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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Growing calls to excommunicate Rabbi Shmuley Boteach over Kosher Jesus book.


Rabbi Shmuley Boteach and his new book ‘Kosher Jesus‘ recently came under attack by Chicago Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf. Rabbi Wolf called for Rabbi Boteach’s ecclesiastical excommunication (‘Cherem’), accusing him of attempting to proselytize Jews to Christianity. Rabbi Boteach retorted that if Rabbi Wolf read his book he would see that in it he explicitly condemns Jesus’s divinity and claims of messiahship, and rather embraces the Jesus that was Torah observant.

My point is not to discuss the merits or lack thereof of the book itself. I want to clearly reiterate by unequivocally stating that I’m not qualified to comment on the legitimacy or lack thereof of Rabbi Boteach’s book ‘Kosher Jesus.’ I’ll leave that debate to qualified Rabbis, New Testament scholars and theologians with more knowledge than myself. This letter is about claims of Chabad’s closed-mindedness.

It is surprising that Rabbi Boteach viewed Rabbi Wolf’s remarks as reflecting the Chabad movements position on this issue, especially considering that Rabbi Wolf himself admits in his initial attack on Shmuley that he is “no spokesman for Orthodox Jewry or for Chabad.” He is speaking for himself as a “lone Wolf.”

I think most sensible people would be incensed by the incendiary and mean-spirited comments against Rabbi Boteach. When I advocated for gender equality in voting rights at my local government-funded Jewish community council elections, I was also attacked for representing a different viewpoint. I understand Rabbi Boteach’s anger and hurt.

With that said, it is unfair for Rabbi Boteach to castigate the entire Chabad movement as a bunch of “knee-jerk reactionaries,” “anti-intellectuals” who “celebrate ignorance” when the movement has not even responded to his book. The response came from only one man who admits he does not represent the movement.

Rabbi Boteach should not be painting Chabad with such a broad brush. What is more representative of closed-minded, prejudiced non-thinking? Someone who condemns an author of a book he has not read or someone who condemns a whole group of people based on the statement

of one of its members?

Unless the Chabad movement formally excommunicates Rabbi Boteach or renounces his book, which they have done neither, Rabbi Wolf’s comments carry no weight and neither do the reams of “sickening, stomach-turning comments” that Rabbi Boteach refers to. Rabbi Wolf is a Rabbi speaking for himself, not the Chabad movement.

There are those in the Chabad community who strongly agree with Rabbi Wolf’s sentiment but also those that disagree. This is to be expected and reflects the diversity of opinion within the Chabad

community but just like Rabbi Boteach is one Rabbi with an opinion, albeit a counter-intuitive and

provocative opinion about the Jewish Jesus, so too is Rabbi Wolf.

Lastly, given the premium I place on the First Amendment’s right to freedom of expression and the press as well as Judaism’s rich culture of debate, I recoil at the notion of the Chabad websites censoring any viewpoint but at the same time I recognize that insular communities have a right to maintain their insularity. Just my thoughts.

14 comments:

  1. Shmuely Boteach is the most self-aggrandizing arrogant, selfish, self centered person i have ever seen. All he cares about and thinks is himslef!

    has shmuly eversaid i made a mistake?

    has someone ever showed him a sicha of the rebbe or so and he would say, oh, i didnt see this?

    how dare he be compared to Rabbi Wolf who is a Shliach that is Moser nefesh for Shlichus, the Rebbe and Chassidishkeit!

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  2. Feh! look at the picture of him. A leather bomber jacket and no visible Tzitzis....this is a Rabbi to honor and give credence to??? Get a life Mr. Shmuely B.

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  3. I think Shmuely Boteach should go on tour with Matisyahu - for a good long time. It seems like both of them are having difficulty with the tests they're being handed.

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  4. His first was KOSHER Giluy Aroyos

    His next is KOSHER Avoda Zara

    Im sure that his next one will be KOSHER MURDER!

