Rabbi Mazuz Clarifies: I Was referring only to ‘Elokistim’

Following shock and public outcry over comments made by Rabbi Meir Mazuz, he issued a clarification letter saying that his comments were taken out of context and that he was only referring to the extremist Mishchistim known as Elokistim.

Rabbi Mazuz, who is the spiritual leader of the Yachad party, issued a clarification letter in response to the recording in which he is heard speaking against Chabad with very harsh words.

Rabbi Mazuz was answering an interviewer’s question who had asked his opinion on Sephardic students adopting Chabad customs. Rabbi Mazuz feels passionately that they keep their own traditions. “I opposed the move from Sephardic tradition in matters of Jewish law and custom” he writes in the letter.

Rabbi Mazuz continues to explain his other comments on the recording. He writes he was not referring to Chabad in general but only to the fringe group known as the ‘Elokistim’ – “Those few who say Long live our teacher our Lord Creator” in reference to the Rebbe Ch’v.

“On the contrary” he writes “I defended Chabad and the Rebbe from famous rabbis who opposed him [the Rebbe].” He mentions some instances’ where he came to Chabad’s defense.

He then responded to critics who have charged that he is too lenient in regards to Jewish conversion. “What they are saying in my name is all false. Proper conversion can only be with the acceptance of all the Mitzvos.” Rabbi Mazuz also points out that he “never converted anyone, nor a man nor woman”.

MAZUZ-LETTER

30 Comments

  • I'm happy

    He really was known as a true friend of Chabad, so his comments didn’t make sence.
    Now I understand that he was reffering only to real Meshegoyim. Not to chabad and not even the mishechistim

    • guilty by FAKE association

      There is no connection between the mishechistim and elokistim.
      All mishchist rabbonim have expelled them from their comunities years ago. Rabbi shwei in crown heights and rabbi oxlerod in israel to name a few.
      So to attack the mishechistim by creating a fake connection makes it look like that you can’t argue the merits of their opinons
      Quite frakly it makes you look ignorant.

  • Milhouse

    It’s difficult to accept that he bothered directing such remarks against a class of people whose numbers are statistically equal to zero. Any community of significant size is going to contain a certain percentage of crazy people, simply by random chance; and for any crazy proposition you can think of, in a large enough community you will find one or two people who believe it. I am sure the percentage of clinically insane people in the community centred around Kisei Rachamim is no smaller than it is in Lubavitch. And among them you will find some individuals who believe they are G-d, or that R Mazuz is G-d, or that the lamp post on their street corner is G-d. It only makes sense to talk about a group or movement or cult or whatever existing if their numbers are higher than one would expect by random chance, and that has never been the case wity these so-called “Elokistim”. So it makes no sense that he would make any pronouncements about them.

    • Birther

      In Israel it’s a bit more of an issue. It does make sense that he’d address it.

  • Irrelevant

    It really shouldn’t matter to us if he likes chabad or the rebbe. The important question to ask is,
    where does he stand on the issues that are important to the rebbe. (Shlemus ha’aretz, mi hu yehudi, etc.)
    I know of instances where the rebbe, behind the scenes, supported institutions that where openly hostile to the rebbe! Being that the rebbe approved of other activities that they did, it seems that, that’s all that mattered.

    • totaly agree!

      The rebbe said a few times that if removing the rebbes name will make it (a sicha a hora’ah) be eccepted then remve the rebbes name.
      In this case I think the choice is clear that yachad should get the chabad vote. This clarification letter just makes it easier.

  • i grew up chabad 0 over 40 years.

    i grew up chabad %100 over 40 years.
    i went to chabad yeshivas, camps all over the world and shlichus etc…
    i never, ever, ever met a so called “elokisti” ever.

    i did however once see a copy of a pamphlet in a online anti chabad “news” story, that was used to incite hateful lies, besides the fact that it was retarded, it was obviously made by some wacko that did not know how to spell basic chabad words, and many other tell tail signs.

    but what is most surprising that when “a gadol” accepts such MADE UP facts, and makes big proclamations and statements about all of chabad chassidus, unfortunately he’s not the first.

