Quotebelieverwhat is this group? I have never heard of them before. Are they anti-semetic? Thank you. It's true that some orthodox groups are anti-Israel like Satmar and Neturi Karta. Chabad considers itself "non-zionist." Whether or not they are "Torah True" is a matter of opinion. From what I know Agudat Israel is a Zionist orgaization. Is this true, Rick,
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I've had similar problems too. I had 3 CD's licensed by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's daughters Neshama and Nedara and I couldn't get a gig. And years ago, the Chabad group laughed in my face and made me into a mockery. The Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty had 2 offices in Crown Heights and I wasn't directed to it, despite the fact that Confessions of a Jewish C
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quotemagicman Electric Razors were not "banned," they were just not officially allowed until one Rabbi (a well known one) studied the issue, and showed how the razor can, in fact, be used and not harm the roots of the beard. Aish does not use the "Shabbat" to lure anyone in. They are not evil people. Sure, they use "kiruv techniques," but everything is generally
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterrmoderatorAish seems to consistently feed people from its programs to Ohr. When I was in Jerusalem in '95, I saw Meir Shuster of Heritage House and some of the people from Aish and also (I think) some from Diaspora Yeshiva riding in a car together. They do work together. Maybe they figure that some students are Aish types and some are Or Sameach types.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

The whole Christian thing seems to be coming apart at the seams. Even in the Presbyterian Church I keep winding up in snits with people. It's long story, but organized religion seems to be a problem for me.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

I live in a building where there's a business owned by Jews and the people who work there lean towards orthodoxy. So the worker asks me why I don't keep the Torah laws. I explained to him that I don't believe in it anymore and he tells me that the reason that I didn't succeed as a Baal Teshuva is due to the fact that "I didn't try hard enough". My questio
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Both yeshivot were started by Noach Weinberg but I don't think they're connected, other than they're both in Jerusalem.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotedvTo be honest, I have met moslems I hate, christians, whites, blacks, ... But living on the street, I have seen halal vans give out free meals, buddhist vans, a plethora of christian vans, not to mention hostels, etc... NEVER a jewish van. I'll try to elaborate more later, I have to keep looking over my shoulder here. Thanks Chabad runs a soup kitchen near the Kotel and my old
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuotemagicmanConservative Judaism feels like it can change laws completely. Orthodox Judaism also evolves...new decisions are constantly being made regarding modern issues. However, they do not change previous laws---something that is clearly accounted for in the basis for Judaism. Conservative Judaism has changed it to be more "convenient" rather than what it actually is. Actuall
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteupsidedownnewspaperSo, Richard M Green, what's your new religion going to be called? Let's give it the Rick Ross treatment and see how it holds up. My tentative title is "Daat Emet" or "True Knowledge". But I'm currently in the Presbyterian Church in my town and I like it there. If you want to know what Rick thinks, ask him.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteStephBaxterMy brother is currently being indoctrinated by this group. It appears, they know exactly what they are doing. From what I hear, they are known to take emotionally unhealthy people (addicts, depressives...) and provide them with a new drug -Ultra Orthodox Judaism which leaves no room for any other type of interpretation. I am very concerned about my brother but I wonder if this w
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterrmoderatorDo you think that "Judaism" can only be defined according to an Orthodox understanding? There are other denominations of Judaism such as Conservative and Reform Judaism. Over the centuries Judaism has evolved and changed, but today it seems as if the ultra-Orthodox want to stop the clock. The affiliation rate is higher in the US as opposed to Israel, where Jews
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteDan JJHave any of you heard anything more about those two organisations? Does anyone know how to get newly observant jews back to a normal life, after being involved with those outreach movements? AISH has a shabbat, which seemingly is a very convincing one. Most of those who went there said, that that was the best experience. Does anyone in here know the techniques they use during their
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteegel ha zahav Even the concept of Moshiach (Messiah) in Judaism is profoundly different than in Christianity. The people who believed that the Rebbe was Moshiach never equated him with God. This is fundamental to Judaism. Anything different is not Judaism. This is very clear. There are no alters to the Rebbe, nor is he worshipped in the synagogue. (You might see a lot of pictures of
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteegel ha zahav I would not condemn the whole of Chabad Chassidut or other Chassidic sects or equate them with a cult or a new religious movement as discussed under this heading. I don't lump in groups like Bobov, Munkatch or Breslov in with Chabad. Chabad is a group unto itself.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoterrmoderatorI have received repeated complaints about Aish and its related yeshivas from Jewish families and individuals. My family got totally fed up with my involvement in Aish, Chabad, Jungreis, etc.. I was affiliated with about 20 outreach orgs and it led me to nowhere. Not to mention all the trouble it caused me in finding work when Corporate America usually doesn't hire Chasidim.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteegel ha zahavQuoterichardmgreenQuoteegel ha zahavSo richard, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire for you, eh. One cult to another. You are a Jew for Jesus using this forum. Clever. I have no such agenda vis a vis pushing Christianity of Rick Ross would have gotten on my case about it. I'm in the church for good reason and you don't have to agree about it. Judaism be
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteYou may or may not be a J4J. Just because you are not preaching Christianity does not mean you are not promoting their agenda, which is to defame their mortal enemy Chabad! LOL Take it easy. Jews have a lot of experience dealing with their periodic Shabtai Zvis (self proclaimed Messiahs). Sometimes some guys just go off the deep end to the Other Side! :D The Rebbe cult is already dyin
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteegel ha zahavSo richard, it was out of the frying pan and into the fire for you, eh. One cult to another. You are a Jew for Jesus using this forum. Clever. I have no such agenda vis a vis pushing Christianity of Rick Ross would have gotten on my case about it. I'm in the church for good reason and you don't have to agree about it. Judaism believes in miracles too not just Chri
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoterrmoderatorrichard: Why do you think the Lubavitchers don't have a new rebbe? This seems very odd given their history. It seems to me that they felt t they didn't have anyone of Menachem Mendel Shcneerson's caliber. I had heard that years ago they were thinking of making Adin Steinsaltz the rebbe but that didn't go through.
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

