New Voices Explores the Dark Corners of the Chabad House
On college campuses across the country, a Shabbat dinner at the Chabad House is as much a ritual of Jewish student life as an ice cream social at the Hillel. As of this fall, emissaries of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement have set up Chabad Houses at nearly 100 colleges and universities. In this issue, we take a long, hard look at these shluchim, and at the ultra-Orthodox movement that has become central to the Jewish lives of thousands of college students.
Inspired by the teachings of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the group’s spiritual leader from 1951 until his death in 1994, Chabad has embarked upon a worldwide crusade to make Jews more Jewish. Students praise Chabad rabbis for their warmth, the heimeshe atmosphere in their homes, and their emphasis on Jewish learning and spiritual growth. Some non-Orthodox Jewish educators encourage students to take advantage of Chabad, hoping that the dark-suited rabbis will instill a love of Judaism that students will carry with them upon graduation.
But Chabad is a controversial movement. The belief in the messianic status of their Rebbe, which persists in portions of the movement even today, has drawn strong condemnation from some in the Orthodox world. Liberal Jewish leaders decry Chabad’s belief that the Jewish soul is more sacred than the non-Jewish soul. There is concern over Chabad’s politics in Israel and at home.
So, who are these bearded men with their bewigged wives? In the following pages, you will find the story of a Chabad rabbi’s struggle with Hillel at Princeton , the story of a Chabad House in a Jewish settlement in the West Bank , and the story of an ex-Chabadnik who fought in Iraq before joining the anti-war movement . We have coverage of the scandal that rocked the world of Kosher meat this summer, an interview with a Reform rabbi about the place of Chabad in the religious life of secular Jews, a critique of non-Orthodox support for Chabad, and an exploration of the contemporary meaning of 770 Eastern Parkway. Plus, book reviews , music reviews , and a comic . Enjoy.
