Q&A: Chabad or Traditional
Chabad or Traditional
Question
Hello,
I’m not a troll; I’m genuinely interested and trying to understand—
is it preferable, from a Torah / halakhic / ideological standpoint, to spend one’s whole life as a Chabad Hasid, with all that entails, or to be traditional?
That is—does observing the commandments, but together with the belief that the Rebbe is the Messiah, the belief that one receives answers from the Rebbe through the Holy Letters (and also practicing this), belonging to that group, and all the other things, make it preferable / outweigh / equal / halakhically preferable / ideologically preferable to being traditional—someone who admittedly does not observe the commandments according to exact Jewish law, but also does not believe in things that are literally idolatry?
Maybe this could be a kind of analogy—
is it better to be a fitness enthusiast, someone who does some push-ups and running here and there and the like, or to be a person who is careful about “real” fitness (a structured workout for muscles and heart 3 times a week), but who along with that also does a kind of training known to cause a certain kind of disability (for example, being unable to move one’s head freely from side to side)?
Thank you very much
Answer
As for Chabad, despite all my reservations about them, they do keep Jewish law and do things that are worthy of appreciation. It is indeed a kind of cult. The question of which is preferable is hard to answer. From the standpoint of commandments, Chabad is preferable; from a human standpoint, being traditional is preferable. I also don’t understand why it matters. Are you representing the Holy One, blessed be He, and need to decide where to place them in the Garden of Eden? Or are you asking for yourself what to be? Be what you believe in.
Discussion on Answer
Wow. That’s a frightening question. I’m leaning a bit toward Chabad, but I’m very conflicted.
What is more severe: a person who observes commandments but at the same time causes a desecration of God’s name, or a person who does not observe commandments but does not cause a desecration of God’s name? How severe is desecration of God’s name relative to other transgressions? Does desecration of God’s name cancel out the reward for other commandments?
You’re presenting this as a halakhic discussion. As far as I’m concerned, it is no less a human discussion. I oppose cults and see them as a problem even if there is nothing in them that is halakhically forbidden. I don’t think Chabad causes much desecration of God’s name, and I do know they do a great deal of sanctifying God’s name. And still, it is a cult in every respect.
What is your definition of a cult?
See Column 19
Hello,
Thank you for the answer.
If you got a phone call like this:
“Hello, my name is Moshe. My wife and I are 25 years old and were mortally injured in a car accident, and we have about two hours left to live. We need to choose whom to give our two-week-old baby to. One option is to give him to a brother who is in the Chabad Hasidic movement, and he will raise him the way Chabad raises children, or to give him to a brother who is traditional, and he will raise him to be traditional. They are both very good educators; that is, there is almost no chance the child will stop being in Chabad if given to the Chabad parent, or change from being traditional if given to the traditional parent. In all other respects (financial situation, ability to give love, etc.) they are equal. To whom should we give the baby?”
What would you answer Moshe?
Thanks