 Berger's most famous work Rabbi Dr. David Berger is a professor of history at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, and a visiting professor at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School. He is most famous for advocating a purge of messianist Chabad-Lubavitch ideology from Orthodox Judaism. Image File history File links Berger. ...
Image File history File links Berger. ...
For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in...
A professor giving a lecture The meaning of the word professor (Latin: one who claims publicly to be an expert) varies. ...
History is the study of human behavior through time. ...
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York. ...
The City University of New York (CUNY; acronym: IPA pronunciation: ), is the public university system of New York City. ...
A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ...
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ...
In history and political science, to purge is to remove undesirable people from a government, political party, profession, or from community/society as a whole, usually by violent means. ...
Chabad Lubavitch, or Lubavich, is one of the largest branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi . ...
Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law). Various Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim expounded upon these same Talmudic texts. ...
He is the author of "The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference".
Education
Berger received a Bachelor's degree from Yeshiva College in 1964. He then went on to Columbia University where he completed a Master of Arts degree in 1965 and his Doctor of Philosophy in 1970. He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and is a member of the Rabbinical Council of America, the official organization representing Modern Orthodox rabbis. The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...
Columbia University is a private university whose main campus lies in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. ...
A Master of Arts is a postgraduate academic masters degree awarded by universities in North America and the United Kingdom (excluding the ancient universities of Scotland and Oxbridge. ...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
Semicha (סמיכה -- meaning leaning [of the hands] or סמיכה ×œ×¨×‘× ×•×ª -- rabbinical ordination) is a Hebrew word referring to what may be roughly translated as the ordination (in Hebrew: semichut סמיכות) of a rabbi within Judaism. ...
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary or RIETS (Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan) is the most important yeshiva component of Yeshiva University. ...
The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the worlds largest organizations of Orthodox Jewish rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU. History The roots of the organization go back to 1923 when...
Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox, also known as Modern Orthodoxy and sometimes abbreviated as MO) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular modern world. ...
Criticism of Chabad-Lubavitch messianism
Summary Berger, an academic expert on Jewish responses to Christianity, particularly claims of Jesus messiahship and divinity, criticized what he viewed as similar assertions made by some religious leaders of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement about their last Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson shortly after Rabbi Schneerson's death in 1994. Berger claimed that such assertions could not be squared with traditional Jewish texts. An example of Berger's prooftexts is the passage in the Talmud which shows that Rabbi Akiva set aside his previous assertions of Simon bar Kokhba's presumed messiahship following Bar Kokhba being put to death. To Berger, Chabad's viewpoint on this issue is outside the pale of accepted Orthodox Jewish belief. Berger has been highly disappointed by the Orthodox establishment's reaction to Chabad-Lubavitch's claims that Schneerson is the Jewish messiah, arguing that there is a "scandal of Orthodox indifference". Judaisms view of Jesus per se reflects Jewish views of eschatology, the characteristics of the Messiah, the gift of prophecy, and the cosmological nature of God, which are derived from the Torah and Biblical prophecies expressed by Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others from Biblical times through the destruction of Solomon...
Chabad Lubavitch, or Lubavich, is one of the largest branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi . ...
now. ...
For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbī; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbī or rebbə; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbī) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in...
Rabbi M.M. Schneerson For the third Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch dynasty see Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (with an h) Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (April 18, 1902 – June 12, 1994), referred to by his followers as The Rebbe, was a prominent Charedi (traditional Orthodox) Jewish rabbi who was the seventh...
The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ...
Akiba ben Joseph (or Rabbi Akiva, Rebbi Akiva, c. ...
This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...
In Judaism and Jewish eschatology, the Messiah (Hebrew: משיח; Mashiah, Mashiach, or Moshiach, anointed [one]) has traditionally referred to a future Jewish king from the Davidic line who will be anointed (the meaning of the Hebrew word משיח) with holy anointing oil and inducted to rule the Jewish people during the Messianic...
Support Berger states that his views are shared and supported by many prominent Orthodox authorities, including leaders from the Ashkenazi non-Hasidic Lithuanian (Litvak) institutions, Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak, Israel, especially the reactions and statements of its late Rosh yeshiva ("dean") Rabbi Elazar Shach (see Elazar Shach: Opposition to the Lubavitcher Rebbe) and the vehement opposition of the Rabbinical Seminary of America (Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim) in New York. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law). Various Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim expounded upon these same Talmudic texts. ...
Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ...
