Authors: KTAV Publishing House
ISBN-13: 9780881258363, ISBN-10: 0881258369
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: KTAV Publishing House, Inc.
Date Published: September 2004
Edition: (Non-applicable)
Through investigation of Habad in the middle to late 20th century, this study seeks better understanding of how religious ideas are disseminated in the modern world and the dynamics of leadership and discipleship. Ehrlich, a philosopher of religion and Jewish social and political thought and theology (he's affiliated with Cambridge U. and the U. of Shandong, China), looks in detail at the particulars of the Habad movement and the life and death of its leader, Rabbi Schneerson. Without offering comparisons, he examines Habad in sociological, ideological, and methodological terms and models, which are applicable to other movements, he points out in his preface, among them Scientology, the Unification Church, and Hare Krishna. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
This biography by Ehrlich, a rabbi and philosopher of religion, is an exhaustive and painstakingly researched study of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the charismatic Habad-Lubavitcher rebbe who died in Brooklyn in 1994. The book's first section uncovers the history of Hasidism and its influential subculture, Habad, as well as Schneerson's pre-rebbe life and his succession to leadership. Parts two and three deal with his activities as the rebbe, including a detailed examination of Habad institutions and Schneerson's unique style of managing them from his headquarters in Brooklyn. Finally, the book concludes by analyzing the contentious issues that have arisen since Schneerson's death; after 45 years in office, he left no apparent heir. The book contains many references to the question of whether Schneerson or his predecessor were (or are) the Messiah. Both this discussion and the entire presentation are marred by repetition, often preceded by tiresome reiterations of "as has been seen" and "as will be seen." Sensible editing might have rendered the book of interest to a wider readership by eliminating irksome duplication and broadening the subject. Its appeal is now limited to those who want to carefully study one important segment of Hasidism. Others would do better to peruse Sue Fishkoff's far more readable book The Rebbe's Army. (Oct.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Introduction : - difficulties with the proposed study - expositional difficulties - accessing material and information - a complex issue - messianism and succession | ||
1 | Historical context : - the beginnings of Hasidism - the Ba'al Shem Tov - the Maggid of Mezritch - after the Maggid - the emergence of the Habad movement | 3 |
2 | The ideal of the zaddik : - the concept of the zaddik - social functions of the zaddik - the idea of the zaddik in Habad - the Rebbe/Hasid relationship - the Rebbe/Hasid financial relationship | 12 |
3 | Habad in America : - Rabbi Dov Ber, the fifth Rebbe - Rabbi Yosef Yitzhak, the sixth Rebbe - location as a form of movement-building - Crown Heights | 24 |
4 | Schneerson's pre-Rebbe life : - the problem of sources - early life - the United States | 34 |
5 | Schneerson's succession | 43 |
6 | Transitional consolidation : - authority by virtue of office as Rebbe - Hasidic discourses : consolidation of public life | 51 |
7 | Consolidation through ritual : - the Farbrengen - Yehidut - letters from Schneerson - "dollars" - other rituals | 57 |
8 | Leadership qualities : - Schneerson's style - peculiarities of personality - personal contact - consolidation through charisma - the appearance of suffering - other personal characteristics - scholarship | 70 |
9 | The ideology of messianism : - the ideology of redemption - the importance of messianism - the effects of messianism on consolidation - messianism as a motivational device - Schneerson as a prophet Schneerson as the Mashiach - trying to be the Mashiach - messianic vacillation - isolation and messianism | 81 |
10 | Schneerson as a world leader : - the turning point in consolidation - a Jewish leader - modern orthodoxy - Sephardi Jewry - Russian Jewry - other Hasidic groups - the Mitnagdim - religious Zionism - Israeli personalities - beyond the Jewish world - the laws of Noah - Schneerson and world politics | 95 |
11 | Habad Zionism and Zionism : - coincidental timing? - opposition to Zionism - Zionist influences on Schneerson - the Six-Day War and after - never set foot in the Holy Land | 111 |
12 | Initial consolidation : - introduction - success of institutions - employment - a war economy - institutions and the dissipation of opposition - fundraising - the negative effects of fundraising | 125 |
13 | Consolidation of local authority : - the new Rebbe - the postwar period - challenge and response : the 1970s and after - what if Schneerson had relocated? - Crown Heights : religious significance | 137 |
14 | Administration and bureaucracy : - the Rebbe as "chief of state" - Schneerson's administrative qualities - delegation of authority - aides, secretaries, and assistants - the school of assistants - the bureaucratic hierarchy - the last years - the relationship between power and discipleship | 148 |
15 | Community services : - the outreach concept - campus outreach - synagogues - Ba'alei Teshuvah - emissaries - public relations - modern technology - the drawbacks of outreach - the Habad Yeshiva system - the Habad house - other organizations | 166 |
16 | Publishing houses and libraries : - dissemination through publication - the AGUCH collection - the Merkaz library - community libraries | 189 |
17 | Women's and youth organizations : - the role of women - the influences on Schneerson - women's initiatives - the family - a "fresh approach" - educational contributions - youth organization : the principle - symbolism of the organization - the growth of Zivot Hashem - the effects on consolidation - transfer symbolism | 197 |
18 | The issue of succession : - the passing of the Rebbe - what is transfer? - when does transfer occur? - the need for succession - the difficulty of succession - unrivaled personality - ideological prism - no obvious replacement - an extreme but active minority | 215 |
19 | Schneerson's intentions : - the question of intention - Yosef Yitzhak as the Rebbe - Schneerson's transfer of authority - cultivation of independent leadership - the aides - legal transfer - the Beit Din | 232 |
20 | Institutional authority : - the collective leadership model - the first will - the second will - the institutions | 246 |
21 | Other models of succession : - the no succession model - the fiefdom model - the slow succession model - the mission model - the ghost model - gravesite culture - the normalization model - Habad fallout - the Habad periphery : heretics, the disenchanted, and neo-Habadnikim | 254 |
22 | Factors of influence on succession : what's next? - the hasidic groupings - the international communities - the youth : a new constituency - the Ba'al Teshuvah movement - from local particularism to universal mission | 275 |