Lubavitcher Rebbe

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, passed away from the physical world in 1992, but his believers still feel he is very close in the hearts of his congregation. The Rebbe never wanted to be called the Messiah while he was alive, but his followers believe he is just that and are still awaiting his resurrection which will bring about the messianic age and their redemption.

On the 10th day of the Jewish month Shevat in the year 5710 (1950 CE), the Rebbe took over the leadership of the Chabad Lubavitch movement. He preached the Torah and prayed with his congregation in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. Throughout his life, the Rebbe made numerous contributions and efforts towards the improvement of Jewish education and his lifelong goal was to reunite world Jewry with the common heritage and identity of its people. He preached the importance of the imminent Redemption; the time of the Messiah. The Rebbe called on his followers to increase their individual acts of kindness and good deeds. He felt that the Jews were sitting on the threshold of the coming of the Messiah due to three different world events:

1. The collapse of Communism

2. The Gulf War of the early 1990s

3. The move toward nuclear disarmament

Presently, the Chasidic community is divided into two different sections: the meshechisten (messianists) and the anti-meshechisten (anti-messianists). The messianists believe that the Rebbe will be resurrected to bring them to redemption in Israel and feel it is their duty to publicize this fact. The anti-messianists feel that the publicizing of the hope of the Rebbe's future return is a distortion of the Judaic belief in the resurrection of the dead.

For now, the hope is still alive that the Rebbe will be resurrected. Some say his return will come in a miraculous form, such as riding down from Heaven on a cloud, or in a non-miraculous way, such as riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Predictions are that he will be resurrected in the Jewish year of 5760, though it is presently 5760 and he has yet to reappear. The Rebbe did not name a successor and the Chasidic community has not found a worthy candidate to follow in his footsteps, therefore they simply sit waiting for his return. In the meantime, the Rebbe's followers are dedicating themselves to spreading Judaism, which was Lubavitch's focus before his death.

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