Ponevezh yeshiva (ישיבת ×¤×•× ×™×‘×–) (or Ponevitch) is one of the most famous Haredi Talmudical yeshivas with roots among the Lithuanian Jews. ...
Mentioned as one of the cities in the portion of the Tribe of Dan (Yehoshua 19:45), Bnei Brak is famous in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 32b) as the seat of Rabbi Akivas court, and in the Pesach Haggada as the site of the all-night Pesach Seder of Rabbi...
Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ר×ש ישיבה) (pl. ...
Elazar Menachem Man Shach (×לעזר ×ž× ×—× ×ž×Ÿ שך) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was a leading Haredi rabbi in modern Israel. ...
Elazar Menachem Man Shach (×לעזר ×ž× ×—× ×ž×Ÿ שך) (or Rav Leizer Shach, at times his name is written as Eliezer Schach in English publications) (January 22, 1898 - November 2, 2001), was a leading Haredi rabbi in modern Israel. ...
Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim: Rabbinical Seminary of America (RSA) or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Yisrael Meir Ha-Kohen, or Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva and often referred to as just Chofetz Chaim (חָפֵץ חַיִּים) is a major Orthodox Judaism yeshiva in the United States based...
Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area Ranked 27th - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²) - Width 285 miles (455 km) - Length 330 miles (530 km) - % water 13. ...
Rabbi Aharon Feldman, the dean of the non-Hasidic Yeshiva Ner Yisrael: Ner Israel Rabbinical College in Baltimore, Maryland, wrote a widely-disseminated letter in 2004 which stated that Orthodox Jews should avoid praying in Chabad synagogues that avowed a belief in the Rebbe as the Messiah. He stated that while there is nothing in Jewish law against the messianist views of Chabad-Lubavitch, they "dig under the foundations of Torah fundamentals" and any support of them should be avoided. Yeshiva Ner Yisrael: Ner Israel Rabbinical College also known as NIRC and known colloquially as Ner, is a yeshiva in Baltimore, Maryland founded in 1933 by Rabbi Yakov Yitzchok Ruderman who was a key disciple of Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel of the famous Slabodka yeshiva in Lithuania, Europe. ...
Flag Seal Nickname: Monument City, Charm City, Mob Town, B-more Motto: Get In On It (formerly The City That Reads and The Greatest City in America; BELIEVE is not the official motto but rather a specific campaign) Location Location of Baltimore in Maryland Coordinates , Government Country State County United...
This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
Lesko synagogue, Poland A synagogue (Hebrew: בית ×›× ×¡×ª ; beit knesset, house of assembly; Yiddish: שול, shul; Ladino ××¡× ×•×’×” esnoga) is a Jewish place of religious worship. ...
Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ...
Berger is a highly popular figure in Modern Orthodox circles. Following Yeshiva University President Rabbi Norman Lamm's announcement that he would retire in 2001, Berger placed second on an online poll which asked who Lamm's successor should be. In 1996, largely at his behest, the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest organization of Modern Orthodox rabbis in the United States, approved the following resolution: Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox, also known as Modern Orthodoxy and sometimes abbreviated as MO) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular modern world. ...
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ...
Dr. Norman (Nachum) Lamm, (born 1927 in Brooklyn, New York, United States), is a major American Modern Orthodox Jewish communal leader. ...
The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the worlds largest organizations of Orthodox Jewish rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU. History The roots of the organization go back to 1923 when...
- "In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community,the Rabbinical Council of America in convention assembled declares that there is not and has never been a place in Judaism for the belief that Mashiach ben David will begin his Messianic mission only to experience death, burial, and resurrection before completing it."
Berger felt that the RCA resolution was a very significant turning point for his cause, as he recounts in his book that after the resolution was approved, "the thunder-bolt struck."
Conflict over Rabbi Ahron Soloveitchik's letters A letter was subsequently published as a paid advertisement in 1996 in The Jewish Press, a widely circulated Jewish newspaper, signed by Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik, the late rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Brisk of Chicago and a teacher at Yeshiva University, condemning the resolution. The letter stated that: The Jewish Press bills itself as the largest independent weekly Jewish newspaper in the United States. ...
Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ר×ש ישיבה) (pl. ...
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City whose first component was founded in 1886. ...
