Monday, March 26, 2007

Clueless at ChabadTalk

MSNBC came out with a list of the top 50 rabbis in the America. I don't really want to debate the inclusion, exclusion or placement of any particular rabbi. I don't know enough to argue that any one rabbi belongs on the list more than any other.

However, apparently some of the folks over at ChabadTalk are upset with the list. One particular poster is upset with the #2 selection, Rabbi Krinksi of Chabad. In placing Rabbi Krinksi number two on the list, the Newsweek editors said:

Krinski has truly built a shul on every corner and brought the Chabad movement mainstream prominence. He is the leader of Chabad and its CEO.

Now, one could argue (I suppose) the merits of Rabbi Krinski and his position within Chabad. One could say he should be higher on the list, lower or should be excluded altogether. The whole list, after all, is highly subjective.

One particular poster at ChabadTalk, however, seems to think that Rabbi Krinski shouldn't be on the list -- he should be replaced with someone else. In his (her?) own words:

this couldn't be further from the truth, the Rebbe is the leader of chabad and the one sending out shluchim and making shuls not this guy.

In other words, the poster is upset that Rabbi Krinski was on the list, and that the Rebbe was excluded. When I pointed out that while *he* may believe that the Rebbe is alive, he certainly couldn't fault the Newsweek reporters for believing that he has passed on, the response I got was that, in effect, if they were going to exclude the Rebbe, then no Chabad rabbi should be on the list.

I'm not sure which is sadder: the belief that the man is physically alive, or the failure to comprehend the fact that even if (a) they consider the Rebbe physically alive or (b) simply spiritually alive, that doesn't impose any obligation on the Newsweek reporters to consider him so.

The Wolf

6 comments:

Mimi said...

Whatever the particular views of the commenter, the sentiment can be appreciated, no? It IS the REBBE that built a shul on every corner (and it is still him we owe it to, yes, even after his passing), no matter how vital other people were. To any Lubavitcher, it will always be strange to consider any other Rabbi as the "head" of Chabad. It's that simple.

(At the same time, I personally think it's cool that R' Krinsky was aknowledged, albeit in a strange and subjective way)

Holy Hyrax said...

I guess we should still consider Moses as the leader of the Jewish people. In fact, without Moses, there would be no Lubavitcher, so those chabadnicks need to start worshiping Moses not the Rebbe.

Anyways, Wolf, why do you bother with Chabadtalk? Do you like to irritate yourself? Is it like scratching at a scab you know you should not touch? :)

BrooklynWolf said...

Anyways, Wolf, why do you bother with Chabadtalk? Do you like to irritate yourself? Is it like scratching at a scab you know you should not touch? :)

Everyone needs a hobby. :D

The Wolf

Zach Kessin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zach Kessin said...

My last comment taken down as it was a bit over the top and in poor taste

Zach Kessin said...

I've never met Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, but his son Rabbi Levi Krinsky was the one who first helped me kasher my kitchen and showed me how to put on Teffilin about 7 years ago now.