Court to rule on Yechi banner
An appellate court may soon rule whether a Yechi banner must be removed from 770
Shlomo Shamir/Haaretz
NEW YORK - New York's highest appellate court may soon find itself ruling on whether a large banner at the world's most important Lubavitch synagogue, which proclaims, "May our master, teacher and rabbi, the King Messiah, live forever," must be removed.
The case reached the New York Court of Appeals after the New York State Supreme Court ruled two weeks ago in favor of two key Lubavitch organizations, Agudas Chasedei Chabad (the Association of Chabad Hasidim) and Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch (the Lubavitch Educational Organization), which had filed suit to halt activities by the Chabad movement's messianist wing at the synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood.
The messianist wing, represented by an organization named Congregation Lubavitch, Inc., believes that the former leader of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is really the Messiah. The plaintiffs follow the mainstream Jewish position that since Schneerson died in 1994, he cannot be the Messiah. They therefore object to messianist activity at the synagogue, including the banner and the frequent singing of a song with the same words. Advertisement State Supreme Court Justice Ira Harkavy ruled that since Agudas and Merkos are the legal owners of the property, they have the right to determine what activity is permitted there and who is permitted to enter. The ruling would thus allow the plaintiffs to remove the banner, halt the singing and even eject members of the messianist wing from the synagogue.
However, Congregation Lubavitch promptly appealed, arguing that the question of who should be making decisions about internal synagogue affairs is none of the court's business.
The legal battle began three years ago, when several young men wrenched a plaque off the synagogue's exterior wall because it described the rebbe with an honorific used only for someone who has died, and tried to replace it with a plaque of their own, which bore an honorific used for a living scholar. Agudas and Merkos filed suit against the culprits, and Congregation Lubavitch joined as a defender.
Explaining why the two organizations felt a need to turn to the secular courts - something that many ultra-Orthodox Jews consider a violation of religious law - a leading member of New York's Hasidic community, who asked to remain anonymous, told Haaretz that the situation at 770 has deteriorated badly in recent years, with fanatic messianists committing frequent acts of verbal and even physical violence against their opponents.
Moreover, he said, "the messianists have driven many Jews away from the Chabad movement."
Agudas and Merkos "had no choice," agreed another man with close ties to the Chabad leadership. "Faced with the acts of violence and hooliganism, they felt obligated to go to court for the good of the public."
Agudas and Merkos "had no choice," agreed another man with close ties to the Chabad leadership. "Faced with the acts of violence and hooliganism, they felt obligated to go to court for the good of the public."
Another community activist from Crown Heights used even harsher language against the messianists. "Their violent, extremist behavior is reminiscent of the Taliban," he said.
The parties to the suit themselves declined to comment.
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