Menorah in your face

I’m not Chabad.
That being said I’ve heard crazy stories of people becoming frum because they saw a menorah.
Who knows.
If thats what is motivating to them, kol halavod.

my grandmothers public school class picture in Poland has the priest in the picture and lets go back a few centuries forced shmad

Exactly. In those years, there was government mandated Christianity and countering that carried many risks.

Nowadays, everything is decided based on popularity. This has nothing to do with religion. People decide their foods, clothing styles, political ideologies, etc. based on billboards, social media and public icons.

This is a terrible unfortunate thing, and it creates a vacuum for millions of Jews who are searching for something to connect to in all of those public icons. If we don’t give them Yiddishkeit, they will grab other things.

we are not in the business to compete with S.

You’re making as if this is a S. thing in order to make it sound more extreme, as if we’re trying to make Chanuka like another religion’s winter holiday.
It obviously has nothing to do.
Sukkah mobiles on Sukkos, Lag Baomer parades, etc.

The culture of Big Macs on billboards did not exist in the heim, and also Jews were much more in touch with their traditions. The ones who left was due to ideological disenchantment.
Now, things are very different.

Let me ask you: Do you feel that even if many Jews would get major chizuk from these icons and feel more in touch with their Yiddishkeit – we still shouldn’t do it since in the alte heim it wasn’t done?

unless Santa is a frum guy like the one in Atlanta
😆

On Thursday night, I was turning out of a parking lot, and two children came running toward my car waving.

Their mother told me that when they saw the menorah on top of my car, they began begging her for a menorah of their own, which she unfortunately didn’t have.

Boruch Hashem, we had a menorah, candles and Chanuka guide (and some donuts 🙂) with us in the car, which they happily accepted and promised to light every night of Chanuka.

The effect that lighting menorah for the next eight nights will have on this “secular” Jewish family, who possibly never celebrated Chanuka (or any other yomtov) properly before, is immeasurable.

I cannot fathom why common, avira, or gedol are perturbed by this.

Is it really because this wasn’t done in Poland and Hungary?
In the heim, did they use internet forums to publicize their opinions on Yiddishkeit?

Again, I ask all those who are upset:
Do you believe that even if public menoras inspire many Jews in their Yiddishkeit, it still should not be done? If so, why?

Common siechel (Joe), did the Jews in the times of the Beis Ha’Mikdash or in the times of Rashi insist on wearing shtreimels? If no, why should it be done now? Did they insist on speaking Yiddish in times of Ravina? If not…

My answer to your question is that we survived 2130 years without it is proof enough that we dont need it.

Who survived? You and your small community of Jews who are still frum?

Are you really oblivious to the fact that there are hundreds of thousands (or millions) of Jews in America who wouldn’t know about Chanuka if not for the public Chanuka campaign?

Thanks to this campaign, these Jews not only know about it, but celebrate it with lighting menorah every night!

Do you know the effect that this can have on a Jewish household!?

Do you know how many hundreds of Jews in countries all over Europe and the US that I’ve lit menorah with in their homes thanks to the Chanuka publicity?

It is completely absurd to say that since so many Jews knew nothing about Judaism for so many years and NOTHING was done about it, therefore we should continue doing nothing about it!!!

“we survived” over 3000 years without yeshivos for buchurim, without kolelim (besides for the yechidai segulah), without lomdos style learning, without artscroll, without many more things . also without a bais hamikdash for almost 2000 years.
so…..
(saying we cant do things like the Christians is the dumbest thing i ever heard, they took it (all) from yiddishkiet, like there lights outside their home, maybe ch”v dont light a menorah.)
adding in yidishkeit, torah and mitzvos for oneself and spreading yiddishkeit (arvus, ואהבת לרעך כמוך) lire is not a problem, adding goyishkiet is.
by the times of chunakah, many jews got assimilated to the yevonim, matisyahu and his sons didn’t just say “well we are frum, who cares about the rest of jews” no they went and were mikarev yidden. and fought against those trying to destroy yiddishkiet.

one small point about chanukah:
The unique power of the Chanukah lights is linked to the nature of the miracle they commemorate. The miracle of Chanukah took place in a time of darkness, when the Greeks, who had conquered the Land of Israel, sought to impose their culture upon its inhabitants. Despite the assimilatory influ­ence of Jewish Hellenists, the Maccabees were able to instill in the Jewish people a spirit of mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) and teshuvah (return to G‑d). This inspired them to fight the Greeks, defeat them, and rededicate the Beis HaMikdash. Since the Jewish victory involved the transformation of dark­ness into light, the Chanukah lights which commemorate it also have this power.

