Shmarya Rosenberg | |
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Born | 1958 (age 65–66) |
Shmarya Rosenberg (born Scott Rosenberg in 1958) is a former blogger who published the blog FailedMessiah.com. [1]
Rosenberg grew up in a Conservative Jewish non-observant family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where his parents operated a beauty supply company. [1] [2] According to his family's history, his great-great-grandfather was a former chasid of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad rebbe. [2]
Rosenberg was active in Jewish student politics at the University of Minnesota and served several years as an executive of the North American World Union of Jewish Students. [2] [3] He became a baal teshuva and joined the Chabad movement as an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jew dedicated to study, community and rigorous observance, abandoning his former ambitions, one of which was to become a songwriter. [3] He was an observant Hasidic Jew for the next 20 years. [3]
Rosenberg became disenchanted with the Chabad movement in 2004 after discovering an unsigned and unsent letter addressed to him by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson responding to his request for Chabad aid in the effort to rescue the Jews of Ethiopia. This resulted in the creation of his blog, FailedMessiah.com. [3]
Rosenberg's writing career began with his personal blog, FailedMessiah, referring to the belief among Lubavitcher Hassidim that their late rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is the messiah. [3] FailedMessiah served as a news outlet with the motto Covering Orthodox Judaism since 2004. Rosenberg reports as a journalistic watchdog and whistleblower in “a combination of muckraking reporting and personal grudge into a must-read digest of the actual and alleged misdeeds of the ultra-Orthodox world. He has broken news about sexual misconduct, smear campaigns and dubious business practices conducted by or on behalf of stringently religious Jews.” Chabad-Lubavitch leaders claim that he has exaggerated the degree of messianism in the movement and that he is driven to settle scores. [1]
Rosenberg sold Failed Messiah in February 2016 to a group known as Diversified Holdings. [4]
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was a Russian-American Orthodox rabbi and the most recent Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.
Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and caters to nonobservant Jews.
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn also known as the Tzemach Tzedek was an Orthodox rabbi, leading 19th-century posek, and the third rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Yosef YitzchakSchneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe, the Rebbe RaYYaTz, or the Rebbe Rayatz. After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life.
Schneersohn is a Jewish surname used by many of the descendants of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Kehot Publication Society is the publishing division of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was a Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi in Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine. He was the father of the seventh Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Elazar Menachem Man Shach was a Haredi rabbi who headed Lithuanian Orthodox Jews in Israel and around the world from the early 1970s until his death. He served as chair of the Council of Sages and one of three co-deans of the Ponevezh Yeshiva in Bnei Brak, along with Shmuel Rozovsky and Dovid Povarsky. Due to his differences with the Hasidic leadership of the Agudat Yisrael political party, he allied with Ovadia Yosef, with whom he founded the Shas party in 1984. Later, in 1988, Shach criticized Ovadia Yosef, saying that, "Sepharadim are not suitable for leadership positions", and subsequently founded the Degel HaTorah political party representing the Litvaks in the Israeli Knesset.
The Rebbe the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference is a book by Rabbi Dr. David Berger on the topic of Chabad messianism and the mainstream orthodox Jewish reaction to that trend. Rabbi Berger addresses the Chabad-Messianic question, regarding a dead Messiah, from a halachic perspective. The book is written as a historical narrative of Berger's encounter with Chabad messianism from the time of the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1994 through the book's publication in 2001. The narrative is interlaced with Dr. Berger's published articles, written correspondences, and transcribed public lectures, in which he passionately appeals to both the leadership of the Orthodox and Chabad communities for an appropriate response to Chabad-Lubavitch messianism.
The Library Of Agudas Chassidei Chabad is a research library owned by Agudas Chasidei Chabad whose content was collected by the rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch. The library is housed next to the Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York, and is utilized by Chabad and general Judaic scholars. It is viewed by thousands of visitors each year.
Messianism in Chabad refers to the core belief within the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a prominent group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah. 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.
Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.
Orthodox Jewish outreach, often referred to as Kiruv or Qiruv, is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-observant Jews to encourage belief in God and life according to Jewish law. The process of a Jew becoming more observant of Orthodox Judaism is called teshuva making the "returnee" a baal teshuva. Orthodox Jewish outreach has worked to enhance the rise of the baal teshuva movement.
3 Tammuz or Gimmel Tammuz is a holiday on the Chabad-Lubavich calendar that marks the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. Schneerson died on June 12, 1994, corresponding to 3 Tamuz 5754 in the Hebrew calendar. The day is observed by followers of Chabad-Lubavitch as a time for reflection on his teachings and legacy.
Chabad offshoot groups are those spawned from the Chabad Hasidic Jewish movement. Many of these groups were founded to succeed previous Chabad leaders, acting as rivals to some of the dynastic rebbes of Chabad. Others were founded by former students of the movement, who, in forming their own groups, drew upon their experiences at Chabad.
Chabad philosophy comprises the teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement. Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments.
Chabad customs and holidays are the practices, rituals and holidays performed and celebrated by adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. The customs, or minhagim and prayer services are based on Lurianic kabbalah. The holidays are celebrations of events in Chabad history. General Chabad customs, called minhagim, distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups.
Zalman Shimon Dworkin was the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and a prominent member of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
Siddur Im Dach is a Hasidic prayer book written by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Accompanying the prayers are Hasidic discourses written by Rabbi Schneur Zalman.
Tzvi Freeman is a Canadian rabbi and author associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Freeman is known for his work as a writer and editor for Chabad.org, and is notable for his work on the topics of Jewish mysticism and Jewish meditation. Freeman's book Bringing Heaven Down to Earth, as well as his other writings and teachings, are primarily based on the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad movement. His writing style includes a blend of Kabbalah and science fiction.