Matzav Comment: The Lubavitcher Rebbe And His Opponents – An Article Written in Poor Taste

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matzav-logoThe following article, titled “The Lubavitcher Rebbe And His Opponents,” was written by YY Jacobson and appears in the Five Towns Jewish Times. We hereby protest the author’s insinuation that those gedolim who disgreed with the Lubavitcher Rebbe on certain matters did so for reasons other than kevod Shomayim. The danger and the disrespect inherent in such a statement is obvious. Renowned gedolei olam, including Rav Elazar Shach, who had disagreements with the Lubavitcher Rebbe did so purely for the honor of Hashem. These gedolim viewed it as a machlokes l’sheim Shomayim. It is doubtful that YY Jacobson was referring to fringe individuals or lunatic rabble rousers who had disagreements with the Rebbe. These individuals wouldn’t seem to warrant the writing of such an article.  His comments, therefore, would seem to be directed at holy Torah leaders who espoused certain views that were contrary to those of the Rebbe and his approach. But make no mistake about it. They did what they did and said what they said because of their unbridled love of Hashem, their love for the Torah, and their love for fellow Yidden.

YY Jacobson states:

Sadly, some individuals in the Jewish world never missed an opportunity to criticize the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to denigrate him and scoff at him. Some individuals even made it an important mission to sow hatred against him and his movement among their students. Motivated by ideology, ignorance, envy, or arrogance, these people made his life difficult. And yet, the Lubavitcher Rebbe never ceased to love them and seek ways to terminate the animosity and separation.

Once again, such a statement may lead an unaware reader to believe that gedolei Torah who disagreed with the Rebbe were driven by ulterior motives or agendas. This is the farthest thing from the truth and we stand up for the kavod of these Torah leaders.

If YY Jacobson had desired to speak of the Rebbe’s virtues, he could have expounded on the love the Rebbe had for all Yidden and the impact the Rebbe had on tens of thousands. Instead, he states that “Some individuals even made it an important mission to sow hatred against him and his movement among their students.”

This post here is not about the actual diasagreements. Each person must follow the directives and guidance of his rov or rebbe. Nevertheless, this post protests the aforementioned statement and the fact that it was made in an article discussing the machlokes of Korach Va’adaso, in essense equating those gedolim who disagreed with the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Korach, Dasan, Aviram and their ilk.

The article is in poor taste. The analogy is a denigration to G-d-fearing Torah leaders. Enough said.

The full text of YY Jacobson’s article is as follows:

The narrative is dramatic, tragic, and unmistakably Jewish. Four men-Korach, Dasan, Aviram, and On-are the leaders of a mass mutiny against Moshe, the leader of the Jewish people, and his brother Aharon, the High Priest. What else is new, right?

“They gathered together against Moshe and against Aharon,” the portion of Korach records (Bamidbar 16), “and said to them, ‘It is too much for you! The entire community is holy, and G-d dwells among them; why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of G-d?”‘

Moshe responds to Korach in brief and moving words. He attempts to persuade Korach, who happens to be his first cousin, that Aharon was appointed to his position by the instructions of G-d. Nepotism was not a factor. “Then Moshe sent word to summon Dasan and Aviram,” the Torah records. “But they said, ‘We won’t come! Is it not enough that you brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey, just to kill us in the desert?! What right do you have to set yourselves above us? Even if you would gouge out our eyes, we shall not come!'”

These are bald and vicious words. Clearly, Dasan and Aviram won’t surrender. They are determined, together with Korach, to overthrow Moshe and Aharon.

As usual in the wilderness, G-d intervenes. He decides to wipe out the rebels who are attempting to invalidate Moshe as the leader of the Jewish people and the communicator of G-d’s law. G-d instructs Moshe to announce to the entire community: “Withdraw from the pavilion of Korach, Dasan, and Aviram.” A tragic fate awaits them. But before Moshe moves to execute G-d’s instruction, the Torah inserts an unexpected scene in the narrative:

“Moshe stood up and went over to Dasan and Aviram.”

