WMessianism in Chabad refers to the contested beliefs among members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community, a group within Hasidic Judaism, regarding the Jewish messiah. These beliefs typically involve the duty to actively raise awareness of the imminent arrival of the messiah. A fringe subset of the Chabad community believe that the leader of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is the Jewish messiah. The issue remains controversial both within the Chabad movement as well as within the broader Jewish community.
WChabad offshoot groups are those spawned from the Chabad Hasidic Jewish movement. Many of these groups were founded to succeed previous Chabad leaders, acting as rivals to some of the dynastic rebbes of Chabad. Others were founded by former students of the movement, who, in forming their own groups, drew upon their experiences at Chabad.
WThe Kopust branch of the Chabad Hasidic movement was founded in 1866 by Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schneersohn after the death of the third rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. The movement is named after the town Kopys in the Vitebsk Region of present-day Belarus, where Rabbi Yehuda Leib Schneersohn settled after his father's death.
WThe Niezhin branch of the Chabad Hasidic movement was founded after the death of the third rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. The group was one of several groups that sought to succeed Rabbi Menachem Mendel, whose death created a dispute over his succession. The group was led by its founder, Rabbi Yisroel Noach of Niezhin, a son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel.
WA public menorah is a large menorah displayed publicly during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It is done to celebrate the holiday and publicize the miracle of Hanukkah, and is typically accompanied by a public event during one of the nights of Hanukkah attended by invited dignitaries who are honored with lighting the menorah.
WThe Rebbe the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference is a book by Rabbi Dr. David Berger on the topic of Chabad messianism and the mainstream orthodox Jewish reaction to that trend. Rabbi Berger addresses the Chabad-Messianic question, regarding a dead Messiah, from a halachic perspective. The book is written as a historical narrative of Berger's encounter with Chabad messianism from the time of the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1994 through the book's publication in 2001. The narrative is interlaced with Dr. Berger's published articles, written correspondences, and transcribed public lectures, in which he passionately appeals to both the leadership of the Orthodox and Chabad communities for an appropriate response to Chabad-Lubavitch messianism.
WSholom Mordechai Rubashkin is a convicted felon and the former CEO of Agriprocessors, a now-bankrupt kosher slaughterhouse and meat packing plant in Postville, Iowa, formerly owned by his father, Aaron Rubashkin. During his time as CEO of the plant, Agriprocessors grew into the nation's largest kosher meat producer, but was also cited for issues involving animal cruelty, food safety, environmental safety, child labor, and hiring undocumented immigrants.
WMoshe Schneersohn was the youngest son of the founder of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi. According to some scholars he converted to Christianity and died in a St. Petersburg asylum. Chabad sources claim that his conversion and related documents were faked by the Church.
WElazar Menachem Man Shach was a leading Lithuanian-Jewish Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. He also served as one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, along with Rabbis Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky. Due to his differences with the Hasidic leadership of the Agudat Yisrael in 1984, he allied with Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, with whom he founded the Shas party. Later, in 1988, Shach sharply criticized Ovadia Yosef, saying that, "Sepharadim are not yet ready for leadership positions", and subsequently founded the Degel HaTorah political party representing Lithuanian (non-Hasidic) Ashkenazi Jews in the Israeli Knesset.
WStrashelye was a branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism, named after the town Strashelye (Starasel'lye) in the Mohilev Province of present-day Belarus, where its leader lived. Like all Hasidism it is based on the teachings and customs of Chasidut as taught by the Baal Shem Tov, in turn based on the Kabbalistic works of Rabbi Isaac Luria.
WThe Yeshivah Centre is an Orthodox Jewish umbrella organisation in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that serves the needs of the Melbourne Jewish community. It is run by the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, until recently, under the direct administration of Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner. Rabbi Zvi Telsner has been brought as the new Dayan of the Centre and Lubavitch community.