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Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer) Third meeting, 14 March 2012 Summary of presentations by Dr. Alon Dahan and Prof. Yoram Bilu The Ten Exiles of Lubavitch: Reflections on Chabad as a Global Movement Dr. Alon Dahan, Hebrew University Discussant: Prof. Yoram Bilu, Hebrew University I will break Alon and Yoram’s complex discussion down into three main topics: Chabad’s theology, history (as it relates to the theology), and practice. Chabad’s Theology The theology is based on a two-tiered myth attributed to Rabbi Luria, a 16th century mystic. “The breaking of the vessels”: In order to create something through which He could express benevolence and compassion, God had to limit himself (as He is infinite). To do so, God poured His divine light into vessels, but on the first attempt, the vessels shattered, and sparks fell into the depths of matter and were imprisoned. “Adam’s sin”: Had Adam not sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, the divine sparks would have risen by the first Sabbath day following creation and human exile would have been prevented. Instead, the sparks of goodness (nitzotzot) and evil matter (kelipot) combined to form a mixture of domains into which humanity is exiled. According to Alon: “Adam’s sin perpetuated the exile and created the need for the task of Tikun (world-mending) imposed on all creatures and upon the Jewish nation in particular.” Chabad’s Mission: Mending the World Together, these two myths give the Jewish people the mission of purifying and mending the world (Tikun ‘Olam), transforming the world into God’s sacred abode. According to Alon: “The imprisoned sparks of divine Light are actually extremities of the Shechina suffering in exile. From here on, the Jew is commanded to use Jewish practices in order to redeem the Shechina from exile. Judaism, in its entirety, is transformed into a central means of this redemption and the Jew is transformed into a divine emissary. … [The task of purification] places upon the Jew the task of sorting and separating good from evil, which merged as a result of Adam’s sin.” To complete this task, “the Jewish nation is ordained to live in dispersion, indeed in exile, so as to fulfill its lofty mission.” Thus, the spiritual calling of the Jew is to be out of place, i.e. a kind of missionary. Chabad’s messianism is related to the Rebbe’s conviction that the work of Tikun—the redemption of the sparks and the task of purifying the world—is on the verge of being completed. Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer) Third meeting, 14 March 2012 Summary of presentations by Dr. Alon Dahan and Prof. Yoram Bilu Chabad’s History (in relation to its theology) Chabad’s history has been dominated by dispersal: the group was exiled ten times. Yoram Bilu contrasted Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak’s experiences with that of the Rebbe, Menachem Mendel: The first was sentenced to death in Russia and exiled to Warsaw, where he witnessed the invasion of Poland in 1939. The second witnessed changes in the political climate, in which for the first time in history, orthodox Jews could practice their faith freely in public. As a result, Menachem Mendel developed and amplified the messianism inherited from his predecessor, transforming it into a messianism of success (rather than of failure). Despite his message of missionarism, Rebbe Menachem Mendel, upon settling in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, USA, only left once: to visit the grave of Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak in Queens. Why did he not travel more himself? And why did he not move to Israel to settle? The question has not been fully answered, but the Rebbe gave a possible explanation by distinguishing himself from his disciples. This was related perhaps to a self-perception of himself as messiah, in which he would only come to Eretz Israel if he could bring with him the entire Jewish nation at the time of its complete redemption. He may also have believed that once he reached Eretz Israel, he could never leave it, thus abandoning his flock in the diaspora. Another possible reason proferred by his disciples was that the Rebbe refrained from leaving Crown Heights in order to fulfill what was stated in the Talmud, that the Messiah is to be found at the gates of Rome—today’s Rome being New York. Chabad’s Practice Chabad adheres to a messianic theology, which by definition is universal. Thus, although missionary work intended to convert others is foreign to Judaism, Chabad emissaries do not limit themselves to working and helping only other Jews. For example, Chabad manages a rehabilitation program in the jails in the U.S.; it has also helped during times of major crises, with the understanding that Jews must do good deeds and that their message is universal. Chabadniks were pioneers in implementing new technologies in their projects. Epistemologically, they don’t distinguish between technologies such as the fax machine and the internet, because Chabad interprets this technology as God’s invisible hand. Media is part of spreading the words of the Torah. Torah is not just text; it contains some of God’s light, and the belief is that when a Chabad emissary brings the Torah to the far ends of the earth, even without speaking to anyone, he has helped purify the air. Thus the media, too, helps Chabad spread the words of God to purify the air. Technology is one way, arguably, that Chabad can survive Rebbe Menachem’s death (or disappearance). Now, however, Chabad is beset by a paradox: Access to the Rebbe, a scarce Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer) Third meeting, 14 March 2012 Summary of presentations by Dr. Alon Dahan and Prof. Yoram Bilu resource during his lifetime, is now readily available after his death, via video and the internet. This creates a problem for a leaderless community: the Rebbe is more accessible but decentralized, putting Chabad’s hierarchy (what remains of it) in danger. (However, it is worth noting that another Hasidic group, the Breslevim, has continued for over 200 years since its spiritual guide, Rebbe Nachman, passed away.) Questions: How flexible is the dogma? Yoram and Alon differentiated between Christianity’s flexible praxis and Chabad’s strict observance of praxis, governing daily routine of Chabadniks. Chabad is a very dogmatic Hasidism. Chabadniks are fully committed to a certain way of life that dictates what they have to do every minute of every day. Is there an ideal type of a Schliach (emissary)? Chabadniks must be fully devoted to the mission. This is required because they are sometimes sent to far away places for life. Strong belief and commitment are necessary. They have no room for doubt. Paradoxically, because they are sent away, they cannot spend their lives in a Shul learning the Torah. How are the Schlichim recruited and elected? Alon: While the Rebbe was visible, he knew by looking at a person’s face where the person should go to locate sparks. Today, it is more complicated, but the Rebbe, in one of his last talks, democratized the process of choosing Schlichim by allowing people to use the title “tsaddik” if they could bring themselves to the proper spiritual level. The emissaries now have a greater level of independence; they have the writings and video of the Rebbe, and although they have to report back, they do so less than before (since there is no real central authority to which to report back). Yoram: The more acute messianists are found in the more exotic places, and the old emissaries are found in the big American or Russian cities where they have tremendous importance (especially political). In the future, we will possibly see growing autonomy of influential emissaries. How does Chabad reconcile exile with its belief that Eretz Israel is the Holy Land? Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer) Third meeting, 14 March 2012 Summary of presentations by Dr. Alon Dahan and Prof. Yoram Bilu Chabadniks believe that exile is conditional and time limited. Its purpose is redemption, which is defined according to traditional Judaism: when the world is ready, the tribes of Israel will be gathered in the Holy Land.