Why? Didn’t G-d instruct him to ensure that everybody withdraw from their dwellings? What exactly did Moshe do when he approached them? The Torah leaves the answer to our imagination, but the message is clear. Moshe was attempting, one last time, to persuade Dasan and Aviram to terminate their campaign against him. He made one final attempt to save their lives. It was to no avail. They would not budge.

The Talmud, commenting on this scene, states: “From here we learn that one should never keep up a quarrel” (Sanhedrin 110a).

Yet here is the simple question: Must we derive this noble injunction from this incident? Hasn’t the Torah already stated explicitly, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart… You shall love your fellow as yourself” (Vayikra 19:17-18)? Does this straightforward commandment not teach us already that we ought never to maintain a quarrel or perpetuate a dispute, but must always attempt to eradicate the animosity and create love? Why would the Talmudic rabbis feel compelled to derive this injunction from the particular verse, “Moshe stood up and went over to Dasan and Aviram”?

A Profile Of Quarrelers

To understand this, we must examine the profiles of these two quarrelers, Dasan and Aviram. The Torah reports four incidents about these two men, sufficient material to capture the nature of their relationship to Moshe. Incident No. 1, in the beginning of Sh’mos (2:11-14), takes us back some 70 years, to Moshe’s youth:

“Now it came to pass in those days that Moshe grew up and went out to his brothers and looked at their burdens. He saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man of his brothers. He turned this way and that way, and he saw that there was no person present; so he struck the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

“He went out on the second day, and behold, two Hebrew men were quarreling, and he said to the wicked one, ‘Why are you going to strike your friend?’ And the man retorted, ‘Who made you a man, a prince and a judge over us? Do you plan to slay me as you have slain the Egyptian?’ Moshe became frightened and said, ‘Indeed, the matter has become known!'”

Who were the two Hebrews quarreling with each other? The Talmud and the Midrash (Targum Yonasan and Rashi to Sh’mos, ibid.; Nedarim 64b) deduce from the wording that they were none other than Dasan and Aviram.

Incident No. 2 occurs shortly after the Exodus, when the heavenly manna begins falling daily in the desert to nourish the wandering Jews (Sh’mos 16:19-20): “Moshe said to them, ‘Let no one leave over any of it until morning.’ But some men did not obey Moshe and left over some of it until morning, and it bred worms and became putrid. Moshe became angry with them.” Who were these men that betrayed Moshe’s instruction? The Midrash (Rashi; Midrash Rabbah Sh’mos 1:29, 25:10) deduces from the wording, yet again, that it was Dasan and Aviram.

Incident No. 3 occurs one year later, when the spies returned from the Holy Land and dissuaded their brethren from the motivation and willingness to conquer and settle the Land of Israel (Bamidbar 14:1-4): “The people wept that night. All the children of Israel murmured against Moshe and Aharon, and the entire community said to them: ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt… Why is G-d bringing us to this Land to die by the sword?’ And one man said to his brother, ‘Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!'”

Who exactly was this man who spoke these words to his brother? Here again, tradition teaches that it was a conversation between Dasan and Aviram (Rabbeinu Bechayei to Sh’mos 2:13).

Finally, the fourth incident, recorded above, tells the story of how Dasan and Aviram not only rejected Moshe’s plea that they come to see him, but even went so far as to call him a killer.

Professional Rabble-Rousers

These four incidents paint a fairly accurate picture of Dasan and Aviram’s characters. They were not idealistic adversaries, disputing Moshe for ideological reasons; the fact is that they quarreled between themselves too, independent of Moshe. Nor were they driven by envy, seeking the power and prestige possessed by Moshe; the fact is that they fought Moshe long before he became a leader.

Dasan and Aviram, it appears, were rabble-rousers who would not miss an opportunity to fight Moshe, even if they stood to gain nothing. They were forever determined to undermine Moshe and his authority. They even had the audacity of suggesting that Moshe was a killer and that he would poke their eyes out, as though he were a sadist. Dasan and Aviram, it seems, despised Moshe because he was their opposite: he stood for everything they loathed.

