What Happened to Moshiach?

Your inclusion of the late, great Lubavitcher Rebbe as one of the ten most influential Yidden of the twentieth century was an obvious and excellent choice. This great man directly, or through his army of devoted followers, influenced, and continues to influence, hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide. However, I find it quite perplexing that you neglect to mention the great controversy that has followed his death. I refer to the belief of many, if not most, Chabbadniks in the Rebbe as the Moshiach, despite his death. Thus, his influence continues even after his death, in a manner which many find to be quite dangerous. It is time we removed the "kid gloves" and dealt with the issue openly. A visit to Crown Heights on any given day will attest to the multitude of signs and banners referring to the "Melech Hamoshiach." No, the Rebbe never openly claimed to be our long-awaited Moshiach. And, the Rebbe’s "coronation" as the Moshiach took place after he had suffered a series of strokes and could no longer speak nor make any meaningful gestures, in a public ceremony many viewed as pathetic and bordering on a "Chillul Hashem."

However, even when he was well, he never stopped his followers from calling him "Melech Hamoshiach," and, even when old and frail, and having no children, he never appointed a successor. The Lubavitch main web site ( "Moshiach.com") is replete with references to the validity of the belief in resurrection in Judaism, even for a potential Moshiach. The web site even slips up once in a while, and says things like the "Rebbe Shlita", totally confusing even the issue of whether he ever really died at all. This is a controversy which will not go away. It is also one which many say lends credence to why the great Vilna Gaon put the original Chassidim into Cheirem, fearing exactly such a "Meshichus" movement.

To have left out any reference to this in your review of the Rebbe’s effect on twentieth-century Jewry left an important void in understanding the depth and power of the influence this great man had, and continues to have, on so many Jews.