Chabad messianism

Messianism in Chabad refers to the contested beliefs among some members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ, mashiach or moshiach). Very few members of the Chabad community believe that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the deceased seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is the Jewish messiah.^: 24 The issue remains controversial within both the Chabad movement and the broader Jewish community.^: 420

The concept of the messiah is a basic tenet of the Jewish religion. The belief among Hasidic Jews that the leader of their dynasty could be the Jewish messiah is traced to the Baal Shem Tov—the founder of Hasidism. During Schneerson's life, the mainstream of Chabad hoped that he would be the messiah; the idea gained great attention during the last years of his life.^: 413 A few years before Schneerson's death, members of the Chabad movement expressed their belief that Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the foretold messiah. Those subscribing to the beliefs have been termed mishichists (messianists). A typical statement of belief for Chabad messianists is the song and chant known as yechi adoneinu ("long live our master", Hebrew: יחי אדונינו). Customs vary among messianists as to when the phrase is recited.

Since Schneerson's death in 1994, some followers of Chabad have persisted in the belief in him as the messiah. Chabad messianists either believe Schneerson will be resurrected from the dead to be revealed as the messiah, or go further and profess the belief that Schneerson never died in 1994 and is waiting to be revealed as messiah. The Chabad messianic phenomenon has been met mostly with public concerns or opposition from Chabad leadership as well as non-Chabad Jewish leaders.

After Schneerson's death, a later Halachic ruling from some affiliated rabbis said that it was "incumbent on every single Jew to heed the Rebbe's words and believe that he is indeed King Moshiach, who will be revealed imminently". Outside of Chabad messianism, both in mainstream Chabad as well as in broader Judaism, these claims are rejected. If anything, this resembles the faith in the resurrection of Jesus and his second coming in early Christianity, and is thus heretical in normative Judaism.