- "The belief held by many in Lubavitch... that the Rebbe can still be Moshiach... cannot be dismissed as a belief that is outside the pale of Orthodoxy. Any cynical attempt at utilizing a legitimate disagreement of interpretation concerning this matter, to besmirch and damage the Lubavitch movement... can only contribute to the regrettable discord that already plagues the Jewish and particularly Torah community." [1]
Despite this, many believe that the letter was actually a forgery, especially in light of Rabbi Soloveichik's clarification of his own position two years earlier in an article in The Forward, another Jewish publication, in which he states that to believe that the Rebbe is still the Messiah is indeed outside the pale of Orthodoxy: The Forward is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York. ...
- "The late Rebbe can't be the Messiah -- he is not living -- a Messiah has to be living -- a living Messiah, not a dead Messiah." [2]
Since Rabbi Soloveichik never himself discredited the veracity of the 1996 letter, suspicions of forgery remain speculative.
Criticism David Singer, Director of Research for the American Jewish Committee, wrote a lengthy criticism of Berger at OrthodoxyToday.org, stating, among other things, that Berger has "emerged as a would-be Torquemada on the Orthodox scene, demanding a policy of 'intolerance' and 'exclusion' toward those he deems to be heretical to Orthodoxy."[3]. Berger responded at length on the same website.[4] David Singer, DC, is a chiropractor, a Scientologist, and the founder, in 1981, of the controversial consulting firm now known as David Singer Enterprises. ...
The stated Mission of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) is to safeguard the welfare and security of Jews in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world; to strengthen the basic principles of pluralism around the world, as the best defense against anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry...
Grand Inquisitor Torquemada Tomás de Torquemada (1420 - September 16, 1498) was a fifteenth century Spanish Dominican, and an Inquisitor General. ...
Likewise, Professor Aviezer Ravitzky, chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy at Hebrew University, strongly disputes Berger's claims that new Chabad teachings amount to heresy; however he does not believe that such beliefs are correct. In regards to those who wait for Schneerson to return from the dead as a messiah, Ravitzky stated "Torah does not prohibit a person from being stupid." The Hebrew University of Jerusalem is one of Israels oldest, largest, and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ...
Other Accomplishments Before Berger prominently criticized Chabad, he was most famous as an expert on interfaith dialogue and medieval Jewish-Christian debate. He has written commentaries on Dominus Iesus, Nostra Aetate,and Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik's "Confrontation". The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (OU) asked him to write a response to Dabru Emet and that response was subsequently adopted as the OU's official position. He has also contributed an essay about Jacob Katz's views on medieval Jewish-Christian debate in the book, Pride of Jacob. Dominus Iesus (Latin for Lord Jesus) is a document by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregations then secretary, Tarcisio Bertone. ...
Nostra Aetate is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. ...
Joseph Ber (Yosef Dov) Soloveitchik (Hebrew: ) () was an American Orthodox rabbi, Talmudist and modern Jewish philosopher. ...
OU logo. ...
The Dabru Emet (Hebrew for Speak [the] Truth) is a document concerning the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. ...
See also Chabad Lubavitch, or Lubavich, is one of the largest branch of Hasidic Judaism founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi . ...
Haredi or Charedi Judaism, often referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ...
It has been suggested that Hasidic philosophy be merged into this article or section. ...
Rabbi Israel (Yisroel) ben Eliezer (רבי ישר×ל בן ×ליעזר, c. ...
Mitnagdim or misnagdim is a Hebrew word (×ž×ª× ×’×“×™×) meaning opponents; this term was used to refer to European religious Jews who opposed Hasidic Judaism. ...
Schisms among the Jews: // First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ...
Modern Orthodox Judaism (or Modern Orthodox, also known as Modern Orthodoxy and sometimes abbreviated as MO) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular modern world. ...
Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon The Vilna Gaon (April 23, 1720 – October 9, 1797) was a prominent Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. ...
Notes - ^ The Jewish Press, Statement of Hagaon HaRav Aharon Halevi Soloveichik The Jewish Press, June 28 1996, accessed May 28 2006
- ^ The Forward, Rabbis Blast Lubavitcher Messianism The Forward, December 2, 1994, accessed May 28 2006
- ^ Singer, David, "The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Heresy Hunter", OrthodoxyToday.org, accessed May 28 2006.
- ^ Berger, David, "Response to David Singer", OrthodoxyToday.org, accessed May 28 2006.
Works - Berger, David. The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference, Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001 (ISBN 1-874774-88-9)
External links - Brooklyn College homepage
- Rabbinical Council of America profile
- Book review by David Singer and Berger's response
- Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet response to Berger
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