Chabad - Reality check/Why nothing is happening

Dialogue between critics and Chabad: The dialogue with Chabad - whether on this blog or elsewhere always seems to hit a dead end. The arguments back and forth are cogently presented here.

Chabad says, "You don't accept our beliefs? That is alright because there is a certain degree of leeway in halacha and hashkofa and that what Chabad does and thinks is well within the range of historically accepted Yiddishkeit.

Critics of Chabad say "if you look at what the Rebbe says it is clearly in violation of the fundamentals of halacha and hashkofa, he assumes that he is G-d incarnate and is thus an intermediate no different than Jesus. He is infallible and omniscient and as a minimum an indispensable intermediate between man and G-d."

Chabad responds, "You simply are twisting the words and ignoring the actual context. Normal Chabad chasidim do not understand the Rebbe's words in the heretical fashion that you have twisted them. The Rebbe's sole concern was for the kavod Shamayim and this is well proven by his accomplishments. Granted there are some crazies within Chabad who believe what the critics's claim but they are a decided minority and have been strongly condemned by the mainstream Chabad leadership.

Critics respond, "The aberrant beliefs are not merely that of a few unbalanced individuals but in fact permeate all of Chabad - especially the educational system. The Rebbe has become the focus of Chabad religion and has displaced G-d. Prayers are directed towards the Rebbe, mitzvos are done for the pleasure of the Rebbe, the Rebbe (whether alive or dead) not only knows what is happening to you but will respond to your requests no matter where you are - he is thus omniscient and omnipotent as well as infallible. These attributes have always beeen reserved for G-d alone and now Chabad attributes them to the Rebbe?!"

Dialogue between critics and Gedolim: Interestingly there is also a corresponding dead end when asking why gedolim don't condemn Chabad. The conversation goes like this.

Critics say to the Gadol, "I have shown the Rosh HaYeshiva the assertions of the Lubavitcher rebbe that he or at least his father in law is the atzmus of G-d. c.v. That he insists that chasidim view him as the infallible intermediary with G-d. I have presented irrefutable evidence that the Rebbe viewed himself as Moshiach. That he asserted that he is the dominant human personality of our time and the human being closest to G-d and that he controls and influences all of world events - as if he were G-d. I have presented much testimony that the Chabad educational system has produced a group of Jews who are heretics. I have presented evidence that their goal is to convert all Jews to their beliefs as well as to convert non-Jews to their form of Judaism. They also have a very active program to convince Bnei Noach to accept the Chabad form of Judaism as the only legitimate understanding. Given this overwhelming evidence why aren't gedolim such as the Rosh HaYeshiva screaming from the rooftops that this is heresy that must be dealt with the same as the Messianic Jews or the Karaites or the followers of Shabtsai Tzvi?"

The Gadol responds, "Our Sages tell us, 'The constructive proposals of the young are destructive.' We are dealing with a very significant part of the Orthodox Jews population. These are Jews who are fully committed to Torah and mitzvos with incredible mesiros nefesh and are a dominant presence in kiruv, kashrus, as well as running countless Jewish communities around the world. If they are amputated from the body of Judaism - it will be as a minimum a horrible destruction to all that we have accomplished after the almost fatal losses of the Holocaust. You are not old enough or learned enough to understand that these disputes have been going on since the time of the Gra and the Baal HaTanya. Even within Chassidus - Chabad (as well as Breslov) have always been viewed as deviating from the acceptable norms of Yiddishkeit. Chabad has always been considered by others and also views itself as a tribe of its own. They have never accepted the full legitimacy of other Orthodox Jews - as we have always questioned their legitimacy. However a pragmatic detente has been reached because it is of no advantage to reject them as it is not beneficial for them to reject us. As long as their poisonous hashkofa of believing in the divinity of the Rebbe and that he is Moshiach - does not win any converts from the mainstream Orthodox communities - nothing will be said or done against them. The fact that they are making baalei teshuva with these heretical views is the lesser of two evils. It is better for someone to be shomer Torah and mitzvos as a chabadnik - then to be a secular Jew. We hold by the view of the Raavad that a sincere mistake does not make someone a heretic.
However if their views ever start penetrating the mainstream - then there will be a strong and decisive reaction just as happened recently with Slifkin. Nobody is overly concerned with the crazy beliefs of baalei teshuva - but if they start corrupting unzerer menschen - there will be war without mercy."