On the Role of Belief in Science

(Image credit: Greg Wyatt)Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson is widely regarded as one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century, having transformed a small, Holocaust-depleted sect into a global powerhouse of Jewish outreach of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. Throughout his leadership from Brooklyn, New York City, the Rebbe spoke intensely about the imminent arrival of the messianic era, urging his followers to prepare for it through acts of goodness and Jewish observance. During the latter decades of his life, a fervent belief arose among many of his followers that he was in fact the Jewish Messiah. Since the Messiah is believed to reconstruct the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and live in Israel, his followers built in 1986 a house for him in Kfar Chabad Israel which is an exact replica of his apartment at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The Israeli replica was constructed to precisely mirror the layout of the original, including a highly detailed reproduction of the Rebbe’s private office, complete with identical furniture, bookcases, and religious texts.(Image credit: Greg Wyatt)When Rabbi Schneerson passed away on June 12, 1994, at the age of 92, without appearing as the Messiah, the event created a massive theological crisis for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, as traditional Jewish theology does not typically accommodate a Messiah who dies before completing the redemption. The movement ultimately fractured into two main ideological factions regarding his identity:(i) The Messianists faction maintains that the Rebbe is still the Messiah. Some believe he did not actually die in a spiritual sense or that his death was an illusion, while others believe he passed away but will soon be resurrected to complete his messianic mission.(ii) The Anti-Messianists including the mainstream and official leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch disavow public messianic declarations. They believe he could have been the Messiah had God willed it, but they a