On Rebbe’s 20th yahrtzeit, even critics admire his army

Many questions surrounded the future of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidism after the death of its seventh and final leader—“the Rebbe,” Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson—on June 12, 1994 (3 Tammuz, 5754). Schneerson had no children, and no successor was named. But 20 years later, Chabad is not only alive and well, but increasingly receiving the so-called highest form of flattery: imitation.

Against the backdrop of last fall’s much-discussed Pew Research Center survey of American Jews, many Jewish leaders across the denominational spectrum are turning to Chabad for ideas to strengthen their own movements. While admirers interviewed by JNS.org said they may not agree with Chabad’s religious outlook or practices, all said that when it comes to outreach, engagement, and Jewish leadership, Chabad is to be emulated.

“We all have what to learn from their… going out into the trenches to bring people in,” said Rabbi Pesach Lerner, executive vice president emeritus of the National Council of Young Israel. “If you want to accomplish stuff, you’ve got to leave the building. … That is something [about Chabad] that has to be respected and emulated.”

Creating communities without walls has been a secret to Chabad’s success. The Chabad emissary “does not view himself as a rabbi of a congregation, as serving members of a synagogue,” but rather as a community rabbi, said Rabbi Steven Weil, former executive vice president of the Orthodox Union. “As the rabbi of a city he can have much greater impact than just being the rabbi for those who pay dues,” Weil said.

Weil noted that an additional upside presented by Chabad emissaries is that when a Chabad couple is sent to a community, the couple is “there for life.”

“When you look at a lot of communities—Reform, Conservative, Orthodox—the rabbis come for a period of time and their goal is to get a good job and then get a bigger pulpit in a bigger city,” said Weil, explaining if over a 30 or 40-year period, there are six or seven community rabbis, one never really becomes a part of the people’s extended lives.

Chabad emissaries “become a part of the family, there at every stage,” Weil explained.

As Weil put it, in the modern Orthodox community, the best and brightest individuals become hedge fund managers. In the haredi community, those same men become heads of major yeshivas. In the Chabad movement, the best men become emissaries.

And those emissaries make life easier for all Jews. Since Chabad shluchim are positioned across the world, Jews know they can travel anywhere and still get a kosher meal or a place to pray, said Lerner. Chabad also feeds the Jewish future, according to Lerner, who said most Jews that become Orthodox later in life “somewhere along the line had involvement with Chabad.”

Those Jews likely stayed the course because of a combination of persistence, said Lerner, and the lack of judgment or pressure placed on them, said Wernick. They may have been brought in to the fold of religious life because the barrier was low and accessible, perhaps even through the Internet or social media, both tools which many believe Chabad used earlier—and better—than other Jewish movements.

“We have to reach out to our fellow Jews with unconditional love,” said Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Kingdom. “We don’t do enough of that and Chabad has taught us how.”

Yet even with Chabad’s open arms, the emissaries never compromise their Jewish values.

“You’ll never see a Chabad guy doing something wrong to accommodate someone else,” said Lerner, noting that the movement proudly promotes traditional Jewish culture in the public square.

Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, knew Schneerson personally and recalled that while he and the Rebbe did not always agree, the Rebbe always treated him with respect and love. “He took bold positions, he inspired,” said Hoenlein.

“The Rebbe clearly had a vision and he implemented it,” he added. “This is what Jewish leaders today need—they need to have a clearer sense of ultimately what they want to achieve.”