MAINSTREAM LUBAVITCH

Posted one year ago at mentalblog.com:


Here is what I think are some very basic and mainstream Lubavitcher beliefs:

1. A belief that חסידות חב"ד היא שער הכולל המביא אל דרך עולה בית א-ל.

2. A belief that while קיום מצות מעשיות is valid as practiced by all the "orthodox" Jews, this is not so when it comes to 'עבודת ה and even less so concerning what is commonly known as "אמונות ודעות". (In fact, correcting this deficiency was a core reason for the very establishment of חסידות חב"ד by the אדמו"ר הזקן. Immediately prior to that, the prevailing conditions - in terms of these crucial points of Jewish existence - in the countries then known as "ארבעה ארצות" deteriorated to a state of total corruption and gross aberration. Many of the innovations by the אדמו"ר הזקן were nothing more than restored authentic practices of the קדמונים [as he testified to his interrogators in the Tainy Soviet])

3. A visceral belief that being a מתנגד is a vile state of being that causes a man to deny the very existence of G-d by breathing alone.

4. A belief that it is a birthright of every Jew to taste the נועם אלקי של חסידות חב"ד and be connected to the חוטר מגזע ישי. So do the Lubavitchers want all Jews to be Lubavitchers? You bet! Proudly so! (It’s just that we do not mind if they want to hold on their beaver hats or white socks. However, I never understood this - why does this belief bother anyone? Is anyone forced to do anything against their will? Their anger reminds me of the age-old accusation leveled against Jews by all anti-Semites: "Those Jews think they are superior to us!" The question that these people never address is: "If it is not true, why does it bother you so?"

berl, crown heights 05.16.05 - 3:45 pm #