    SHMIRAS HALASHON obviously does not apply in respect to chabad, they ACCEPT such lies WITHOUT even THE LEAST INVESTIGATION.

    feh.

  • excuses!!

    “Some of my best friends are jewish”! What anti emites say to cover up!!
    And those of you critical to mishichistim, do you even get up to daven eith minyan? Do you have a full beard? Just asking!!

  • To comment 8

    Have you forgotten the crazy Baranes that killed the rabbi of tzefat? There aren’t many but there are a number of crazy who think like that..

    • Milhouse

      Baranes is exactly what I meant about a certainly number of clinically insane people being expected in any large group. The man never held any position in any Chabad institution, or had any real connection to Chabad; he was simply a clinically insane person who hung around Chabad, and most of the time wasn’t forcibly expelled. That doesn’t make him part of Chabad, and his existence doesn’t mean there ever was such a faction within Chabad. Kisei Rachamim has its own Baraneses too, simply because a certain percentage of every large set of people will be insane.

      Put it this way: if you asked every person you found in every Chabad House in the world, you would find a few who would agree that there is no such place as Afghanistan, all the pictures from there are faked, and all the soldiers who supposedly died there were really shipped off to be slaves in the mines of Mars or Venus. Does that mean there’s a faction of Chabad that thinks this?! No, it just means there are some seriously nutso people in the world, and some of them happen to be found at Chabad Houses, just as some of them are found in Lakewood and some in Kisei Rachamim.

  • Who is this Elokistim group? address names?

    Just wondering, did he have a meeting with the group? or its leader?
    are they aliens? do they fly their own ship?

    These kind of “leaders” make my blood boil!

    Hey look. a UFO. oh my goodness, what to do? hum….
    Simple,
    let’s bash Chabad.

    did this “rabbi” do his due diligence and true investigation to find true facts for himself?

    Obviously Not.

    There are no so called chabad “elokistim”,
    but there seem to be more than one, “Moron”,
    HaGaon … who are ready to jump up and make big proclamations.

    based on what? based on “info” from a “reliable” source of lies and mach-lo-kes in klal yisroel, especially against chabad.

    These “announcements” have only one intended effect and intention. To make machlokes and distance people from the Rebbe and learning Chassidus Chabad.

    with such friends…

    We need moshiach now!

  • SoCal shliach

    Rabbi Mazouz, in fine brute sefardic tradition, and taking a cue from his protagonist Rabbi O Yosef. Has been known to fly off the handle on more than a few (hundred?) occasions.

    This is just how they are they are they don’t know how to watch their mouths (to say it lightly)

    His handlers told him he better make some sort of apology or they will lose votes (= $$$$$) so he put something together.
    He’s a huge torah scholar and has been a so-called friend of chabad sometimes.
    I guess he’s better than the other jerks over there.
    They’re all scum

  • Ridiculous

    To retract a diatribe during elections is ridiculous and immature. He meant Chabad, and he needs us. End of story.

  • context

    The recording was from 15 years ago when the one and only elokist was in the news. Meir baranes
    It was just after the almost killed rabbi bistrisky z”l. So it makes sence that back then he was attacking baranes.

    • Milhouse

      Baranes was one person; how did R Mazuz talk of “these people”? And he never put a picture of the Rebbe in place of a Shivisi, because he never had a shul in which to do so. That accusation necessarily implied that this alleged group was big enough to have a shul of its own! Where was that shul?

    • anti's propaganda

      When baranes was in the news 15 years ago the media and the anti mishchistim used him to discredit the mishechistim by claiming that they were a large group and saying yechi leads to… that all mishechistim belive as he does.
      Even now they are trying the same trick just read a few comments here and you will see they are trying to associate all mishchistim with baranes
      So it is not shocking that rabbi mazuz bought their propeganda

  • Baloney

    Rabbi Mazuz was going on and on in his speech about Lubavitcher women wearing Sheitlach and about the time Lubavitchers daven etc etc. This has absolutely nothing to with Elokisten or Moshiachisten!!

