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Messianism in Chabad[1] refers to the belief within the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a prominent group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach or moshiach). Central to this belief is the conviction that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is the awaited Messiah who is leading the Jewish people into the Messianic era.[2][3][4]: 24 [5]
The concept of the messiah is a basic tenet of the Jewish religion. The belief among Hasidic Jews that the leader of their dynasty could be the Jewish messiah is traced to the Baal Shem Tov—the founder of Hasidism.[6][7] During Schneerson's life, the mainstream of Chabad hoped that he would be the messiah; the idea gained great attention during the last years of his life.[8]: 413 [9][10][11] A few years before Schneerson's death, members of the Chabad movement expressed their belief that Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the foretold messiah. Those subscribing to the beliefs have been termed mishichists (messianists). A typical statement of belief for Chabad messianists is the song and chant known as yechi adoneinu ("long live our master", Hebrew: יחי אדונינו).[12] Customs vary among messianists as to when the phrase is recited.
Since Schneerson's death in 1994, some followers of Chabad have persisted in the belief in him as the messiah.[13] Chabad messianists either believe Schneerson will be resurrected from the dead to be revealed as the messiah, or go further and profess the belief that Schneerson never died in 1994 and is waiting to be revealed as messiah. The Chabad messianic phenomenon has been met mostly with public concerns or opposition from Chabad leadership as well as non-Chabad Jewish leaders.[14]
After Schneerson's death, a later Halachic ruling from some affiliated rabbis said that it was "incumbent on every single Jew to heed the Rebbe's words and believe that he is indeed King Moshiach, who will be revealed imminently".[15][16] Outside of Chabad messianism, both in mainstream Chabad as well as in broader Judaism, these claims are rejected.[17][18]
The concept of a Jewish messiah as a leader who would be revealed and mark the end of Jewish exile is a traditional Jewish belief. Additionally, it was not uncommon to attribute this messianic identity to various historic Jewish leaders.[19] An early example of this type of belief is found in the Talmud, where various living sages are considered to be the messiah.[20]
Treatment of this topic in Jewish law is not common to Jewish legal texts with the exception of the writings of Maimonides. Maimonides delineated rabbinic criteria for identifying the Jewish messiah as a leader who studies Torah, observes the mitzvot, compels the Jews to observe the Torah, and fights the Wars of God. Additionally, the status of messiah may be determined first through a presumptive status (b'chezkat mashiach) and later a verified status (mashiach vadai).[21][22]
The concept of the messiah is also prominent in Hasidism. In a notable incident, the founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, recounts a vision of an encounter with the messiah who relates to him how the messiah's arrival may be hastened.[23] Yehuda Eisenstein records in his book Otzer Yisrael that followers of Hasidic Rebbes will sometimes express hope that their leader will be revealed as the awaited messiah.[24][page needed] According to research by Israeli scholar Rachel Elior, there was a focus on messianism in Chabad during the lifetime of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the father-in-law of Menachem Schneerson. The upsurge in messianic belief among Chabad adherents begins in the 1980s, when followers of Menachem Schneerson began believing that he would be the messiah, a hope that was initially kept quiet until the early 1990s.[25] Additionally, the hope for the leader to be the awaited messiah also involved Menachem Schneerson, who spoke of his deceased father-in-law as the awaited messiah.[10][17][18]
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