Lubavitcher Rebbe Appears, but Not As Awaited Messiah

A low groan rose from the crowd inside 770 Eastern Parkway as the beige curtains around the balcony were pulled shut and the Lubavitcher rebbe disappeared into his private quarters without establishing, publicly and unequivocally, his status as the Messiah.

But the rebbe’s exit only momentarily dimmed the indefatigable faith and fervor of his 7,000 followers who packed into the main Lubavitch synagogue in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn on Sunday hoping to witness revelation.

Nearly as many Lubavitchers crowded outside the building, which seemed unable to accommodate even one more soul, and more saw the proceedings by a satellite hookup which linked Chabad houses around the world, including 10 locations in Israel, Paris, Moscow and all over North America.

Inside the building, when the rebbe concluded his 10-minute appearance, women crammed into the ladies’ balcony of the synagogue began fervently reciting Psalms.

Some men and women left the building, but a few minutes later word began circulating that the rebbe was going to come out again. Within moments, the enormous space was once again packed from wall to wall as Lubavitchers ran back into the building hoping that the rebbe would reveal himself.

In the end, the rebbe did as he has done since the High Holy Days, when he first resumed making regular public appearances after a debilitating-stroke last March.

He sat in a chair at the edge of a specially constructed balcony and looked out over the sea of his followers.

Sunday evening marked a traditional annual appearance by the rebbe, on the 43rd anniversary of his ascension to the throne of Chabad leadership and on the anniversary of the death of the previous rebbe, his father-in-law.

APPEARANCE ‘SHOULD NOT BE MISINTERPRETED’

But his followers, always anxious for a glimpse of their beloved leader, came hoping for even more.

During the preceding week, rumors of the rebbe’s “anointment” as the Messiah — with oil and a gold crown — had spread from Crown Heights throughout the extensive international network of Lubavitch emissaries and adherents.

With each nod of the rebbe’s head Sunday night, his Hasidim became more frenzied, pushing forward with greater force and singing their anthem louder and louder: “King Messiah, live forever!”

But the 90-year-old Lubavitch leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, did not accept the title.

A statement issued by the rebbe’s secretariat said his appearance Sunday night “should not be misinterpreted or misconstrued for anything more than it is.”

The appearance was “his regular attendance at the evening services and nothing more than that,” the statement said.

Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, a leading member of the secretariat, has been in the forefront among those in the Lubavitch movement who had denounced the efforts of those who have been publicly proclaiming the rebbe as the Messiah — in news releases, paid advertisements and billboards.

Those efforts have been spearheaded by Rabbi Shmuel Butman, chairman of the International Campaign to Bring Moshiach.

It was Butman who had publicized the notion that the rebbe would be anointed as the Messiah on Sunday.

Butman was forced to backtrack from that position and announced to those assembled on Sunday that “this is not a coronation. No human being has the power to anoint the Messiah. The only one that has the power is the Almighty.”

Still, Butman’s popular following was made crystal clear when, in the course of the evening’s program, his name was announced and applause rang out from all over the synagogue.

In the women’s sections, in balconies hidden behind tinted glass, thousands of sweating women crammed into space meant to hold hundreds swayed back and forth and climbed over one another vying for a view of their leader.

One young girl, sweat dripping down her flushed face, moaned that she didn’t feel well and had to leave. But there was no way for her to get out.

When the rebbe disappeared for the evening behind the beige curtain, one participant was asked if she thought that the near-hysteria made Lubavitch look foolish to outsiders.

“The problem is that outsiders see us through their own perspective, their own lenses,” said Devorah Gralnick. “The challenge for us is to get everyone to see this our way.”