Rav Shach vs.

Lubavitcher Rebbe
Great Rivalries

Rabbi Efrem Goldberg

Boca Raton Synagogue
 Rav Elazar Menachem Man Shach
• 1899-2001
• Born in Vaboilnik, Lithuania
• At the age of 11, he went to learn in Ponevezh under
the Rosh Yeshiva R’ Itzele Ponovezer.
• At 15, he went to learn in Slabodka under R’ Moshe
Mordechai Epstein.
 Early Years
• A year later, in 1914 WWI broke out and Rav Shach began
traveling around Europe from town to town, sleeping and
eating wherever possible while he continued to study Torah.
• For two years, Rav Shach hid in an attic with only a Sefer
Rav Akiva Eiger and a Yevamos. He survived thanks to a
woman who brought him food and water every day.
• The woman survived the war and moved to Israel. At her
funeral, Rav Shach walked accompanying the aron in the
pouring rain.
Passport Picture
 Personal Description
• In his introduction to Avi Ezri, he writes:
• “How can I thank Hashem for all of the kindness that He bestowed upon me during
my youth, when I had nothing? It is impossible to describe the conditions in which we
lived during this period when the authorities deported all of the Jews from Lithaunian
cities and I did not know where my parents were. I was alone, and I did not have any
way of contacting them. I lived this way for several years and I suffered terribly."
 Early Years
• In 1915, he traveled to Slutsk to study under R’ Isser
Zalman Meltzer.
• In 1921, due to regional political issues, the Yeshiva
split. Rav Isser Zalman stayed in Slutsk and his son in
law, R’ Aharon Kotler started a yeshiva in Kletsk.
• R’ Shach went to Kletsk with R’ Aharon and was
appointed a rebbe in the yeshiva.
Passport Picture
 Marriage
• In 1923, R’ Shach married R’ Isser Zalman’s neice, Gittel Gilmovski and they moved
to Mir where she was from.
• Shortly after, they moved back to Kletsk. R’ Isser Zalman moved to Israel and Rav
Shach became involved in the leadership of the yeshiva.
• After R’ Meir Shapiro passed away, Rav Shach was recruited to lead the Yeshivas
Chachmei Lublin. He consulted with R’ Chaim Ozer and turned down the position.
• He spent a short time as Rosh Yeshiva of Novardok and then became Rosh Yeshiva
of the Karlin Yeshiva.
 Move to Palestine
• Shortly before the Holocaust, Rav Shach’s uncle
helped R’ Aharon Kotler escape to the United States.
• In 1939, Rav Schach and his family went to Vilna and
stayed with R’ Chaim Ozer. His mother and eldest
daughter passed away at that time.
• In early 1940, after consulting with the Brisker Rav
and R’ Chaim Ozer, the Shach family moved to
Palestine to be with his wife’s uncle, R’ Isser Zalman.
• Rav Shach joined Yeshivas Etz Chaim as a Rosh
Yeshiva when they first arrived.
 Ponovezh Yeshiva
• After the Ponovezeh Yeshiva was re-established
in Bnei Brak, The Ponovezher Rav, R’ Yosef
Shlomo Kahaneman asked Rav Shach to join
him which he did.
• Rav Shach served as Rosh Yeshiva and gave a
weekly shiur until his passing.
• He also served as chairman of Chinuch Atzmai
and Va’ad Ha’Yeshivos during that time.
16th C. Italian Aron
 Gadol Ha’Dor
• From 1970 until his passing, Rav Shach was
considered the Gadol Ha’dor among Litveshe
Chareidim.
• He was instrumental in creating a presumption of
