Comments on: Martyrdom In Mumbai Un-Jewish

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:10:27 +0000

It seems to be the old question whether being Jewish is a matter of genetics, or a matter of religious belief, and Torah versus Talmud, and traditional orthodox law versus reformation law, regarding evangelization, a problem for the Jews since the time of Jesus proclaimed Messiah and Paul the Apostle; evangelization in various forms transformed Christianity and Islam into worldwide almost majority religions, while Judaism suffers by being a small minority religion, evidently suffering by their own choice.

By: Stephen Sacks

Stephen Sacks — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:39:07 +0000

If Chabad does have some ‘secret mission’ to convert Jews whom they deem not sufficiently religious’ they sure keep it well hidden.

What more of a testament to their tolerance of all sects and shades of Judaism do you need, than to note the diverse group of Jews who were partaking of Chabad hospitality, which always comes with no strings attached, when they were tortured and murdered in the Bombay pogrom? Only at a Chabad House, way off the beaten path, would one find a Satmar rabbi, a Mexican Sephardic Jew, secular American / Isralei Jews all gathered as Yids sharing a common bond under one roof.

By: Henry Bowman

Henry Bowman — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:10:33 +0000

You state that “Jews don’t missionize; Mormons do.”

That is ture, strictly speaking. However, Chabadniks do ‘missionize’ [proselytize], in a sense: part of their mission is to ‘convert’ Jews whom they regard as not sufficiently religious (e.g., reform Jews). They are, for the most part, awfully nice about this effort, but that is surely part of their mission.

[Yes, but proselytizing isn’t Jewish. They have adopted a mishmash of non-Jewish customs.–IM]

By: Myron Pauli

Myron Pauli — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:25:12 +0000

1. Chabad reaches out other Jews including atheists like myself. Perhaps they seek out too much publicity (menorah lightings) but that is certainly their right. Compared to some of the snobbishness / exclusiveness of other Jews, they are more like Christian evangelists. They have done a rather good job of establishing Jewish events and education where I live in Northern Virginia.
2. For someone Orthodox like my nephew, the Chabadniks (he is not one) are a place to get a kosher meal in Rio or Prague or Mumbai. With the commercial and tourist trade, it is not a bad idea to have outposts – but there are clearly risks in being targeted by terrorists, especially since they like to return to earlier crime scenes.
3. Jews are always at risk (Hebron for example) but risk is not martyrdom.

[I sympathize with this perspective, but Hasidim are still un-Jewish in very many ways, as you yourself concede. Perhaps it’s for the better, as you say, but, good or bad, their customs contravene many tenets of Judaism, including their idolatrous worship of The Big Rabbi Guy.–IM]