It is thus astonishing that after all of these incidents, after an animosity that persisted for close to 70 years, and even after G-d instructed Moshe to ensure that everybody depart from their midst, that “Moshe stood up and went over to Dasan and Aviram” to try and assuage their ire against him. This makes little sense. One could imagine some Jews suggesting to Moshe that his behavior was futile and humiliating. “You know, Moshe, that these guys loathe you. For seven decades they haven’t missed an opportunity to campaign against you. Even as you invited them to discuss peace, they responded with nasty words. Moshe! For the sake of your dignity and G-d’s dignity, it is below you to approach them.”

“Do not be kinder and wiser than G-d,” they must have argued. “If G-d commanded you to stay away from them, just stay away.” (Moshe himself would ultimately call them “wicked,” Bamidbar 16:26.)

Boundless Dedication

Yet here we are allowed a glimpse into what made Moshe the human being he was. Here we encounter the gigantic heart of Moshe. His dedication, loyalty, and love for every single member of his people knew no bounds. Even as his fiercest lifelong enemies were engaged in an intense battle against him, he would not give up on the chance of seeking peace with them and saving their lives.

Ultimately, it is this verse-“Moshe stood up and went over to Dasan and Aviram”-that demonstrates to us why the mutiny against Moshe was so profoundly wrong. It was Moshe’s uncompromising identification with his people, no matter to what depths they might have fallen, that made him qualified to have all the power he had. Only a human being so selfless and humble can be trusted with so much power. Moshe’s extraordinary dedication to his people turned him into the authentic Jewish leader.

Only Peace

Now we can understand the Talmudic comment that “from here we learn that one should never keep up a quarrel.” The biblical instruction “You shall not hate your brother in your heart… You shall love your fellow as yourself” merely suggests that one should not foster animosity in one’s heart; one must expose and deal with his or her grudges, and ultimately learn to love his fellow human being, since on a deeper soul level, we are children of one G-d (see Tanya, chapter 32).

But how about when you feel that somebody really has issues with you and is addicted to alienating himself from you? What about when you can justly assume that no matter what you will do, this person will never change? Why not just write him off and accept the quarrel as an immutable fact of life? Why not make peace with the state of war?

This is what Moshe taught us at the moment that he “stood up and went over to Dasan and Aviram.” Never keep up a quarrel. Despite the fact that he could have rightly assumed that his adversaries would not change their position, he did not allow any assumptions based on past experiences to stop him from his peace efforts. Moshe knew that fighting and animosity among Jews was a malignant disease, and he would not give up the slightest opportunity to stop it!

In the Tanya, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi states (chapter 42): “Each and every soul of the House of Israel contains within it something of the quality of our teacher Moshe.” This means that we, too, are empowered to emulate Moshe’s example, at least in some small fashion. To become comfortable with disunity and fragmentation is a tragedy. We must never cease to confront our arrogance and to strive for peace even with people we can easily write off.

If They Only Knew…

This Thursday, June 25, the third of Tamuz, marks the 15th anniversary of the passing of one of the great leaders of our generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn.

One of the most outstanding features of the Rebbe was the way he dealt with those who opposed him. Sadly, some individuals in the Jewish world never missed an opportunity to criticize the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to denigrate him and scoff at him. Some individuals even made it an important mission to sow hatred against him and his movement among their students. Motivated by ideology, ignorance, envy, or arrogance, these people made his life difficult. And yet, the Lubavitcher Rebbe never ceased to love them and seek ways to terminate the animosity and separation. The Rebbe never made peace with the fact that “some Jews just won’t get along with each other.” He loathed disunity among Jews and sought every opportunity to foster mutual respect and affection.

I always remember thinking that if the Rebbe’s opponents would only know how much he cared for their well-being, they could never harbor negative sentiments toward him.

Who Has Time?

A vignette:

A rabbi once verbally attacked the Lubavitcher Rebbe. When the rabbi realized he was mistaken, he wrote an apology note to the Rebbe and expressed his hope that the Rebbe did not bear a grudge against him. The Rebbe responded: “Believe me when I tell you that I do not have the time to bear grudges against people.”

The Rebbe attempted to inculcate this perspective in the hearts of his disciples, as well. Where do you find the time to bear grudges against people? Where do you obtain the time and the energy to hate? This time must be used to change the world for the better!