yeshiva study and kollel learning in that community.
Torah was primary to him above everything else.
• Story of his son and he not talking after the
Rebbetzin passed away.
 View on Israel
• He was adamantly opposed to secular and religious Zionism
though he did encourage every citizen to vote. He felt, a vote
not cast for the right party is effectively cast for the wrong party.
• He participated in the Israeli election system and backed and led
various parties during his lifetimes.
• Rav Shach waged numerous public battles against anything he
deemed inconsistent with Torah about which he said:
"There is no need to worry about machlokes, because if it is
done for the sake of Heaven, in the end it will endure...one is
obligated to be a baal-machlokes . It is no feat to be in agreement
with everybody!"
Israeli Flag - Ponovezh
When talking about the Israeli flag over the Ponovezh
yeshiva on Yom Ha’atzmaut, Rabbi Berel Wein wrote:
"Rabbi Yosef Kahaneman, the Ponevezher Rav, told me that
he flew the Israeli flag from the roof of his yeshivah building
in Bnei Brak on Yom Ha’atzmaut. When some locals
complained about this, he answered them with the following: 'I
flew the Lithuanian flag on the roof of my yeshivah in
Ponevezh on Lithuanian Independence Day. My friends, it is
no worse here.'"
 Opposition and Controversy
• Attacked the Rabbi Soloveitchik saying the Rav, “Endangering the survival of
Torah true Judaism by indoctrinating the masses with actual words of heresy.” (See
handout)
• Accused Rav Steinsaltz of heresy and put him in cherem saying “ein tocho k’boro,
he is not a genuine person” and everyone must keep their distance from him. (see
handout)
• Wrote that Yeshiva University poses a threat to the survival of authentic Judaism
and talked about the possibility of YU in Israel as an “absolute disaster causing the
destruction of our Holy Torah.”
 Opposition and Controversy
• Described Touro college as a terrible disaster, a
“churban ha’das,” destruction of our religion.
• Said it is forbidden to serve in the Israeli army and
“it is necessary to die for this.”
• He believed for true peace, it is “necessary to
compromise on even half of the Land of Israel.”
• He also criticized Israeli yishuvim in Yehuda and
Shomron and Gaza as “a blatant attempt to provoke
the international community” and called on
chareidim not to live in those areas.
 Wife and Children
• Married to Gittel who passed away in 1969
• Three children born in Kletsk in the 1920’s
• Miriam Rasel died at age 14.
• Devorah, married to R’ Meir Tzvi Bergman, Rosh Yeshiva
• Ephraim
 Dr. Ephraim Shach
• 1929- 2011
• Learned in the Chevron Yeshiva in Yerushalayim
• Influenced by reading Jabotinsky books and joined the Irgun
• When his father first saw him in uniform asked if it was Purim.
• Received a doctorate in history and philosophy from Revel of
Yeshiva University.
• Worked at the Israel Ministry of Education
Seforim
• Avi Ezri on the Rambam
• Michtavim U’Ma’amarim – 6
volumes of letters
 Death and Funeral
• Rav Shach passed away on November 2, 2001 at
almost 103 years old.
• He is buried in Bnei Brak and over 200,000
people attending his funeral.
 R’ Menachem Mendel Schneerson