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  5. Boteach has no shameJanuary 15, 2012 at 4:47 PM

    He will sell ANYTHING for fame. Torah standards. He can join the mishichistim who eat on Tisha B'Av. He can find justification for anything. He is good with debating so let us give him achance to explain why Chazir is kosher.
    I think that should be the title of his next book the Kosher Ham.

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  6. Dear Rabbi Boteach,

    Stop responding to the actual attack by Wolf by tooting your horn. Here are some of the quotes taken from your Book:
    Jesus was a man who worked to rekindle Jewish ritual observance of every aspect of the Torah and to counter the brutal Roman occupation of his people’s land. He never wavered in this mission even when he realized the consequences would be fatal.

    All Jews can embrace Jesus as part of a grand tradition of heroic leaders who fought to free Israel from tyranny. Looked at from this angle, Jesus was a great, world-changing patriot for Judaism.

    Once we strip his life story of its patina of paganism and the supernatural, Jews will see they need no longer reject the beautiful ethical teachings of Jesus, which find their source in Hebrew scripture and the teachings of the rabbis among whom he counted himself.

    Fundamentally, Jews have the duty to ask themselves: Do we really profit by shunning a Jewish patriot who fought and died for our freedom? Jesus certainly was one of the most famous Jews that ever lived. Should he be forever lost to his people?

    Ad Kan
    Can you defend this? Is there any Yid in the world you know who recited Mode Ani every morning that would utter this nonsense or rather Blasphemy?

    This is D.H at its best.

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  7. He is a very sick man just listen to him speak
    I am just waiting to hear a scandal about him
    Someone so obsessed with sex has to be "out there".
    The truth is that he also a big am haaretz so why give credence as a rabbi

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  8. shmuley boteach is what we would call an 'attention seeker'

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  9. A big Yasher Koi'ach to R' Feivish Vogel of London for terminating Mr. Boteach's official association with Chabad while he was just crossing his first lines.

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  10. Terrible book, a good idea would be for Rabbi Boteach to abstain from Torah for a while maybe it will help him regain the right knowledge, and BTW this is a quote from his sex book.

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  11. I read the Book and I draw conclusions.

    a) Kosher J rejects Rambam’s opinion on JC
    b) Kosher J rejects 2000 years of Rabbinical attitudes and opinions towards JC
    c) Kosher J relies heavily on the New Testament
    d) Kosher J calls for Jews to recognize JC as an authentic Jewish Rabbi
    If Boteach gets a written Daas Torah-Halachik ruling approval from the foremost Jewish Rabbinical authorities of our time, we would accept the book and his campaign to recognize JC with open arms. We urge Boteach to approach Chief Rabbi Lau, Rabbi Yosef S Eliyashuv, Rabbi Zalman N Goldberg or Rabbi Dr. Moshe Tendler for their approval.. If he prefers Chassidic Rabbis, Rabbi Moshe Wolfson or Rabbi M Ashkenazie are also recognized as great Halachik authorities.

    Boteach cannot call himself an orthodox Rabbi and reject basic and fundamental Jewish law and tradition without Halachik support.

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  12. what he should have doneJanuary 16, 2012 at 3:18 PM

    He should have marketed his book ONLY for Christians. His big mistake was thinking it would at all be relevant to Jews.

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  13. Huffington Post Rant
    For SB to take his vicious attack against Chabad to the Goyish media is cheap and a true Chilul Hashem. Arrogance ultimately leads to foolishness-- SB has soooo crossed the line. The problem is if we respond to him publicly, it will only create more buzz about his disgusting book and probably sell more of them. Even if SB defames Chabad everywhere he can, he will only wind up a bigger loser. Trust in HaShem. Trust in the Rebbe. I feel sorry for his wife and children.

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  14. My impression is this is probably the evidence of fine mind, lost off the derech terribly. We have seen greater minds than his speak apicorsus.

    Let's leave him be. No emotional comments. This is now in Hashem's hands. Do not be offended. Cherem l'malah v'lematah, and be done with it. Silence and disengagement. Ignore it completely. We wouldn't go in a church Ch'v'sh. We wouldn't speak against a christian book. We'd ignore it.

    I call for Bez din everywhere to do what they have to do and then we can all forget about it.

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