If only we, the students of the Rebbe, could emulate his example.

This essay is based on an address by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Shabbos Parashas Korach 5740, June 14, 1980 (published in Likkutei Sichos, vol. 28, pp. 98-103). Thanks to Shmuel Levin for his editorial assistance.

Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson, one of the most sought-after Jewish speakers in the world today, has lectured to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences on six continents and in thirty states. He is editor of Algemeiner.com and author of the acclaimed tape series “A Tale of Two Souls” and “Captain, My Captain.” Rabbi Jacobson teaches Kabbalah, Chassidic spirituality, and Talmud at the Rabbinical College Chovevay Torah in Brooklyn, New York.

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56 COMMENTS

  1. i agree that the article was not written properly
    there is a way to talk about someones maalos without having to bash otehr people – in this case gedolimw ho knew quite well what they were doing

  2. rav shach loved every yid. there wasn’t a bone of hatred in his body. whether the article meant the gedolim or just others who diasgreed with the rebbe the article is wrong in the way its written. a responsible author would have mad eit clear who he was referring to

  3. The Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shach ZT’L, when he heard the Lubavicher Rebbe was sick in his final illnes, davened for him, saying I care for him, not for what he represents, but because he is another Yid in pain.

  4. i dont know who yy jacobson is but his statement can be interpeted that he meant his many misnagdim. some(many) of the gedolim for ideological reasons, and others from ignorance,envy,arrogence, and if i may add jealousy and sinas hadas. the secular world and the zionists hated him and what he stood for more then any other group

  5. We can not just knock down Korach & Doson V’avirom. It says that they were big Talmidei Chachomim. They also had strong Taanis against Moshe’s handling of Yitzias Mitzraim. Especially now, after the Meraglim, that the entry to Eretz Yisr was pushed off so many years. Moreover, they had Ruach Hakodesh, that even in Eretz Yisroel the Yidden will suffer unimaginably, with nonstop wars, and killings by the hunreds of thousands, never ending. It will take almost five hundred years to finally build the Bais Hamikdosh. And when we will finally have a Bayis, it will serve, all 12 Shvotim, only for =30= years. And it will always be crowded with all kinds of Asheirus (avodoh zorohs). And then the terrible churban, and then, another churban. And where are we now?
    Yes, they also had huge Taanis on Moshe rabbeinu, but it was machlokes never-the-less.

  6. “These gedolim viewed it as a machlokes l’sheim Shomayim”

    I don’t think that Rav Shach, ztv”l felt it was a machlokes leshem shomayim. I don’t think he felt eilu v’eilu regarding the lubavicher Rebbi’s tzad. People mistakenly think that it was like machlokes Hillel Vishamai. No shaichis!

  7. Without a doubt Rav Schach ZTL was correct in his assessment of the dangers inherit in the Chabad meshichisti movement. Now we are just begining to see these things come to light. As time passes Rav Shach will be vindicated more.

  8. Thank you Matzav for posting this article. Yasher Koach to Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson for writing a beautiful and emesdik article. Unforunately, there are too many haters of Lubavitch out there.

    Anyone interested in listening to R’ YY Jacobson’s shiurim go to yeshiva.net.

  9. “I don’t think that Rav Shach, ztv”l felt it was a machlokes leshem shomayim. I don’t think he felt eilu v’eilu regarding the lubavicher Rebbi’s tzad. People mistakenly think that it was like machlokes Hillel Vishamai. No shaichis”.
    I perception of this post is that it’s author was taking a negative view of The tzad of the Lubavitcher Rebbe ZT”L.I may be wrong in this therefore instead of speaking in remozim I think the author should be clear as to what his true intention is.

  10. “i agree that the article was not written properly
    there is a way to talk about someones maalos without having to bash otehr people – in this case gedolimw ho knew quite well what they were doing”
    As the old saying goes “oif in ganiv brent der hittel”. Why does the above writer and others automatically assume that he was speaking about “gedolim” (a term that is thrown about very liberally and used to describe every one and his brother now days)and speciffically about Rav Shach?Where is the midoh of being dan lkav zchus as to what and who Rabbi Jacobson was referring to?