• Born 1902, the 11th of Nissan in Nikolaev, Russia to

R’ Levi Yitzchak, a great kabbalist and Rebbetzin
Chana, a righteous woman.
• He was named after his great-grandfather, the third
Rebbe of Chabad.
• From early childhood, he was considered a prodigy,
immersing himself in Torah study.
• In 1929, R’ Menachem Mendel married the 6th
Rebbe’s daughter, Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka in
Warsaw.
 R’ Menachem Mendel
• He then studied in the University of Berlin and later in the
Sorbonne in Paris where he studied mathematics and physics.
• In June, 1941, the Schneersons escaped Europe to the United
States.
• Shortly after his arrival, as per his father in law’s urging, he
began publishing and his genius was soon recognized broadly.
• He assisted his father in law and established three central
Lubavitch organizations – Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, Kehot
Publication Society and Machne Israel social service agency.
 Becoming
Rebbe
• In 1950, after his father in
law, R’ Yosef Yitzchak
Schneersohn passed away,
despite hesitation, R’
Menachem Mendel was
recruited to be the 7th
Lubavitcher Rebbe.
• The Rebbe launched
numerous campaigns
including u’fartza, the effort
to send shluchim across the
globe and lauch Lubavitch
centers and Chabad Houses
everywhere.
 Stroke and Passing
• On March 2, 1992, while praying at the grave of
his father in law, the Rebbe suffered a major
stroke that paralyzed his right side and deprived
him of the ability to speak.
• Two years and three months later, the Rebbe
passed away on the 3rd of Tammuz, June 12,
1994.
• The Rebbe did not have any biological children.
 We Want Mashiach
• The Rebbe placed a great emphasis on Mashiach and longing for
his arrival.
• His father in law placed an emphasis on personal redemption
and perfection but he placed one on repairing the world and
bringing the end of days.
• In a letter to Israeli President Yitzchak Ben-Zvi, he wrotes:
• “From the time that I was a child attending cheder, and
even before, the vision of the future redemption began to
take form in my imagination – the redemption of the
Jewish people from their final exile, a redemption of such
magnitude and grandeur through which the purpose of the
suffering of the harsh decrees, and annihilation of exile will
be understood”.
 Controversy Begins
• In 1980, the Rebbe adopted the phrase, “we want Mashiach now,” to promote a
sense of urgency and longing for Judaism’s time of future promised bliss.
• Great controversy surrounded the Rebbe over his focus on Mashiach.
• In 1942, Rabbi Soloveitchik said:
• “The Lubavitcher Rebbe speaks and publicizes about the Mashiach and a tumult has
erupted, an uproar and an outcry. What is wrong, I ask? That people who are heretics decry
him; I understand. That those who violate the Shabbat decry him; I understand. But that
those who study the Talmud and Chassidus decry him; this is inconceivable…are we not
allowed to talk about the belief in the Mashiach anymore?”
 Rambam Campaign
• The Rebbe introduced an campaign for
an annual siyum of the Rambam’s
Mishna Torah.
• A scholarly journal was produced to
celebrate the siyum and the first edition
included essays from R’ Moshe
Feinstein, R’ Yaakov Kamenetzky, R’
Aharon Soloveitchik, R’ Zalman
Nechemia Goldberg, R” Menasehe
Klein and R’ Pinchas Hirschprung.
 Opposition

