to happen, we have permitted those who have done this to take over many of our institutions, run our affairs, control our Yeshivas and schools and convert our children to their twisted and incorrect way of thinking.
Who are these people? Many of them identify themselves as Chabad!
Now don't get me wrong - I am not suggesting for a second that all "Chabbadniks" are bad, or even that any of them are not well intentioned! But some of the beliefs and practices of this group who still identify themselves as Jews are contrary to the most basic and fundamental of traditional Jewish beliefs!
Please allow me to explain why I am so angry.
Jews have always believed in the concept of the "Mashiach" ie: the Messiah. Furthermore, the exact requirements of the Messiah have been laid down by our sages. Through centuries of suffering at the hands of our oppressors, we have longed for Mashiach. Religious and non-religious alike await his arrival. So what are these requirements? What qualities will qualify someone to claim the title of "Mashiach"?
Actually - they are quite straight forward and not negotiable.
1) The Messiah will be a man born naturally into this world from human parents.
2) He shall unite the Jewish people, bring them back to our Holy Land and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
3) He shall make the whole world realize that the G-d of Israel is the only true G-d.
4) He shall usher in a wonderful new era of peace where there shall no longer be war between nations and no longer be suffering.
It is a traditional belief that the Mashiach is NOT G-d and should not be confused with G-d. There is no place in Judaism for a Mashiach who dies without completing the tasks required of him. There is no place in Judaism for a Mashiach to come back from the dead a second time because he did not complete his mission in this world at his first attempt.
There is no doubt whatsoever, that none of these essential requirements have been achieved by any potential messiah thus far. There is still war and suffering. We Jews are still despised and hated by so many people. We do not have our temple. We do not and cannot practice our beliefs and traditions without interference. To put it quite plainly - we are not living in the post Messianic era!
Jews believe that in every generation there is someone who is born with the potential to be the Mashiach, but if he does not achieve the designated requirements of the Mashaich then he is an imposter ie: a false messiah, or a failed messiah.
There have been many at least 27 such false Jewish messiahs through the ages.
Some of the most famous and well known ones include Jesus of Nazareth, Shabtai Tvi ( who converted to Islam) and Shimon Bar Kokhbah (who was anointed "Mashiach" by none other than Rabbi Akiva!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Messiah_claimants
There have also been more than 30 Christian claimants and more than a dozen Muslim aspirant messiahs.
All of them have been rejected - not because they were not well intentioned or believable, but because they did not successfully usher in the Messianic era. Their followers were deluded, taken in by their rhetoric and blinded by their desire for salvation.
The most recent failed Jewish messiah is the last Lubavitche Rebbe - Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
This blog is not a personal attack on Rabbi Schneerson or his disciples. He was a great man who achieved great things, BUT he was not and is not our long awaited Messiah.
I appeal to all those "Lubavitche Chassidim" out there - to come to their senses, as this false belief has the potential to destroy our religion. Adorning your houses with photographs of the late Rebbe is nothing less than "Avodah Zorah" (idol worship). Rabbi Schneerson was a great and holy man, but he has led you astray. "Tanya" is not one of our holy books, it cannot and will not replace the Talmud! Come back to traditional Judaism, as what many of you are practicing and teaching is unfortunately nothing but a cult which is progressively straying away from our core beliefs, alienating traditional Jews the world over and making a laughing stock of our religion. There are posters being displayed which depict the late Rabbi Schneerson alongside Jesus and his disciples with the caption "Same idea - wrong person!" I am afraid to say that they are both wrong!
We say "Kol Yisrael Chaverim", all Israel are brothers - but this maniacal and deluded belief in a dead Mashiach is so far from traditional Jewish belief that it will eventually disqualify you from calling yourselves Jewish. What you are promoting is another religion completely. It is "quasi-Judasim"
We are One people, with One G-d, have One primary belief and One homeland - Eretz Yisroel (the land of Israel).
It is time to start singing "Hatikvah" with pride along with the rest of "Klal Yisroel", identify yourselves as part of the children of Israel. Support our armed forces. Embrace fellow Jews who love Israel. Celebrate "Yom Ha'atzmaut" - Israel's day of independence with us, and above all else, stop this nonsense about a dead Rabbi being the messiah. Your intentions in trying to bring about His early "coming" were well meant but quite simply wrong.
I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though He may tarry, in spite of this I still believe!
All is not well with Judaism.