  11. We will never be able to understand how a great talmid chochom and leader was able to err and allow (and even promote !) the notion of himself as Mashiach to be propagated.

    We did not understand it in the times of Shabsai Tzvi and we cannot understand it today fifteen years after the petira of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

    May the true Mashiach redeem us soon from this endless galus and perhaps then we will understand this and many other unfathomable issues.

  12. The Rebbe responded ““Believe me when I tell you that I do not have the time to bear grudges against people.”
    “‘do not have time to bear grudges'”?? I would think that he would respond “of course I don’t bear any grudge”! sounds like that if he did have the time he might bear the grudge. Hmmmm

  13. “Do we not remember what Rabbi Schneersohn Said about Maran horav Schach During the issue about annexing the Golan?”
    What is the relevancy of the above to Rabbi Jacobsons article and what is it that the Rebbe said?Is this another attempt to sow discord and sinah by bringing up old and forgotten issues (except by those who have their own agenda) at a time when achdus is needed more the ever?

  14. Yasher keyach for standing up for kavod haTayreh. The passage of time is only showing more and more the wisdom of Moreinu haRav Shach ztvk”l.

    The 5tjt is put out by a Lubavitcher who grew up in Crown Heights, so not surprising that he printed that. Let’s hope that he allows people to protest it in his pages as well, showing that he is fair (hopefully).

  15. if so many gedolim said all kinds of things about the lubavither rebbe, why is a chosid of his expected to think of them highly in turn?

  16. YES, MATZAV.COM HAS SHOWN ITS TRUE COLORS – IT HAS SHOWN THAT IT IS RUN BY G-D FEARING JEWS WHO RECOGNIZE THE TRUTH AND SAY IT! THEY OBVIOUSLY UNDERSTAND WHAT DAAS TORAH HOLDS AND SAYS IT FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR!
    KOL HAKAVOD!
    MATZAV, YOU GUYS DESERVE AN AWARD! DON’T LET THE CRITICISM FROM SOME GET YOU DOWN. WHAT YOU WROTE HERE IS 100% TRUE. IF RAV SHACH WERE ALIVE, HE’D BE PROUD OF YOU.
    KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.

  17. I have stam a question: How come some so-called Jewish sites make significant mention of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s yarzeit but fail to mention the yarzeits of gedolim such as the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov, Rav Shach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, great rebbes including Rav Yoel of Satmar, et al? How come? What’s the reason?

  18. i am maskim with many of the posters. the olam hayeshivos and olam hachasidi and by that I include Monsey, Flatbush, BP, Lakewood, Willy, Kiryas Yoel, the Five Towns Los Angeles Chicago Detroit Cleveland etc. and of course Yerushalayim Bnei Brak beit Shemesh etc. finally have someone online to speak the deah of our maranan verabonon;
    worse than the shmutz on the internet is the warped portrayals of “truth” being propagated on sites run by whoknows who;
    torah is truth. And our gedolim have explained what the truth is and it should not be warped by people who dont know what our gedolim held and we have to stand up for kavid hatayreh

    tayreh, tayreh tayreh!

    Ask the gedolim what they hold!!!!!!!!!! show them the above article and comment and i promise they’ll agree one thousand million percent!!!!!!! It’s the daas baal habos who thinks he knows the emes that warps the whole thing!!

    ain kan makom lehaarich yoser.

  19. You need to be a godol like the Brisker Rov, Satmar Rov and Rav Shach, to see what will come out of Lubavitch being a Messianic group. Today you just need not to be blind and you will see that many in Lubavitch follow a different Religion. Rav Shach said that the baal hatanya will thank him for the opposition to what Lubavitch became today.

