Many people have asked me what is it with Chabad?  Why does a guy like Tucker Carlson who knows nothing about Judaism, less about Chabad, and very little even about Christianity suddenly go on the attack against Chabad, followed closely by “know nothing” Candace Owens?

Other than good old fashion bigotry, one of the major reasons for the attack against Chabad is that it has been successful in rescuing Jews from religious disintegration. Bigots do not like that.  While they hate Jews and others of all types and descriptions, they are particularly annoyed by the fact that Jews, Judaism, and the Nation of Israel has existed since the beginning of recorded history.  Neither Christianity nor Islam would exist without Judaism.  Bigots know that, and they do not like it.

The founder of Chabad is Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi who lived from 1745 to 1812.  He is known in popular wisdom as the Alter Rebbe which simply means the old rabbi.  The Rabbi was known for his work in mysticism.  Anyone who is interested in learning about the phenomenal contribution of the Chassidic movement should read Elie Wiesel’s popular, “Souls on Fire.”

The original founder of “modern” Chassidic thought was Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known to the Jewish community as the Baal Shem Tov.  He is referred to as a mystic.

The Baal Shem Tov was born in 1700 approximately and died in 1760.  At the time he was born, Jews had faced such tremendous bigotry and animosity that there were those who believed the Nation of Israel had become moribund, hopeless, and a near drudgery.  The Baal Shem Tov and his followers sought to reinstitute the fire of love for G-d, optimism, and self-fulfillment back into the Jewish soul.  They were largely successful.

In the early days, there were those within Judaism who opposed the Chassidic movement.  They saw it as too mystical, spiritual, and not intellectual enough.

The Chassidic movement was successful in infusing not only positivity, song, dance, and optimism into the Nation of Israel, but it also reminded Jews of self-empowerment.

When Menachem Mendel Schneerson became the head of the Lubavitcher movement in the early 1950s, he was immediately embraced by many Jews around the world, including members of my own family.  Known as the “Rebbe,” my mother wrote to him often.  Most of her letters concerned family and personal matters.  The Rebbe always responded.  He preached not only the importance of being positive but also the power of prayer.  He taught the importance of improving one’s situation by believing in oneself.

The Chabad movement has been successful.  That really ticks off the bigots and racists.  Many Jews have returned to Judaism with a spirit of fulfillment, belief in G-d, and self-direction thanks to the incredibly joyful message of Chabad Judaism.

Someone who wrote about Chabad pointed out that it is the most perfect example of capitalism.  Every Chabad is self-sustaining.  There is no magic funnel of money that comes to Chabad.  Each Rabbi, who heads each Chabad, is responsible for raising the funds necessary to ensure the success of the Chabad family.  Typically, the people who attend are those who contribute to the ongoing success of the Chabad system.

Many people have been rescued from lives of dependency, drug and alcohol use, and emotional problems by the strength, fortitude, and direction afforded by Chabad.  It is a fabulous path to follow.

I have participated in Chabad education, attended many dinners at Chabad, and I regularly attend services at Chabad Synagogues.  The message is not only one of uplifting positivity but also respect for others.  It is the stuff that people like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owen absolutely detest.  Their lives are based upon making money by trashing others and fabricating lies about other people.

Most important, those who hate Jews and Judaism are nor only using Chabad as a convenient whipping post, but they are also are attempting to encourage violence against Jews.  The charge of Chabad as some sort of insidious snake lurking in “your community” is nothing more than a call to arms.

Even within Judaism, it is true that some rabbis and others both resent and are jealous of Chabad.  A couple of years ago, I had a conversation with a very prominent rabbi of a liberal denomination.  He expressed clear jealousy of the success of Chabad in and around his community.  I said to him: “Rabbi, maybe you need to learn something from Chabad.  They are successful because they speak to people in an honest, compelling, forthright, and loving way.”  The Rabbi thought about it, and he told me that he thought I was correct.  What attracts people to Chabad is they will accept, talk with, and teach anyone who wants to learn.

Those with minds that hate, destroy, and attack others, hopefully are on the wrong side of history.  Those who are jealous of and resent Chabad simply hate truth, justice, and a belief in the power of G-d.  Tucker Carlson, Candace Owen, and their like have revealed themselves as those who hate G-d, reject Christianity, and seek to enrich themselves financially in the most grotesque sort of way.

It is absolutely true that Jews pray for the Messiah.  Christians pray for the return of the Messiah.  In this way, we are brothers and sisters.  Islam contends that there will be a Messiah.  Buddhism and Hinduism believe in a perfected spirit, a messianic type of figure.

Chabad Judaism teaches that the Third Temple will be rebuilt on the Temple Mount when G-d sees fit so to do.  This will not happen, we are taught, until humankind makes the world a place to which the Messiah would want to come.  Each of us can help bring the Messiah, not by attacking others and not by violence, but by paving the path upon which the Messiah will walk with acts of love and kindness.  That is a quintessentially Chabad and Jewish view.

Those who would attempt to distort Judaism to turn it into some satanic cult-like approach are only revealing what is in their own mind about themselves and their own faith tradition.  They do not speak for Judaism, they do not speak for Christianity, and they do not speak for any decent, caring, and accepting people on this planet.

The next time you pass a Chabad House or see a Chabad Rabbi, thank that person for bringing light, peace, and G-dliness into a bleak and desolate world.  Say, “Thank you Rabbi for caring about others, for providing a safe space, and for being so tolerant of others.”

Last thought: I was walking to Synagogue with a Chabad Rabbi one time.  I noticed that he said hello and good morning to every person he saw whether it was somebody walking their dog or people digging up the street to repair a broken watermain.  I asked him what made him do that?  Some of the people answered him politely, and others did not respond at all.  He told me a story about how an ancestor of his has been saved during a Russian Pogrom against the Jews because he had been respectful to the gentile community.  His behavior was an excellent example of what it means to follow the Chabad way, the way of the Rebbe.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)