#deconstructing chabad

Shavua Tov!

I think I should clear some things up:

-When I say "Messianic" on *this* blog, I generally refer to the belief within Chabad that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is the Mashiach (a prophetic figure within Jewish scriptures that is said to bring about an age of prosperity and peace and end the Roman Exile), despite being dead since the 1990s.

-"Messianic Judaism" is something else entirely. It is a Christian denomination claiming to be Jewish. Their Messianism is the belief in Jesus of Nazareth is the Mashiach. Christianity stems from a Messianic cult during the Second Temple period that believed a Judean man named Yeshu (Jesus) was Mashiach.

Chabad is not a Christian denomination. Not at all. They are Jewish in origin and are still Jewish and regarded as such by the Jewish community by and large (except for a few fringe leaders). Even if they weren't considered Jewish, they would not be considered *Christian*.

I don't know if that's what you thought, anon, but I just wanted to clear that up.

I believe that Chabad is a cult within Judaism that displays Messianic beliefs about Rabbi Schneerson. They are completely different from "Messianic Judaism", which is a Christian denomination entirely and not at all related to Chabad.

Yeah, it really sucks because I maintain that Chabad does provide an invaluable service to the Jewish community, often because it's the only resource available in many places (this is by design, often it'll outcompete other Jewish organizations and establishments). I wish there were other Jewish organizations with as much reach as Chabad that weren't culty and borderline idolatrous.

I will say though, in my personal opinion, if you have to choose between not being able to practice or connect with your Judaism, or use resources Chabad provides, I think you should choose using Chabad's resources, but going in there aware and taking a lot of what they say about "the Rebbe" with a grain of salt. I wouldn't want anyone to not have any lifeline to a Jewish community, especially now when antisemitism in on the rise and connection with other Jews is so important. I myself engage with the Chabad in my area not because I support them (I obviously don't), but because it's where I can go to see other Jews (who are not Chabadnikim, just regular Jews who use Chabad's services because it's the only place there is).

I know there's some Jews who would call for a total boycott of Chabad- these Jews are usually in a very large and connected Jewish community, like New York City or places in Israel- and those Jews are coming from a place of privilege to be able to say that. I don't think you or any other Jew should let their Judaism suffer, and if getting matzah from Chabad or going to services at Chabad is what you need to do- do it. Just go in there with the awareness of who they are and what they stand for. The congregants at outreach Chabad houses tend to not be Chabad themselves, anyway.

Hello!

This blog is a personal blog run by an ex-Chabad queer Jew.

What this blog is:

-A place for myself to talk about my own experiences growing up within and breaking away from Chabad.

-A place to educate and answer questions about Chabad

What this blog isn't:

-Bashing Chassidic and/or Orthodox Judaism. I am Egalitarian Orthodox myself.

Boundaries:

-The topics discussed on this blog are intracommunity issues within the Jewish community. I ask that non-Jews refrain from inserting themselves into these conversations or from sharing them around.

-Antisemitism obviously won't be tolerated, and neither will any other prejudices.

My core beliefs:

-Chabad is a highly organized Messianic cult within Judaism. Those within Chabad are still Jews, but the behaviour Chabad as an organization exhibits is no different from other high-control religious groups, and there are extremists within Chabad that display beliefs that are antithetical to Judaism. I will be coming at the issues with Chabad from two main angles: religious and psychological. The religious angle will focus on the ways in which Chabad displays religious norms, values, and beliefs that contradict foundational Jewish values and beliefs. The psychological angle will focus on the ways in which Chabad is a cult that exerts control over its members and recruits members from vulnerable demographics, and the ways in which it has maintained its power over the years.

Resources related to deconstruction:

BITE model- a model outlining the framework most/all cults share and how to recognize them

Yaffed.org- an organization advocating for better education within Charedi schools in New York.

Freidom- a support network for former Orthodox and Charedi Jews.

Footsteps- a support network for former Charedi Jews and those seeking to leave

SayNoToChabad- an Instagram account focusing on issues within Chabad specifically

Alternative sources for Jewish education:

MyJewishLearning

Jewish Virtual Library

Sefaria

ReformJudaism.org

ReconstructingJudaism.org

USCJ.org

Aish.com

Alternative Jewish youth and young adult

organizations:

Keshet

JQY

Moishe House

One of the best ways cults and other high-control groups exert their control is through their control of the children in their group, and Chabad is no different.

Tzivos Hashem, Hebrew for "Army of God", is an organization within Chabad aimed at children's programming and education. It was founded in 1980, under the orders of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. True to its name, it had a military aesthetic from the very beginning, with meetings referred to as "rallies" and children issued military style uniforms.

Children's pamphlets were distributed with the goal of educating Jewish children around the world, and children were encouraged to memorize the "Twelve Pasukim"- twelve passages selected by Rabbi Schneerson that he considered important in Jewish education. Often, these pamphlets employed military aesthetics, such as the iconic illustration above by Norman Nodel, which depicts a boy and a girl dressed in military uniforms carring banners reading "We want Moshiach now!"

