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How did the Lubavitcher Rebbe's views change after 1948 and the 1967 Six-Day War?
Executive Summary
The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s stance toward Zionism and the State of Israel shifted from principled theological caution to pragmatic support for Jewish safety and national life after 1948, and the 1967 Six-Day War intensified his emphasis on Israel’s miraculous survival while keeping redemption as a divine, not political, process. Multiple accounts agree the Rebbe never equated the modern state with ultimate messianic redemption, yet he moved from initial opposition to endorsing practical engagement—encouraging participation in elections, military service, and Jewish life in Israel—while framing victories like 1967 in spiritual and providential terms [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. How the Pre‑1948 Skepticism Hardened Into Post‑State Realism
Before 1948 the Rebbe’s outlook reflected traditional Haredi wariness about secular nationalist movements, concerned that a political Zionism built on secular nationalism would undermine Torah centrality. After the Holocaust and the creation of the State of Israel, he recalibrated policy from abstract rejection to concrete support for Jewish continuity and safety, treating the state as a protective reality even if not sanctified as the messianic redemption. Sources highlight this pragmatic transition: he began urging support for Israeli institutions and Jewish self‑defense while continuing to insist that ultimate redemption is a divine act, not the product of secular nation‑building [1] [5]. This change reflects a movement from ideological purity to communal responsibility in the face of existential threats.
2. The 1967 War as a Spiritual Inflection Point and Public Messaging
The Six‑Day War served as a catalytic moment in which the Rebbe publicly framed Israel’s victory as miraculous and spiritually significant while stopping short of declaring the war itself as the advent of the messianic age. He broadcast confidence in Israel’s survival, urged religious observances like special prayers and Tefillin campaigns, and linked the events to biblical motifs of divine deliverance, using these to mobilize faith and morale [3] [6]. At the same time he emphasized that military or political success does not replace the need for Torah observance and spiritual readiness for redemption, signaling continuity in his theology even as his tone grew more optimistic about Israel’s present role.
3. Practical Encouragement: Elections, Army Service, and Social Integration
After 1948 and increasingly after 1967 Chabad under the Rebbe encouraged concrete participation in Israeli civic life—voting, serving in the IDF, and contributing to social life—without converting secular nationalism into religious doctrine. Analysts record that the Rebbe’s followers were urged toward active civic engagement for the welfare and protection of Jewish communities, even while Chabad institutions refrained from official celebration of Independence Day and maintained reservations about sanctifying the state [1] [2]. This dual posture—practical support coupled with theological restraint—produced internal tensions and divergent interpretations within the broader Haredi and religious Zionist landscapes.
4. Messianic Language, Gradual Enthusiasm, and Limits
Scholars trace an evolving messianic rhetoric in the Rebbe’s later decades: greater emphasis on an imminent, transformative redemption achievable through intensified spiritual effort and public mitzvot, rather than a cataclysmic overthrow of history. Post‑1967 writings and activities conveyed heightened optimism that historic events could be signs or awakenings toward redemption while preserving the doctrine that redemption remains ultimately divine. Some sources suggest the Rebbe’s language grew more forward‑leaning in late life, but he consistently rejected equating the modern political state with the final ge’ulah, maintaining a boundary between providential historical developments and the theological end‑time [7] [4].
5. Competing Readings, Agendas, and What Was Left Unsaid
Different commentators emphasize various motives: some stress the Rebbe’s pastoral obligation to protect Jewish life and therefore his pragmatic turn [1], while others highlight his theological creativity in reinterpreting events as spiritual opportunities without endorsing state sanctity [2] [4]. Critics note tensions—Chabad’s civic cooperation yet ritual distance from state symbols—which reflect both strategic accommodation and doctrinal caution. Important omissions in secondary accounts include extensive primary citation of the Rebbe’s own late speeches and the influence of contemporaneous Israeli politics on Chabad practice; these gaps allow competing agendas—either portraying him as effectively pro‑Zionist or as maintaining classical anti‑Zionist theology—to shape the narrative [2] [8].