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July 16, 2004/Tamuz 27 5764, Vol. 56, No. 43
Letters to the EditorJuly 16, 2004
Chabad success comes at a priceEditor:I can't help feeling envious of Chabad's success in outreach, getting more Jews in touch with religious observance than more liberal branches of Judaism such as the Conservative and Reform movements worldwide ("Changing Jewish Lives," Jewish News, June 25). However, this increase in affiliation seems to come with a high price tag. Women become third-class Jews and many professional doors such as the rabbinate, cantorate and even getting an aliyah are closed to them. Women don't count in a minyan. The exclusion of half of world Jewry is offensive. The virtual veneration of the tzaddik Rebbe Menachem Schneerson to Messiah status is destructive. We have had many false messiahs in our long and tragic history. I would like to believe the best of the Chabad movement because of the good that they appear to do. Howard Weinstein Mesa
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