Ex- Chabad BT: What have I really gotten myself into?

I am a BT (Baal teshuvah) who was deeply involved in Chabad until very recently. Even though I once had tremendous respect and admiration for Chabad for all of the good they have done, things have gotten to the point where I must speak out for the sake of the future of Judaism [1].

Although the beliefs discussed on this website are not held by every single Chabadnik, they are tolerated and even openly taught in mainstream Chabad yeshivos today (I have learned in many of these yeshivos). Also, most shluchim I have met are completely tolerant of these beliefs even if they don't teach these ideas themselves [2]. Because I am a witness to these things, I feel a special obligation to do what I can to remove the stumbling blocks from the midst of our people [3].

Since the time of Abraham, the first Jew, almost 4000 years ago, Judaism has been G-d-centred, not rabbi-centred or even G-d/rabbi-centred.

This is perhaps one of the reasons why our Sages mentioned Moses' name in only one instance throughout the entire Passover Haggadah ("And they believed in the Lord and in Moses His servant " [4]). They felt it necessary to downplay Moses' role in the redemption due to a certain danger.

Amid all of the miracles surrounding the Exodus, for which Moses served as an "intermediary" between G-d and the people, there was a danger present that the masses would end up giving too much credit to Moses for the events of the redemption.

This over-focusing on Moses may have led to their making him the center (or co-center) of their divine service or ascribing to him in a literal sense a level of power and importance that should be reserved only for G-d.

And perhaps this is why the one place in the Haggadah where Moses is mentioned is a verse that emphasizes that he was G-d's servant (the verse could have said, "And they believed in the Lord and in Moses" but this might have blurred the roles of G-d and Moses).

The distinction between the roles of G-d and the Rebbe are becoming increasingly blurred in Chabad today [5]. And students in Chabad yeshivos are suffering for it.

Not always in the Chabad Houses but in the Chabad yeshivos [6] students are either directly taught or pick up by osmosis the belief that their Rebbe is virtually pure G-dliness and therefore essentially perfect and infallible; that everything he ever said was tantamount to prophecy and everything he did was G-d's will.

The students are indoctrinated to believe that he is still the supreme leader of our generation in the literal sense - "the Moshe of the Generation" - guiding the Jewish people and the entire world the same as when he was alive; that the only way to FULLY connect to G-d is through the Rebbe; that all blessings - material and spiritual - come only through the Rebbe.

And they are either directly or indirectly taught that he will immediately be revealed as the long-awaited Moshiach [7].

The root of all this is that students are taught that the Rebbe's teachings supersede and make almost irrelevant the teachings of all other Sages and Tzaddikim, with the sole exception of the other six Chabad Rebbes. And even they, depending on the yeshiva or teacher, are sometimes almost completely overshadowed by the Rebbe himself.

As a result, I have seen how Chabad alienates its followers from other groups of observant Jews and prevents them from experiencing and truly appreciating what other Jewish Sages and Tzaddikim have to offer.

You must do the research and find out what other forms of traditional Judaism hold and have always held on the following issues. After you do so, you will realize that Chabad is alone in their beliefs regarding:

- A Second Coming (they won't call it a Second Coming because they admit there is no such thing as a Second Coming in Judaism; they have come up with some fascinating ways to explain why it isn't a Second Coming even though they believe the Messiah already came and will come again to complete the redemption.)
- The actual leader of the entire Jewish people (the Moshe of the Generation) is a deceased person (i.e. the Rebbe).
- One MUST nullify oneself to and obey a specific rebbe (i.e. the Rebbe) in order to fully connect to G-d and receive all the spiritual and physical blessings.
- If the Rebbe said it, it is not just a valid opinion. It is always the Absolute Truth.
- The Rebbe is the Essence and Being of G-d placed in a body.
- The Rebbe is everywhere. He is watching each one of us no matter where we are. Therefore, we can turn to him wherever, whenever and ask him to help us in any situation.

You need to ask other kinds of Jews if they hold any of these beliefs or have ever heard of them outside of Chabad. Will you do this?

All of the above beliefs stem from mainstream Chabad interpretations of the Rebbe's own words - not from teachings outside of Chabad.

If you do a Google search on Sabbateanism you will find out that the only Jews who had these beliefs (a deceased leader who will come back as messiah, who is the Essence and Being of G-d) were the Sabbateans.

Only Chabad holds that Tzaddikim can't err. The rest of Judaism holds that Tzaddikim can err. The Rebbe erred. He made misjudgements and that's why these beliefs are widespread in Chabad today.

The overwhelming majority of other Orthodox Jews know and feel that these beliefs are against everything that Judaism stands for.

I hope and pray that one day you will have the strength to do more research and see what is going on outside of Chabad.

Your life is not dependent on Chabad or on the Rebbe, contrary to how they have programmed you.

And other Jews who protest Chabad for these reasons are not despicable "snags [8]" filled with sinas chinam, contrary to what Chabadniks are encouraged to believe about anyone who is critical of their beliefs. They are good Jews who care about the fate of the Jewish people and the Torah.

I was educated to believe that Chabad-Lubavitch was the center of the Jewish world; that the late Rebbe was still leading and guiding the world even after his passing and would immediately reveal himself as Moshiach and redeem us.

I hated the misnagdim even though I knew I was supposed to love them as my fellow Jews.

