Shmarya Rosenberg
Encyclopedia
Shmarya Rosenberg is a former Habad-Lubavitch
Hasid
, baal teshuva
and graduate of Hadar Hatorah
, who after becoming discontented with Habad's policies regarding the Jewishness
of Ethiopian Jews
, left the movement, and went on to operate a full time blog known as Failed Messiah.
. Originally a secular Jew
, Rosenberg joined Chabad and became a baal teshuvah. After joining the movement, he asked Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to move the Chabad movement to aid in the effort to rescue the Beta Israel
of Ethiopia. When he found out that the Rebbe ultimately rejected his suggestion, he became disenchanted with Chabad and its Rebbe. Due to his perception of alleged hypocrisy within Orthodox Judaism, he eventually created a blog with the purpose of reporting on the shortcomings and hypocrisy of Orthodox Jewry in general, and Chabad in particular. Because of his outspoken and often brazen disrespect of Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he claims he was excommunicated
by Chabad of St. Paul. However the group denies this, claiming they have no mechanism for excommunication
While he was in the Chabad community he was still referred to as Scott, since leaving the movement he goes by his Hebrew name Shmarya.
, which claims it has been hacked into several times, serves as a news-style outlet with the motto Covering Orthodox Judaism since 2004.
Using the blog as a means of reaching a wide audience and covering the largely under-reported Haredi
/Hasidic
sector, Rosenberg reports as a whistle blower, uncovering and publicizing scandals relating to violence, sex abuse
, and gossip within the Orthodox Jewish
community.
A frequent target of Failed Messiah is the Rubashkin
family, former owners of Agriprocessors
, a kosher meat-packaging factory in Postville, Iowa
. Rosenberg was a frequent guest at the Rubashkin home prior to their moving to Iowa.
Rosenberg also writes a weekly column for Heeb Magazine called "Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
Hasid
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
, baal teshuva
Baal teshuva
Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
and graduate of Hadar Hatorah
Hadar Hatorah
Yeshiva Hadar Hatorah is a Chabad men's yeshiva in Brooklyn, New York. It is the world's first yeshiva for baali teshuva.-History:The yeshiva was founded in 1962 by Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson, a Chabad activist, to accommodate baalei teshuva interested in full-time study in a traditional yeshiva...
, who after becoming discontented with Habad's policies regarding the Jewishness
Who is a Jew?
"Who is a Jew?" is a basic question about Jewish identity and considerations of Jewish self-identification. The question is based in ideas about Jewish personhood which themselves have cultural, religious, genealogical, and personal dimensions...
of Ethiopian Jews
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
, left the movement, and went on to operate a full time blog known as Failed Messiah.
Biography
Rosenberg was born in Saint Paul, MinnesotaSaint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
. Originally a secular Jew
Secular Jewish culture
Secular Jewish culture embraces several related phenomena; above all, it is the international culture of secular communities of Jewish people, but it can also include the cultural contributions of individuals who identify as secular Jews...
, Rosenberg joined Chabad and became a baal teshuvah. After joining the movement, he asked Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, to move the Chabad movement to aid in the effort to rescue the Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
of Ethiopia. When he found out that the Rebbe ultimately rejected his suggestion, he became disenchanted with Chabad and its Rebbe. Due to his perception of alleged hypocrisy within Orthodox Judaism, he eventually created a blog with the purpose of reporting on the shortcomings and hypocrisy of Orthodox Jewry in general, and Chabad in particular. Because of his outspoken and often brazen disrespect of Chabad and the Lubavitcher Rebbe, he claims he was excommunicated
Cherem
Cherem , is the highest ecclesiastical censure in the Jewish community. It is the total exclusion of a person from the Jewish community. It is a form of shunning, and is similar to excommunication in the Catholic Church...
by Chabad of St. Paul. However the group denies this, claiming they have no mechanism for excommunication
While he was in the Chabad community he was still referred to as Scott, since leaving the movement he goes by his Hebrew name Shmarya.
Failed Messiah
Considered by some as "a Baal Loshen Hora," i.e., gossipmonger, the Failed Messiah blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
, which claims it has been hacked into several times, serves as a news-style outlet with the motto Covering Orthodox Judaism since 2004.
Using the blog as a means of reaching a wide audience and covering the largely under-reported Haredi
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
/Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
sector, Rosenberg reports as a whistle blower, uncovering and publicizing scandals relating to violence, sex abuse
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
, and gossip within the Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
community.
A frequent target of Failed Messiah is the Rubashkin
Rubashkin
Rubashkin is a Russian surname and may refer to:* Rubashkin family, a family of American Haredi Jews, headed by** Aaron Rubashkin, American founder and owner of the Agriprocessors meat company, and his sons:*** Moshe Rubashkin...
family, former owners of Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors
Agriprocessors was the corporate identity of a slaughterhouse and meat-packaging factory based in Postville, Iowa, best known as a facility for the glatt kosher processing of cattle, as well as chicken, turkey, duck, and lamb. Agriprocessors' meat and poultry products were marketed under the brand...
, a kosher meat-packaging factory in Postville, Iowa
Postville, Iowa
Postville is a city in Allamakee and Clayton Counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. It lies near the junction of four counties and at the intersection of U.S. Routes 18 and 52 and Iowa Highway 51, with airport facilities in the neighboring communities of Waukon, Decorah, Monona, and Prairie du Chien....
. Rosenberg was a frequent guest at the Rubashkin home prior to their moving to Iowa.
Rosenberg also writes a weekly column for Heeb Magazine called "Crimes and Misdemeanors."
Ancestry
Rosenberg's maternal grandfather was Leon Gleckman. Known as the "Al Capone of St. Paul", he was a bootlegger who at one point was considered the unofficial "czar" of St. Paul.External links
- Failed Messiah
- Samuel G. Freedman: Muckraking Blogger Focuses on Jews. The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, January 8, 2010