  20. “I have stam a question: How come some so-called Jewish sites make significant mention of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s yarzeit but fail to mention the yarzeits of gedolim such as the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov, Rav Shach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein”
    Perhaps it’s because Lubavitch controls the Jewish media just as the Jews control the world media? After reading this post and some of the other “laudatory” posts about the Lubavitchers and the nonsensical responses to Rabbi Jacobson’s article, where absolutely no names of any gedolim are mentioned in a negative light, not Rav Shach,The Chazon Ish,the Brisker Rov etc.I would suggest that s book be published entitled “The Protocols Of The Elders Of Lubavitch”.This book would give us a “new insight” into Lubavitch and it’s “crimes” instead of regurgitating the same old garbage over and over again. all

  21. “Do we not remember what Rabbi Schneersohn Said about Maran horav Schach During the issue about annexing the Golan?”
    What is the relevancy of the above to Rabbi Jacobsons article and what is it that the Rebbe said?Is this another attempt to sow discord and sinah by bringing up old and forgotten issues (except by those who have their own agenda) at a time when achdus is needed more the ever?

    The point is that Rabbi Jacobson is saying that people were fighting against Rabbi Sheurson. The comments of Rabbi Shneurson against Rav Schach were years before Rav schach started speaking publicly against Chabad.

  22. Rabbi Jacobson teaches Kabbalah, Chassidic spirituality, and Talmud at the Rabbinical College Chovevay Torah in Brooklyn, New York.

    Chovavei and Chbad Alle Maalos!!!!!

  23. “The comments of Rabbi Shneurson against Rav Schach were years before Rav schach started speaking publicly against Chabad”
    I don’t know where you get this revisionist history from but your completely off base so go back to he history books.The machlokes began when Rav Shach spoke out against the Rebbe’s mivtzoim and speciffically against the Lubavitcher Lag Bomer parades so stop drinking the Kool Aid.

  24. The Lubavitcher Rebbe can’t be Mashiach because he is not alive anymore. The Rambam clearly states that as one of the requirements.

  25. “The Lubavitcher Rebbe can’t be Mashiach because he is not alive anymore. The Rambam clearly states that as one of the requirements.”
    Yes Yoel,your right but please, pray tell,who on this series of posts brought up this issue?Who are you responding to?

  26. Jacobson is a great speaker, but you guys are right for giving him over the head, in this case Jacobson let his partisan feelings get ahead of himself.He should know better as a Lubabvitcher there is a term they use “moach shalit al haleiv” here Jacobson allowed his girsah deyankusa to rule over his brain.
    Larry Gordon the editor and publisher of Five Towns Jewish News is of Lubavitch extraction, but not an active Lubavitcher today.He has a regular clean cut look, no beard and sent his kids to regular schools.Larry is a great guy, he cannot be expected to check every rabbis article.I’m sure that he would not have published this Jacobson piece if he had know about “the dark hints” in the article

  27. Rabbi Jacobson did not even mention who the person he was talking about is (I don’t even know if he meant someone in particular). I there a reason that it is pbvios to all of you?

  28. Gut Shabbos to all. IIRC what the lubavitcher Rebbe said about Rav Shach Zt”l about the Golan is that is is a Peleh Gadol to say we lived 2,000 years without the Golan and we can live another 2,000 years without it. On a security and Hashkafa basis this is takke very temuah. Oseh Shalom Bimromuv.

  29. “The Lubavitcher Rebbe can’t be Mashiach because he is not alive anymore. The Rambam clearly states that as one of the requirements.”
    My point ,Yoel, was that nobody here, including Rabbi Jacobson in his article,said or insinuated in any form or way that the Lubavitcher rebbe was Moshiach and therefore what is the point of your above statement?

  30. YOU NEED TO ALL REMEMBER THAT KORACH ALSO THOUGHT HE WAS DOING EVERYTHING LESHAIM SHAMAYIM!!!!

  31. Matzav,

    your insular attitude genarates paranoia. Jacobson wasn’t attacking “gedolim”, the Rebbe OB”M received criticism throughout his leadership from across the spectrum.

    But when you are defensive, you flinch at any perceived “attack”. It may be worthwhile to spend your time more constructively than fighting a battle that doesn’t exist – even if for “kavod hatorah”. Good shabbos.