I was taught that Chabad chassidus was the highest Torah in the world and that all other types of chassidus (especially non-Chassidic teachings) were at best second class and primitive in comparison.

For a short period I even hated those of my fellow Chabad Chassidim who refused to publicize the Rebbe's messiahship even though they believed in it themselves. I demonized them as traitors and wicked people. During this time I even refused to daven in a Chabad House where they didn't say yechi not because they didn't believe in it, but because they were afraid it would scare people away.

Not only was I alienated from non-Chabad Orthodox Jews, but I was also alienated from many other Chabad Chassidim.

Then I found people who helped me see how over the past two generations Chabad evolved into something other than traditional Judaism while its excellent public relations convinced most other Jews that it was the most Jewish of Jewish groups.

Now I am an Orthodox Jew who truly feels a part of the Jewish people and not just a part of Chabad-Lubavitch. My horizons have expanded 1000 fold.

I am much less narrow-minded and am truly able to learn from other Sages and Tzaddikim. I am free of the almost idolatrous obsession with the Rebbe. I am now G-d-centred and not Rebbe-centred or even G-d/Rebbe-centred.

I was taught by my teachers that the world cannot exist for a moment without the Rebbe and that this fact has nothing to do with his being physically alive or not. To think the world could exist for one moment without him - even after his passing - is simply absurd.

In order to find True and Full life - both physical and spiritual - one must completely "nullify oneself" to the Rebbe and obey all of his directives.

A deceased rabbi, who is pure revealed G-dliness ("the Essence and Being [of the Infinite One] placed in a body"), who is everywhere, who is the only way to a full connection to G-d, who continues to run and guide the world and who will be resurrected (or reappear from his place of concealment) to save the Jews and the world as the anointed messiah - these are all common doctrines taught in Chabad yeshivos today.

This is what's in store for you if you go to or send your children to one of their yeshivos. You won't usually get this in the Chabad Houses because the shluchim know better than to say these things in public.

This site comes from my heart. I only put it up so that you will know what you're getting into if you're thinking of becoming more involved with Chabad. There are other Jewish paths that can provide you with the spiritual nourishment you are seeking

1](back to text) It is a mitzvah and an obligation to relate negative information in order to save someone from physical, spiritual or emotional harm. In such a situation, it is not evil speech (loshon hara) but constructive speech. See the book "Chafetz Chaim - A Lesson A Day" (Artscroll, 1995, pgs. 130-278)

[2](back to text) I know that some Chabad rabbis will hide their true beliefs from people who ask them. For example, a rabbi may believe the Rebbe is the messiah, but he will not tell you that he believes it. Instead, he will merely explain to you how it is possible that the Rebbe is still a candidate for Moshiach but that other rabbis both living and deceased are equally good candidates. But the truth is that he believes the Rebbe is Moshiach. He will try to prove to you using the Torah itself how there can be a kosher Second Coming (e.g. because the Rebbe was never officially declared the "definite Moshiach" before he passed away, he is still in the running; that is, he was only the "presumptive Moshiach"; but if he had been declared the "definite Moshiach" before his death this would make it a non-kosher Second Coming. They have come up with some other fascinating ideas for why the Rebbe would be in the category of a kosher type of Second Coming.)

[3](back to text) For a Torah proof of our claim see the words of Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik (link below). Chabad accepts this rabbi as a great halachic authority and they often quote him as ruling that there is nothing wrong with believing in a deceased Messiah. But they are only quoting him partially. When you read all of the rabbi's words you will see that he held that even though this belief may not be heresy, it is "repugnant" and would render any group who believes it a "cultist movement". Click here to see what the rabbi really held.

[4](back to text) This verse (Exodus 14:31) is not saying that the Jews believed in Moshe as if he were equivalent to G-d; nor is it saying that everything they believed about G-d they believed about Moshe. Rather, they believed that Moshe was truly sent by G-d and all of the commandments, prophecies and messages that Moshe gave them in the name of G-d were to be believed.

[5](back to text) For example, Chabad yeshiva students are taught that: all material and spiritual blessings flow through and are dispensed by the late Rebbe; the Rebbe is everywhere; he is watching each one of us no matter where we are; we can therefore turn to him wherever, whenever and ask him to help us in any situation.

[6](back to text) There are a couple of Chabad BT yeshivos that will also hide these things from their students because they have decided to conduct themselves like the Chabad Houses with regard to these matters in order not to scare people away.

[7](back to text) It is true that there are a tiny number of legitimate Torah sources that say it is possible that Hashem may choose Moshiach from among the resurrected dead, but not in the following scenario: Moshiach comes and begins his mission, then dies and is buried before the redemption; then later comes back in a resurrection to complete his mission. There is no place in Judaism for the belief that he can come once, die and be buried, then come again to finish the job. Even though it is possible in Judaism that Moshiach can come from the resurrected dead, there is no Second Coming (i.e. a messianic mission with an intervening death) even according to Chabad. It is a purely Christian invention. Ask any Christian and they will tell you that for 2000 years Jews have rejected the idea of a Second Coming until Chabad started believing in it in the summer of 1994.

[8](back to text) An epithet for misnagdim coined by Chabad and used only by Chabad

Chabad. What have I really gotten myself into?
There are Jewish alternatives.