As a child, I was most involved with Tzivos Hashem in the 2000s, after the death of Rabbi Schneerson. My elementary school enrolled each student in the Chayolei Tzivos Hashem program, and as part of the program, we were given weekly "missions" to complete in order to earn medals and rise up in the ranks. Students with higher ranks were given special privileges, and while no student was explicitly punished for not completing their missions, there was a distinct social hierchy that emerged and a fierce competition among us students. Unfortunately, the Chayolei Tzivos Hashem website is only accessable to account holders, but here is their description in their own words:

Drawing on years of experience reaching out to less affiliated Jewish Children, Tzivos Hashem turned its attention to providing inspiring programing and activities for children within the religious community. Chayolei Tzivos Hashem has been designed to give children a sense of pride and belonging, an appreciation for what they do and inspire them to want to do more. Since its inception, CTH has captured hearts and minds of children worldwide. Children feel empowered and special to be entrusted with the Rebbe’s mission to bring Moshiach. As a uniquely tailored program, each child is able to climb the levels and ladders of the Army of Hashem according to their capabilities, giving them confidence and encouragement as they grow at their own pace. At monthly international webcast rallies, recognition and honor is given to students who have gone up in rank. Participating schools also have custom made mission sheets that help students advance in Hashem’s Army. As children complete missions, they earn medals to be placed in their rank books and work themselves up towards a promotion, for all missions, global, local in full or in part, students can earn “mileage points”. They can scan mileage into their personal CTH account using specially designed and programmed kiosks. CTH hosts monthly HQ global raffles where children who have completed missions can have a chance to earn prizes. There is also an online prize store where children can use their points. Piloted in 50 Lubavitch schools, Chayolei Tzivos Hashem’s goal is to continue to develop the program in Hebrew Schools and camps for children of all backgrounds across the world. The program is sponsored in part by Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch and Rabbi Shaya Smetana of Anash.com

When I was in school, most of this wasn't digital, as I was part of CTH in the 2000s, in its infancy.

But, Chayolei Tzivos Hashem is just a branch of Tzivos Hashem. It's intended specifically for children already deeply immersed within Chabad, and it's a tool used to ensure compliance within Chabad's community norms. Some of the "missions" were simple tasks associated with Jewish observance, such as praying every morning, saying the Shema prayer before bed, etc, while others involved Chabad specific tasks, such as memorizing certain portions of Tanya (one of the theological texts of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of the Chabad-Leubavitch movement) and reaching out to a set quota of strangers as part of Mivzoim.

Some vocabulary: Mivzoim (not to be confused with "Mitzvot") refers to the outreach missions enacted by the Chabad Rebbe. If you get stopped by a Chabad person in the street asking you if you are Jewish and would like to put on Tefillin or do some other Mitzvah, then you've interacted with a Chabad person completing Mivzoim.

While Chayolei Tzivos Hashem leans the most heavily on the military aesthetic, Tzivos Hashem as a whole embraces it full-heartedly, and predates CTH, which was only founded in the 2000s.

If you go onto the Tzivos Hashem website and try to register a child, you will be greeted with this message, for example:

While it's not, of course, an army of violence, the use of military terminology is something used time and time again within Tzivos Hashem.

One popular song that is sung at Tzivos Hashem rallies and in schools goes as follows:

From 770* we're marching out On to victory, without a doubt To corners four, we're marching happily Nation after nation we are conquering! Shluchei Adoneinu**, we'll bring Moshiach Tzidkeinu*** Tomorrow will be Galus**** no more And we'll win this Galus war!

Notes: *770 refers to 770 Eastern Parkway, the International Headquarters of Chabad Leubavitch. **Translates to "emissaries of our master". ***Translates to "Messiah our righteous one". ****translates to "exile".

I'm not even going to touch so much on the near deification of Rabbi Schneerson in this post, I only want to focus on Tzivos Hashem here, and how it primes children into obediance. Even families that aren't necessarily as "crazy" about Chabad as others are still encouraged through social pressure to enroll their children in Tzivos Hashem.

Why the military aesthetic?

Well. It is my firm belief that it because it is grooming children into being good, obedient followers of Chabad. For Shluchim especially (not all Chabadnikim are Shluchim) there is a high expectation of obedience. Shluchim, which are emissary families of Chabad (they're the ones who run Chabad houses and the like), are expected to follow whatever order the governing body of Chabad-Leubavitch International gives them. Every year, there is an international conference of Shluchim, one for the men, one for the women, and, up until around the Covid-19 pandemic, one for families. Shluchim, much like actual soldiers, are expected to pack up and move to wherever they are ordered to move to and establish a Chabad house or go and support and existing one. Except, it would be like if American soldiers were being told that their orders were coming from George Washington himself, since Rabbi Schneerson has been deceased since the 1990s.

So, back to the kids.

You may say to yourself, after seeing perhaps videos of Tzivos Hashem children, or maybe even encountering them yourselves, that they seem to be enjoying it. After all, kids do love playing dress-up and being given little tasks to do with rewards. And that's true- as a kid, I felt special whenever I earned a medal, and I liked getting to refer to myself as "Sergeant". It felt awfully grown up and important.

But there's a difference between a child having a chore chart in their own home or a class having a jar of beans leading up to a pizza party at the end of the year- and between children being pit against hundreds of children around the world. HaChoyel, the weekly Tzivos Hashem magazine, publishes all the names of children who recently ranked into officer positions.

Additionally, this kind of social stratefication at such a young age has the potential to let kids who don't meet the right standards to fall through the cracks, and a culture that already demands obedience of childrens leaves them wide open to abuse. I should know- it happened to me. While Chabad as a whole cannot be blamed for the actions of one disturbed adult in a position of power- I doubt that I would have been so vulnerable to his manipulations had I not felt so inadequate due to my inability to live up to the expectations placed upon me by Tzivos Hashem.