Chabad V - Messianic/Everyone is?/Rabbi Yoel Kahn

Shturem.net published a translation of an important interview

In an unprecedented scathing attack in this week's issue of Kfar Chabad magazine against the "shita" (the line of reasoning) of writing on the Rebbe "Shlitah," Rabbi Yoel Kahn, the Rebbe's chozer, said that this is going against the Torah and defames the Rebbe's name. Reb Yoel stresses that he is not dealing with the "people" that have created this "shitah" but is condemning the "shitah" itself.

Reb Yoel: "When the Rebbe assumed leadership Yud Shvat 1951," he stated clearly that the task of our generation is to complete the process of drawing down the Shechina in this world. This is done, the Rebbe said, through the dissemination of Torah, especially "Pnimiyus Hatorah."

"For us chassidim, the real dissemination of Pnimiyus Hatorah is as expounded by the Rabbeim. The Rebbe asks in one of his sichos why did G-d have to tell Abaraham that "I will make your name great?" Abraham was known to have been imbued with the greatest degree of humility how can one even think that he desired greatness?

The Rebbe answers that the meaning of "I will make your name great" was that through his name the Name of G-d Almighty will be sanctified. Everyone will see, even a non Jew, that Abraham's name reflects G-d's Name. In other words, every Jew and non-Jew will see that the Rebbe is an extraordinary elevated person, a true Shepherd of the Jewish People who cared about his people in general and about every individual in particular.

I believe that when one writes "Shlitah" now after the histalkus next to the Rebbe's name not only does he not bring greatness and admiration to the Rebbe but just the opposite, it defames and makes a mockery of the Rebbe's name.

"On Rosh Chodesh Kislev they printed a picture of a man walking in 770 with a caption that this was a picture taken on the 25th of Cheshvan this year as the Rebbe was walking towards his place through the "shvil" (pathway) that was made for him when he would come down to Mincha."

"Making the shvil itself is the biggest joke that could be but they add insult to injury by saying that the man they saw was the Rebbe. The joke is not on this or that chosid but on the Rebbe himself because they say they are making the "shvil" for the Rebbe. They added further disgrace by saying that the man that passed was the Rebbe.

"That wasn't enough either and in their weekly pamhplet "Sichas Hageula" (Woe unto us that this is called "Geula, which only makes a joke of such a great man) they write: "The revelation began on the 25th of Marcheshvan" and they boast that hundreds of thousands of people all over the world were able to view it." That wasn't enough either, they later printed this joke in articles in the pamphlets that they published for Parshat Vayetze and Vayishlach.

"I want to reiterate that I am not speaking about the "person" who wrote the article (it's not my job to speak about a person's intentions what's inside his head) I am talking about the object - the system - the printing of such pictures and articles which could be no greater diversion of the Rebbe.

"Everything the "maskilim" and communists tried to do in order to defame the honor of our Rabbeim is absolutely nothing compared to the defamation caused by the "meshichistin" because of two reasons: 1) the substance of the defamation: it never even occurred to the communists to degrade the Rebbe in such a manner. 2) when this defamation is done by Chabad chassidim the mockery and shame is even greater. Not only is this "shitah" a joke, it is against the Torah and is the complete opposite of what our function and shlichus is.[...]

Kfar Chabad: OK, this shitah goes against common sense but why do you say it goes against Torah?

Reb Yoel: If their eccentric behavior would express itself only in making a "shvil" and things like that it would also be shameful but unfortunately, what they are doing goes against the Torah.

They urge people to do things that are against the "halacha" as a result of their new faith that there was no histalkus. And when they preach not to observe the customs and Halochos pertaining to an histalkus (including the customs that the Rebbe instructed to observe pertaining to Yud Shvat) this borders on going against the Torah.

"Such a shitah can bring to worse things. There are some who are saying that we're living in the period that Moshiach has already arrived. Pretty soon you'll have a "lamdan" proving to you that we're in the period of Tehiyas Hameisim and if someone will ask but we see that that no one has arisen from the dead, they'll answer you: according to the sicha it's definite that they have arisen - you're just imagining that they have not. Just like their saying "shlitah" that he is alive "begashmiyus."

"I know what I am saying are very harsh words but there is no choice once and for all the truth must be stated. Again, I am not talking about the "people" who invented this "shitah" but about the shitah itself 1) it is futile, vanity and folly. 2) It is not related in any way to Lubavitch nor to Torah. Torah is the ultimate truth and not nonesense and fantasies. 3) This shitah leads to the doing away with laws of Torah. [...]