• Suspicion began to arise that the Rebbe was promoting

the idea that he was Mashiach. (See handout)
• This controversy and debate continues until today.
• Rav Shach was the most outspoken and vocal critic of
the Rebbe. He opposed the Rebbe’s campaigns for
Shabbos candles, tefillin, Rambam study, children’s
parades on lag ba’omer and teaching the Noachide laws.
 Boycott – Cherem
• When some of the Rebbe’s followers outright declared him to be
Mashiach, Rav Shach responded by calling for a complete boycott of
Chabad, invalidating Chabad shechita, gittin and conversion.
• Rav Shach called the Rebbe a false messiah and compared him to
Shabbtai Tzvi.
• He once called Chabad a “cult” and sarcastically defined it “as the
religion closest to Judaism.”
• He described the Rebbe as, "the madman who sits in New York and
drives the whole world crazy.”
 Response
• The Rebbe usually refrained from responding to
Rav Shach’s attacks and chose to ignore them.
There were exceptions
• He once commented that since tefillin have the
effect of refining the mind, he doubted whether
Rav Shach’s tefillin were kosher. (see handout)
 Israeli Politics
• In 1990, it was rumored that the Rebbe intervened in Israeli
politics to thwart Shimon Peres’ attempt to form a new
government. Peres had the number to form a new
government after Shamir lost a vote of no confidence.
• When the time came for the new government to be sworn in
on April 15th, two members of Agudat Yisrael, Eliezer
Mizrachi and Avraham Verdiger did not attend and Peres
failed. Shamir succeeded in reforming the government.
• It was reported in the media they didn’t show up at the
instruction of the Rebbe.
 Interference
• The New York Times reported that politics in Israel,
“has again focused attention on the role of a
charismatic Brooklyn rabbi who asserts an unusual
amount of influence in Israel.”
• Yediot Achronot lamented that Israel’s fate was, “in
the hands of a rabbi who lives in Brooklyn, who has
never set foot in Israel.”
• The Rebbe and his emissaries denied involvement in
the affair. The Rebbe did get involved in one way.
 Yad Eliyahu Speech
• Peres had planned on forming the new government
together with the Chareidi party controlled by Rav
Shach who was known to be in favor of a land for
peace deal.
• At the height of the affair, on March 26th there was a
rally in Yad Eliyahu Stadium in Tel Aviv broadcast
live on national Israel television.
• Rav Shach took the opportunity to deliver a scathing
attack on secular Israelis.
 Yad Eliyahu Speech
• He said, “Today one can meet children who don’t know
what shabbos is. There are kibbutzim that don’t know
what Yom Kippur is. No idea, and they raise rabbits and
pigs there. And this is called the Jewish people?”
• He denounced the secular as “eiver meduldal, a distended
limb.” He asked, “do they have any links with their
forefathers?”
• This sent shock waves through Israel as the media
interpreted Rav Shach to be saying that secular Israelis are
no longer Jews.
 Rebbe’s Response
• While the Rebbe had ignored the personal attacks, this challenged everything
he believed in, namely the inherent holiness of every Jew.
• The next Shabbos, the Rebbe delivered a sermon that quoted extensive
sources on the concept of inclusivity and then called on Rav Shach (not by
name) to repent for his error. (see handout)
• “Verbal expressions such as these which dishonor the Jewish people,
especially in public, in the presence of countless Jews and non-Jews, requires
correction and repentance.”
 Rav Shach’s Words -
• See Handout - kiruv story that resulted from Rav Shach’s
words
• The speech set off a great storm. Broadcast during peak
hours, almost every household in Israel heard. At the
home of the Kish Family at Kibbutz Ein-Charod Ichud,
Yair and Shay Kish listened intently and HaRav Shach's
words stuck a chord deep inside. The two brothers
secretly began to keep mitzvas, laying tefillin and reciting
brochos before eating. Their father, R' Yonoson Binyomin,
followed suit.
 Holocaust
• A few months later, the Rebbe responded to another
public statement of Rav Shach.
• In December 1990, the Israeli media was outraged because
Rav Shach declared the Holocaust, “definitely a
punishment. The Holy One Blessed Be He kept score for
hundreds of years until it added up to six million Jews.”
• He was convinced that God brought the punishment on
Jews for violating Shabbos and eating pork and suggested,
“because of the sins, the Almighty may bring another
Holocaust upon us and it may already be tomorrow.”
 Holocaust
• The Rebbe had generally not spoken publicly about his
views on the Holocaust and theodicy. He believed
Judaism should be driven and motivated by positive
sentiments and ideas.
• However, following Rav Shach’s words, he gave a sermon
most thoroughly spelling out his feelings on the subject.
• He noted that Rav Shach’s analysis is an ineffective
method of bringing Jews closer to Judaism and moreover,
it is “untrue, disrespectful to God and disrespectful to the
Jewish people.”
Rav Shach on the
Lubavitcher
Rebbe
 Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz
• When the Lubavitch movement began its messianic propaganda, Maran girded himself to fight
this group and the one who headed it. During this period, when Maran first came out with his
opposition in public, the messianic message was still somewhat covert with innocent sounding
mottos and slogans. The public was not yet aware what lay behind them. At that time only one
blessed with a sharp eye could discern this blind belief in a messianic Rebbe which was swelling
and taking on a more real proportion under the guise of chassidus.
• Maran, with his wise vision, understood what would eventually happen and to what dimensions
this movement would reach if he did not take steps to quell it with an uncompromising battle.
• He did not stir up this steamy cauldron with equanimity, but with reluctance. On one occasion he
said to me that he would have preferred that others wage this war in his stead. But seeing that no
one wished to involve himself, he felt responsible to do everything in his power, brooking no
compromise.
 Rabbi Shlomo Lorincz
• Maran's mesirus nefesh in this battle knew no bounds; I have already described in the
first chapter the outcry of his heart, "Even if I knew for certain that they would
burn me alive, I would still not desist in my campaign against false messianism, for
this is bona fide avodoh zorah."
• It should be noted that in spite of his pitched battle against Lubavitch, Maran
nevertheless recited Tehillim when the Rebbe became sick. At the time I asked him
for an explanation, and he obliged, "My battle is against his erroneous approach,
against the movement, but not against the people in any personal way. I pray for the
Rebbe's recovery and simultaneously, also pray that he abandon his invalid way."
 Rav Shach Legacy
• Enormous Talmud Chacham
• Rav Chaim Kanievski would go to his apartment
every 30 days to recite the beracha on an outstanding
scholar.
• Led hundreds of thousands in Israel and around the
world.
• Students describe as humble. Insisted on carrying his
own seforim into his 90’s.
• Story of toast with Rambam
Rav Aharon
Lichtenstein
Side by Side in my office