    This excuse is absolutely baloney!

    Sorry – He is the same bluffer as the others.

  • MH

    these break away groups from the Rebbe’s Chabad all have Personality Disorders. It is scary that they’re using Chasidut for their sickly agendas. We can only recognize those who DO NOT BULLY, FIGHT, DO RETRIBUTION, etc.

  • you reap what you sew

    this whole barannes thing was an attack by the antis on the mishechistim.
    they used a clearly disturbed individual who every mishechist has rejected as a poster boy, they turned him into a ‘movement’ as if there were many many of followers.
    they did untold damage to chabad the rebbe and chasidus, this is just one example

  • Moshe Chaim

    messianism in any form which promotes an individual , especially one who is no longer alive, is a falsehood and detracts from the high reputation of Lubavitch.
    When will this nonsense cease?.

  • Moshe Chaim

    any attempt of identifying the Rebbe as the moshiach is idol worship.
    the Rebbe was not a cult leader promoting himself.

    • Milhouse

      Idol worship?! What are you talking about? How can it be idol worship? What is Moshiach? Some kind of god, ch”v?!

      The fact is that while the Rebbe was alive all chassidim took it for granted that he would be Moshiach, just as before him they thought the Frierdiker Rebbe would be Moshiach, and so back through the generations, and just as the Baal Shem Tov’s talmidim were convinced that he would be, etc. There was a time when all chassidim were convinced that their rebbe would be Moshiach, and the fact that this is no longer found in most chassidisen is because they have lost the entire concept of a rebbe.

  • simcha zirkind

    mair mazuz I know from the 1960 “s
    when I was in Tunisia we worked i a chabad yshiva
    we remained very very good friends

    mazuz told me that his wife lived 10 extra years
    after he received 10 one dollar bills from the rebbe
    but he has this problem about the spin off of ” kuks” that mascarade as chabadniks
    He was in new york I asked him to say a shiur in the Kollel.
    he was afraid they will assalt him
    he is one of the better safardic rabanim

    there are sefardic rabanim that walk around in “kapotis” and claim to be hassidicks

    who knows what is in their hearts and minds
    may hashem bless us all
    kelal yisroal
    with a kosher and happy pesach
    with the giula shilama for dessert

  • Anonymous

    To #19 u better watch what u say about Rabbis becuz i know Rabbi Mazouz Personally and he never spoke bad abt Chabad speaking abt Sheitels and the time some of u wake up to pray he is right becuz lets b honest with eachother that if the Rebbe was alive today he wld not agree with the sheitels women wear today and the time some of the pple wake up to pray so he has full rights to say whatever he wants he is a lot greater than every single Rabbi in Chabad in our days and also possibly the leading rabbi in Israel so before u talk bad about him i would suggest u think twice becuz u dnt want Chas V’Shalom any bad happening to u becuz we all know the consequences that can happen when we talk bad abt Rabbis! Hatzlacha

  • To #22 and #23

    The Rebbe himself promoted/mentioned his father in law – who was not alive- over at least 10,000 times as being Moshiach so what exactly are you talking about?
    Have you forgotten the sicha that the Rebbe proof red that said that the word M’yad (Meaning Mochiach will come immediately) is an acronym for the names of the the last 3 Rebbe”s, including himself.
    May he come M’yad!

    • Don't get sucked in

      He is trying to suck you in to a debate so it will look like you are defending the Elokistim, then he will say that Mishechistim defend the Elokistim.

      They have been doing this dirty trick for a long time. Don’t fall for it.

  • MOSIACH NOW

    The man is great.I dont believe the Rebbe would sanction any of this stuff going on.