Chochom,
Thank you for starting this thread. If I may, I have some questions about your comments:
The Rebbe did not have any children and therefore, there was no one to fill his place as Nosi Hador. Therefore, even after his death, he is still the Nosi Hador
I would argue with the idea that the Rebbe is or was the Nasi HaDor, for several reasons:
1. There is no actual position of Nasi HaDor.
2. But even if you just colloqueally mean that he was recognized as the leader of his generation, I would still disagree. While it is true that he was “a” leader in his generation, there are many Jews (both in the Orthodox world and without) who would not have recognized him as the pre-eminent leader of world Jewry.
3. From where do you draw this idea that if the Nasi HaDor has no selected successor that he retains the post eternally. This would not be the rule for an actual, literal king, so why should it be the rule for the Nasi HaDor? And, if applied universally, eventually most if not all movements would be leaderless, as eventually leaders do die without selected successors.
and we believe that he is Moshiach. It is stated in Rambam somewhere – I’m not sure exactly where, but you could ask anyone – that it is the obligation of every Jew to fervently believe that their teacher is Moshiach.
With all due respect, I’m believe that you are mistaken on this. If such a text exists, I am certain that it probably says something along the lines of that you must treat your teacher as such, or should view him as such, but you cannot be commanded to believe that he is Moshiach. What if I know my teacher is a good man who can teach me things, but clearly does not have the knowledge or temperament to be Moshiach?
Of course, an even better question to ask is, what if my teacher is a Kohen? He cannot be Moshiach. Must I believe him to be so anyway in spite of the fact that he cannot be so.
Being that the Rebbe is our teacher we believe that he is Moshiach even though he past away 23 years ago. There are meforshim that say Moshiach can come from the dead,
There is a gemara that says that, but that does not mean that that gemara is unversally accepted.
therefore it is possible that the Rebbe passed away AND he is Moshiach, which automatically makes Chabad’s claim – that the Rebbe is Moshiach – less ridiculous.
The problem with the claim is not that he is dead, but that he did not fulfill the requirements as laid out.
It is a well known fact that the Rebbe is higher than nature. There are countless stories of him curing speech impaired, or deaf, or blind children, childless couples, and much more. Maybe I will post some miraculous stories below later, but the main point is that the Rebbe was an other – worldy person who was higher than nature. Therefore, discussions whether he passed away or not, are not for us to talk about because really, we don’t know. The Rebbe was a holy person whose death is something unknown to us and we cant decide what really happened.
Firstly, I do not believe it is well known that this is true, but let’s put that aside for a moment. Even if the above is true, curing the sick and helping the childless conceive are NOT the requirements of Moshiach. Those are well laid out in the Rambam and the Rebbe, of blessed memory, did not fulfill them.
I hope I have helped you guys to gain some clarity on this controversial topic. Thank you, for anyone who reads this article and lets all prepare to great Moshiach – whoever he is – with acts of goodness and kindness and that will help hasten his arrival, hopefully speedily in our days, Amen.
Amen!
The Wolf