And they teach us that when confronted with darkness, we must not resign ourselves to it. Nor may we remain con­tent with lighting up our own homes. Instead, we must reach out and spread light as far as we possibly can, until the public domain too is illuminated.
this is why the Chanukah lights should be kindled after sunset and must burn into the night.3 Further­more, they should be placed “at the outside of the entrance to one’s home,”4 which shows that they are primarily intended to illuminate the public domain rather than one’s own home.

1) I’m afraid I find Rabbi Yair Hoffman’s article (to which the article you quote is a response) far more convincing.

In other words, you think that it’s forbidden for Lubavitchers to follow the psokim of Rav Binyomin Zilber, Rav Sholom Messas, and other tremendous poskim (including most Chabad rabbonim)? Why?

@Menachem Shmiel, because most poskim disagree.

@gedol hador
most posking hold its asur to use an electric shaver to shave a beard, its a chiyuv malkos, 5 times, so people who follow reb moshe, follow him. we have every right to follow chabad poskim, rabbaim, especially as we follow them in everything, not just one psak.
@common sechel: if youre an einikel of the alter rebbe and miteler rebbe, did you learn their seforim? any of them? what makes you not a misnaged? that you know nothing they held, you just say what chabad does today obviously they would not approve, go learn tanya, likutai torah, torah or, maamarai admur hazaken, sh”u harav, sh”t, and the maamarim of the miteler rebbe, then come back if you have issues.
and yechi is totally right, read history what were the issues the misnagdim had back then, you can read from mundshein, he brings in his book the government documents why the misnagdim then reported on the alter rebbe and on chassidus. same old stuff, we talk to highly of the rebbe, we consider him g-d ch”v, we dont keep halacha, etc. etc.

I have been reading this website for a while and only rarely comment. I am middle aged, raised traditional, and gradually became fully observant. It seems to
me from reading the comments that the vast majority if not all the commenters here are ffb and raised in a very narrow and religious upbringing. Not saying that’s bad but that’s definitely a small minority of the jewish population. The first temple was destroyed because of the three cardinal sins and rebuilt shortly thereafter. The second temple was destroyed despite great Torah learning bec of sinas chinam. The second temple won’t be rebuilt except through ahavas chinam. The reality is that the vast majority of Judaism is estranged from the religion. Torah learning is great but is insufficient to rebuild the temple. Ahavas chinam is necessary. So the question we should be asking is of course we need to learn Torah and make mitzvos. But without reaching out to the vast majority of Jews who know nothing about it … it’s almost like what’s the point? I mean of course do mitzvos. But what does it take to being in our estranged brothers and sisters? Whatever we need to do to bring them in we need to do. That’s why chabad is so fantastic. In contrast to many here they don’t try
To alienate our not-yet-observant brothers and sisters. They are working to expose them often for the first time to the beauty of Judaism and so bring them nearer to HKBH.

Just found a (English) letter from the Rebbe about this subject which I thought would be interesting.

Here’s an excerpt (you can find the whole thing on Chabad dot org):

“…Now, to come to the essential point. Why is it so important for Jews to have a Chanukah Menorah displayed publicly? The answer is that experience has shown that the Chanukah Menorah displayed publicly during the eight days of Chanukah, has been an inspiration to many, many Jews and evoked in them a spirit of identity with their Jewish people and the Jewish way of life. To many others it has brought a sense of pride in their Yiddeshkeit, and the realization that there is no reason, really, in this free country, to hide one’s Jewishness, as if it were contrary or inimical to American life and culture. On the contrary, it is fully in keeping with the American national slogan “e pluribus unum” and the fact that American culture has been enriched by the thriving ethnic cultures which contributed very much, each in its own way, to American life, both materially and spiritually.