  32. What a beautiful article by Rabbi YY Jacobson…I don’t know who he is but I feel it would behoove us to read this article over and over again to learn more about what the Lubavitcher Rebbe really was. The author never mentioned anyone, as he was speaking in general statements… why did Matzav respond as if he was attacking our Gedolim?? Why would we even think he was referring to the Schach?
    It is truly amazing how the Lubavitcher Rebbe responded that if we used our time to love not hate, how positive that would be!! A powerful thought…We should all really think about that…

  33. the rambam writes ‘Im neherag bimilchomo’ if he was killed in battle. nowhere does he write if he died. also the gemora in sanhedrin daf 91b has a whole discussion if he’s min hachayim or min hameisim. nisht azoi klor in rambam my friend.

  34. To the Webmaster
    Is the reason you have not posted my last comment about Rav Shach yet, because it’s getting a little to hot under the collar for you? Much worse has been written on this site about the Lubavitcher Rebbe and printed.The Lubavitcher Rebbe meg men bashmutzen but Rav Shach is infallible?

  35. i am sorry i even found this website. i wont be back.
    what a terrible waste of time.

    bittul toyrah and sinas chinom.

    i hope you can all sleep well at night.

  36. This quote from the article is totally out of touch with reality: “It is doubtful that YY Jacobson was referring to fringe individuals or lunatic rabble rousers who had disagreements with the Rebbe.” How many Yidden do you know who you consider normal, but ask them about Lubavitch . . . Wow!!!! Every concern for loshon horoh disappears. Every reader of this page knows what I am talking about.

    This true story sums it all up: In a playground in Belgium the following exchange between two young boys was observed:
    Non-Lubavith boy to Lubavitch boy:
    “My father hates your Rebbe.”
    Lubavitch boy replys:
    “My Rebbe loves your father more than your father hates my Rebbe.”
    So, instead of diverting your own guilty feelings upon reading this article to people greater than yourself who clearly do not require your defense, try defending all those frum Yidden who are happy to criticize Lubavitch, among friends, in the mikvah, in shul, and even on this page. Can you defend YOURSELF?

  37. “You need to be a godol like the Brisker Rov, Satmar Rov and Rav Shach, to see what will come out of Lubavitch being a “Messianic group”.
    The Satmar Rebbi taine against Lubavitch had nothing to do with it being what you refer to as a”Messianic group”.He looked upon the Rebbes attitude regarding Israel as being”Tzionish”.Rav Shachs hisnagdus to Lubavith began way before the so called Moshiach issue became a “problem”.
    My question is if Rav Shachs gadlus enabled him to see what would happen to Lubavitch how come he did not foresee the Churbon that turned Ponovitch ,that once great bastion of Torah,into the boxing ring it is today.

  38. At the end of the day. the rebbe did speak about rav shach. and it definitely was not only about the moshiach campaign. it was on EVERY campaign the rebbe started.just some of the m were: teffiflin rambam, the holocaust etc.
    the rebbe spoke about him on a couple occasions . one of them was parshas va’aira 5751….
    LOOK WHAT THE REBBE SAID HIMSELF.

  39. After reading the article in full, I say to the one who wrote this article, how dare you accuse a yid of criticizing gedolai hador. It is patently clear that he is addressing the multitudes of people who are forever talking loshon horah about Lubavitchers and their Rebbe. Some of whom express themselves on these pages. JUst look at these words from these pages and you’ll see that Jacobson is right on the mark. Here are the samples
    “I have stam a question: How come some so-called Jewish sites make significant mention of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s yarzeit but fail to mention the yarzeits of gedolim such as the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov, Rav Shach, Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, great rebbes including Rav Yoel of Satmar, et al? How come? What’s the reason?”
    Stam a question rooted in . . . ahavas Yisroel? Vos far a shayches?
    “Do we not remember what Rabbi Schneersohn Said about Maran horav Schach During the issue about annexing the Golan?”
    Punkt a dugma of someone who can’t pass up a chance to say something negative about the Lubavitcher REbbe. I mean, noch a mol vos iz de shaychus?
    “Without a doubt Rav Schach ZTL was correct in his assessment of the dangers inherit in the Chabad meshichisti movement.”
    So this is about the article? nor vos an opportunity to sow hatred.
    The fourth post reads “a responsible author would have mad eit clear who he was referring to” now, even if you don’t have a gemoro kop, can you tell me it is not clear? The comments on this very page show how ridiculous the entire article is. Ah yes, by writing the article he was able to sow this entire page of machlokes. so if there is a gadol Jacobson was referring to it is the baal machlokes hagadol who wrote this stam baseless accusing machlokes causing article. Let me conclude with probably the best quote from this page “i am sorry i even found this website. i wont be back.
    what a terrible waste of time.
    bittul toyrah and sinas chinom.
    bittul toyrah and sinas chinom.
    bittul toyrah and sinas chinom.
    sinas chinom. sinas chinom. sinas chinom.
    i hope you can all sleep well at night.”

