# Question about Lubavich Hasidim **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812 "2018-10-31T23:33:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/1 "2018-10-31T23:33:40Z")
As I understand it, this branch of Hasidim consider Rebbe Menachem Schneerson to be the Messiah (forgive me if this is no longer the case; I left Brooklyn 20 years ago). Would this cause mainstream Jews to no longer consider them to be Jewish? They do not consider so-called Jews for Jesus to be Jewish (correctly, in my opinion); would the same apply to another “false Messiah”? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/2 "2018-11-01T00:32:31Z")
What is a “mainstream Jew” anyway? My understanding is that Jewishness is not a matter of what you believe or what you practice. That would be Judaism. I’m going to guess that it completely depends on the branch, what opinion they have of Lubavich Hasidism. So you’d have to be a lot more specific. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/3 "2018-11-01T00:38:18Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > What is a “mainstream Jew” anyway? > > My understanding is that Jewishness is not a matter of what you believe or what you practice. That would be Judaism. I’m going to guess that it completely depends on the branch, what opinion they have of Lubavich Hasidism. So you’d have to be a lot more specific. To be more specific, the four major branches (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reformed). ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/4 "2018-11-01T03:32:06Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > As I understand it, this branch of Hasidim consider Rebbe Menachem Schneerson to be the Messiah (forgive me if this is no longer the case; I left Brooklyn 20 years ago). Would this cause mainstream Jews to no longer consider them to be Jewish? They do not consider so-called Jews for Jesus to be Jewish (correctly, in my opinion); would the same apply to another “false Messiah”? AIUI, [the Chabad-Lubavitcher leadership have officially repudiated Schneerson-focused messianism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chabad_messianism): > [@](#): > > Since the Rebbe’s death, there are those who have persisted in the belief that Schneerson is still the Messiah, sometimes extremely vocally. Chabad messianists […] either believe Schneerson will be resurrected, or (a vocal minority) refuse to admit that Schneerson died, instead proclaiming that he is still alive. The Chabad–Lubavitch umbrella organization, Agudas Chasidei Chabad, and the governing body of Chabad–Lubavitch rabbis, Vaad Rabonei Lubavitch, have both denounced the messianic behavior. And yes, as that article describes, some other Jews have compared those messianic beliefs to Christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/5 "2018-11-01T17:45:59Z")
Two jews; three opinions. We are a remarkably disputatious lot. ---
**Author:** ![doubleminus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@doubleminus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubleminus)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/6 "2018-11-03T14:58:56Z")
Or, as the late Rabbi Schach, the undisputed leader of the Misnagdim Orthodox (the Orthodox are roughly split into Hassidim and Misnagdim) said: "The Lubavitcher are the (non-jewish) sect closest to Judaism. ---
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/7 "2018-11-04T14:57:47Z")
It’s a minority of Chabad chasidim that believe this way, but a very vocal minority. Much of the Chabad community in Israel have this belief. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/8 "2018-11-04T15:33:18Z")
> [@P-man](#): > > To be more specific, the four major branches (Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reformed). Reform Never “Reformed” ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/9 "2018-11-04T16:48:45Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Reform > > Never “Reformed” Sorry, I knew that. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-lubavich-hasidim/823812/10 "2018-11-05T02:49:24Z")
According to my Rabbi (I don’t know if this opinion is widely held or not) such a belief is foolish but not heretical.