Certainly, Jews are not in the proselytizing business. The Chanukah Menorah is not intended to, and can in no way, bring us converts to Judaism. But it can, and does, bring many Jews back to their Jewish roots. I personally know of scores of such Jewish returnees, and I have good reason to believe that in recent years, hundreds, even thousands, of Jews experience a kindling of their inner Jewish spark by the public kindling of the Chanukah Menorah in their particular city and in the nation’s capitol, etc., as publicized by the media.

In summary, Jews, either individually or communally, should not create the impression that they are ashamed to show their Jewishness, or they wish to gain their neighbors’ respect by covering up their Jewishness. Nor will this attitude insure their rights to which they are entitled, including the privilege of publicly lighting a Chanukah Menorah, a practice which has been sanctioned by the precedent and custom, as to become a tradition.

I also must point out that I do not think that a Jewish community can disregard its responsibility to other Jewish communities in regard to an issue of kind, which cannot remain localized, and must have its impact on other Jewish communities and community relations.

With esteem and blessing,

M. Schneerson

P.S. I trust you are aware of other instances involving Jewish practices in public, such as wearing a beard by Jewish servicemen in the U.S. military, wearing a Yarmulka in a court of law, etc., which Jews insisted upon, and won as their inalienable rights. Further information, if desired, may be obtained from the pertinent Jewish organizations, such as COLPA and others.

…It is difficult to imagine that after what had happened in Hitler Germany, some Jews will still entertain the idea that making themselves as inconspicuous as possible, concealing their Jewishness, they would gain favor with their gentile neighbors, whereas the opposite view is more widely recognized. Besides, antisemitism and prejudice require no outside causes. However, to expand on this topic here would be too much of a digression from our main subject.”

sechel v common sechel … exciting …
common asked you a common sense counter-question about your erudition in non-chabad seforim. you seem to ignore that and continue pressing yours. please respect the age!

@commen saychel
no i never learned imray noam, yetev lev, yismach yisroel, chadishay harim, divray chaim
thats why i dont tell satmer, ger and klosenberg (i dont know the rest) what THEIR shitos are.
likewise you should not tell chabad what OUR shitos are before learning all the chabad seforim. dont tell us what the chassidim of the alter rebbe did before learning all his seforim, i can tell you did’nt even learn torah or and likutai torah (the most basic seforim of the alter rebbe after tanya) i doubt you learned the whole tanya even. and there are many more seforim of the alter rebbe, and tons of seforim from the miteler rebbe, and tons from the other rebbes of chabad. many lubavitchers (not commen since its tons to learn (over 200 volumes) learned thru everything. they should have the say what is chabad shita. besides for the rebbe telling us clearly to do pirsumai nisa and the rebbe was clearly baki in all the chabad seforim (as evident from his maamarim and sichos, see toras menachem 120 volumes)

Under what screenname?

it a bunch of idiots who took it upon themself, and yes in your face never was a yiddisher middah, WE ARE IN GOLUS AND LETS BEHAVE THAT WAY

The Rebbe addresses your discomfort with the change in the derech here:
https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=16076&st=&pgnum=354

try and emulate the chabadsker who were around in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, you have a lot to learn from them.

Mitzva tanks, rooftop menorahs and public menoras started in the 70s (with the Rebbe’s encouragement).

Tefillin in the streets was started (by the Rebbe) in the 60s.

Lag B’Omer parades were started in the 40s (by the Rebbe).

The Magen aveohom famously paskens not to wear a tallis gadol over one’s outer jacket, because it is too much of a display to goyim and might incite antisemtism. This is also why we light neros chanukah indoors outside eretz yisroel. Theb public lightings and other public displays are against these two halachos, besides from not having any source in the poskim.