  40. Of those who comment here and actually make reference to their understanding of the article by yyj, 9 understand him to be referring to plain people not Gedolim. Besides, how many websites with anti-chabad rhetoric do you need to see to know that yyj is right? Lets examine the facts. in any frum shul you’ll find businessmen who travel the world for business, as well as many vacationers who have made use of the Chabad Houses, who have felt first hand the ahavat yisrael taught by Rabbi Schneerson. I challange any of the posters to this article to deny the ahavat yisrael learned and practised by chabad chassidim all over the world to strangers, and to frum people who may have walked in hating lubavitch (but they came out feeling the opposite).

  41. Rabbi Jacobson’s article is talking about those children who beat me up when I was a child in London for nothing other than being a Lubavitcher, and his article is talking about their parents, and his article is now talking about their children too. Since I don’t want to do the evil that was done to me. I’ll simply say that some of those children are from well known families. I’ll not mention their names, even though I could. And yes, Rabbi Jacobson’s article is talking not only about those who burned an effigy of the Rebbe in 1975 in Brooklyn on Purim, but it is also referring to all those who watched (100’s) and were silent. And yes it is referring to the parents and children of all of these. And it is referring to those who sponsor and send kollelim davka to undermine Chabad Houses. And it is talking about those Baal Teshuva Yeshivos that take people who are becoming frum through Chabad and convinces them to join their Yeshiva and actively convince them to hate Chabad. Shall I go on? Every example listed here (out of many more possible ones) is 100% accurate. No exaggeration! When has Lubavitch been the great initiator of machlokes? Never! When have other groups done that? All the time. The article on this page being a mini example of this. I’ll let you decide whether or not to call all of the above mentioned groups “fringe individuals or lunatic rabble rousers” which is what the article writer on this forum would have us believe. I challenge any reader to concretely and logically argue what I’ve written here.

  42. Why don’t you post this instead of your above devisive and innuendo filled article ,oh but I forget you probably won’t.After all it shows Lubavitch in a positive light but who knows maybe you’ll have some hirur teshuva

    ??????? ??”? ????? ????????? ?? ????? ??”?
    (??? ???, ?’ ???? ?’???”?)
    ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ????????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???????. ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ?????? ? ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??”? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ??????? ?????? ????
    ????? ?? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ???? ????? ???? ???? ?? ???? ?????? ??????? ??????. ???? ????? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ?????? ?????? ??????? ????? ????? ??????.

    ?? ????? ???? ?????? ?????? ???? ?????? ??”? ????? ???? ?????? ?? ??? ???? ???? ??? ?? ?????? ?? ?????? ?????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???? ??????? ??????.

    ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ???? ?? ?????? ????? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ????? ??”? ?? ????? ??”? ???? ?? ??????? ?????? ??? ??????? ?????.

    ?????? ?? ??? ?????? ??? ???? ????? ???? ??? ????? ??”? ???? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ??? ????? ?????? ???? ???? ????? ???????. ??? ???? ??????? ?????? ??”? ????? ?????? ???? ????? ?? ?? ?? ????? ????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ???? ?? ?????? ?????? ?????? ????? ????? ????????? ??????? ?? ????? ??? ???? ????? ???????.

  43. Here you have a video clip of Litvaks beating a Chabad Rabbi in a shul IN BENAI BERAK caught on the security camera and publicized on Israeli TV and on the internet: http://vimeo.com/5564504

    Would the indignant writer of this article, or anyone on this site comment!!!!!!!!

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