Chabad influence — the readers' turn
I love Chabad. I hate Chabad. I'm biased toward the Reform and Conservative. I loathe the Reform and Conservative. I got it right. I hate myself.
That's a quick summary of the reaction I got to an article I wrote a few weeks ago about the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and what 
synagogue movements could learn from its outreach success in the suburbs. The article, which subsequently ran in The Jerusalem Post under the headline "The Chabad Challenge," drew an enormous response. Readers argued its merits at JPost.com. I received a flurry of e-mails. The article circulated among both Chabad and Conservative rabbis.
Readers who tended to support Chabad said the article confirmed what they saw as the secret to Chabad's success: that it's open, nonjudgmental, and grounded in what the writers saw as fidelity to the "true" essence of Judaism and mitzvot.
The critics suggested that Chabad houses are havens for those who are avoiding a deeper engagement with Jewish life, or do not want to take responsibility for their own choices.
There were various testimonials by people who were touched by Chabad:
I am fascinated by the whole Chabad phenom, introduced to me by a friend, and have been trying to figure out why it both fascinates and repels me at the same time. This friend has worked our town's local shluchim into her family's life in such a way that they have almost become their ‘personal rabbi and wife team' — engendering this feeling may be part of the key to the success of these couples. — B.A., New Jersey
Chabad's success is largely predicated on the cardinal community organization principle: work with constituents in terms of where and who they are in relation to their practice of Judaism. Also, Chabad shluchim are increasingly assuming traditional pulpit rabbi roles with full accountability to lay leadership. Finally, the monumental advantage Chabad engenders is that their emissaries truly, really, unequivocally…LOVE JEWS. — J.A., Canada
I was a totally secular Jew until Chabad came to my place of business and motivated me to put tefillin on for 10 minutes a day. They didn't judge me for not being religious. They just wanted me to do what I could. They never asked me for tzedaka. As I was able to do more (even go to the synagogue on Shabbat), my life's dreams began to come true. I made aliyah in 1999. When I became disabled, they performed the brit for my son for free! Long live Chabad! — "Arye"
But for detractors, Chabad asks too little:
Chabad is an easy in and requires no commitment on the non-Chabadnik's part. I think the sharpest point you made was when you said, "On the other hand, you can't fire your Chabad rabbi." The mainstream American congregation is a product of compromise and tension. — D.H., Washington, DC
It is true that Chabad does many worthwhile things in its aggressive outreach model (i.e., visiting the sick, caring for the needy, etc.). However, short-circuiting the Jewish experience to achieve their goal of saving Jewish souls, I do not believe is the answer.
[M]y view may very well be on its way to becoming a "minority" opinion, as more Jews opt for easy and non-threatening Judaism-lite. — G.G., Morristown
And this, from a Post reader:
My problem with this is that like all outreach programs, Chabad tends to attract people who are looking for someone to tell them how to live their lives, rather than independent thinkers. In that respect, it is very opposed to the ideals of many Conservative and modern Orthodox Jews, who place great value upon self-responsibility for religious decisions. True, many who pass through Chabad's doors "graduate" to such a maturity, and not always within so-called "modern" frameworks. — R.F., Israel
Many readers threw the charge of "Judaism-lite" back on Reform and Conservative rabbis, especially Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. I quoted him in my article saying Chabad is becoming "a purveyor of Jewish minimalism, lowering educational standards for our children and community."
Yoffie's charge is unbelievable. Chabad encourages people to fulfill all the commandments of the Torah, including Kashrut, Tefillin, Shabbat, Taharat HaMishpocha, etc. How is that being a purveyor of Jewish mimimalism? — L.E., Pittsburgh
Conservative Judaism is barbeque-style Judaism. Its organization is a disgrace to Judaism, it waters down our sacred values that made us the "chosen people" among nations and G-d's children. — M.S., United States
I write this as an observant Reform Jew with a child in day school: When Reform rabbis and believers are ready to put sukkot on the backs of pickup trucks and drive them around the rural USA west and south, to make sure that every outback Jew has a chance to do the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah — I know Chabad rabbis who do this! — our movement will be seen as the same emissaries to our people as Chabadniks are seen. In the meantime, may Hashem bless them, and bless us all. — "Jeff"
Perhaps my favorite response was from a Chabad "adherent" who felt I didn't appreciate the way Chabad has embraced modernity in a way consistent with "core traditions": "Perhaps," he wrote, "it's more difficult for someone with a hyphenated last name to understand this, but there it is."
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