One of the things you need to know about Chabad is that the Meshichist position and the boreinuniks (people who believe that Rabbi Schneerson was God incarnate) are a minority in the movement. The problem is that they are very vocal. Much of my dislike of the group is based on their being very pushy, not too sophisticated and too much of a problem when it comes to politics. This is not just a
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

A lot of people are looking at what happened in Chabad Lubavitch and are appalled at how it devolved into a cult of personality and is no longer like normative Judaism of any kind. The movement seems to have taken a spin off the normal. Basically, it's my contention that this happened because of several factors. One factor is that the original Chasidim that the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Sc
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteupsidedownnewspaperThanks for your reply, richardmgreen. Boy is this all ringing bells for me. All that marriage stuff. My housemate used to talk about the sometimes disastrous match-ups of his friends and family. I also remember attending a jewish temple with him and feeling like a real fraud standing there in the foyer. And I am starting to wonder if perhaps he wasn't so wayw
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteupsidedownnewspaperI4. If he considers the movement dangerous/insidious, can richardmgreen tell me why? (richardmgreen's reply: Chabad seeks actively to recruit Baalei Teshuva's or "returnees to Judaism. See the Chabad section called "An Overview of the Baalei Teshuva Movement" and also the documents on Chabad's outreach efforts. I know quite a few people, in
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteupsidedownnewspaperPrivate posts are not available to me yet. 4. If he considers the movement dangerous/insidious, can richardmgreen tell me why? (richardmgreen's reply: First of all Rabbi Schneerson's impact on Israeli politics and his blocking the land for peace deals that might have prevented many of the problems in the Mid East. He kept phone calling up the people in the
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteupsidedownnewspaper 3. I wonder what richardmgreen can tell me about the personality of a lubavitcher and what he imagines living with an albeit wayward member would be like. (It was interesting for me...) (richardmgreen's reply: Lubavitchers vary. It's not the general viewpoint of Chabad's mainstream that the Rebbe is either still alive or be resurrected. That's a min
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteupsidedownnewspaper 2. What relation is the Shoresh Yisai movement to the Lubavitcher movement and who is Hickman? (richardmgreen's reply: Shoresh Yishai (Root of Jesse) was a Hebrew Christian cult that Chabad fought with some success on LI, NY. It had 2 centers: Hicksville, LI in the old 'St. John's Lutheran Church" building and also in East Meadow, LI in the old
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

Quoteupsidedownnewspaper So, here is what I want to know: See embedded answeres: 1. Can the lubavitcher movement really be described as a cult given that as a movement it is totally inaccessible to non-jews...Which of the criteria for "cult status" does the lubavitch movement meet? First of all, Lubavitch is accessible to non-Jews and had a "Global Noahide Program". The
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteDan JJI'm also interested in knowing how your longer visit in a yeshiva was. I was myself close to sign up for a yeshiva before I touched the critical stuff about Chabad. Please write a bit of how it was there in details. How I see Chabad here is only as a nice couple, who indirectly wants the participants in their arrangements to fullfill more mitzvot. The whole mitzvot thing gets ou
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"

QuoteupsidedownnewspaperRichard M Green, you sound like a knowledgeable kind of bloke but couldn't you please start organising your posts into single threads?? I am looking for information on Chabad Lubuvitch Hasidism and what I can find is single posts all over the place. I'd love to be able to read your collective thoughts on the matter, if possible. Look it all under my handle &q
Forum: "Cults," Sects, and "New Religious Movements"