Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference

David Berger, who received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, is Professor of History at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University. For many years he was Broeklundian Professor of History at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and co-chair of the Academic Advisory Committee of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. He is a Fellow and Executive Committee member of the American Academy for Jewish Research, and a member of the Council of the World Union of Jewish Studies, the Academic Committee of the Rothschild Foundation Europe, and the editorial board of Tradition. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard and Yale, and from 1998 to 2000, he served as President of the Association for Jewish Studies. He is the author of 'The Jewish-Christian Debate in the High Middle Ages' (1979), which was awarded the John Nicholas Brown Prize by the Medieval Academy of America, and co-author of 'Judaism’s Encounter with Other Cultures: Rejection or Integration?' (1997), a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Jewish Thought.

‘Throughly engrossing book . . . Berger's abiding Orthodox religious commitment, deep familiarity with religious texts and ideas, and specialized training in historical scholarship have singularly positioned and qualified him to embark on this defense of Judaism . . . Astute historian that he is, he offers trenchant and compelling explanations for this lack of aggressive Orthodox reaction to this latest false messianism . . . an articulate, thoughtful, and passionate book.’  Benny Kraut, Shofar

• Note on Style and TransliterationIntroduction to the Paperback EditionIntroduction1 From Heroism to Heterodoxy: The Crisis of a Movement and the Danger to a Faith2 The New Messianism: Passing Phenomenon or Turning Point in the History of Judaism?3 Aborted Initiatives and Sustained Attacks4 The Second Coming: A Rejoinder5 Revisiting the Second Coming6 The Rabbinical Council of America Resolution7 The Council of Torah Sages8 The Spectre of Idolatry9 On False Messianism, Idolatry, and Lubavitch10 Debating Avodah Zarah11 Judaism is Changing before Our Eyes12 From Margin to Mainstream: The Consolidation and Expansion of the Messianist Beachhead13 Explaining the Inexplicable14 What Must Be Done?EpitaphAppendix I: On a Messiah who Dies with his Mission Unfulfilled: Selected QuotationsAppendix II: The Parameters of Avodah ZarahAppendix III: Tosafot on 'Association' (Shituf)GlossaryBibliographyIndex