Extreme Messianism

The Habad Movement and the Impasse of Charisma

Abstract

The article deals with the ultra-orthodox Jewish movement Habad movement. The movement represents a form of extreme messianism, capable of mobilizing its militants to perform a type of social action which is rational and undoubtedly oriented toward the affirmation of religious and political values. However, it is also a means to an end: if the age of the Messiah has come, its announcement must know no limits. The Habad movement is thus authorized to push the tradition to the very limits, inventing new and innovative repertoires of religious action and narratives. At the same time, the announcement of the Messiah cannot rest or accept compromises, especially not in Eretz Yisrael, that extraordinary place in the universe which is both real and symbolic. The restitution of even the smallest part is perceived not only as an attack on the “lives of the children of Israel” (according to the principle of pikuach nefesh), but also as an intolerable delay in the coming of the Messiah. In this case, messianic extremism is a form of inner-world asceticism which ensures the Habad movement not only social success and a relatively efficient organization, but also a type of rational action: extremism becomes a factor of rationalization in individual and collective life. From being a mystical community of pious Hasidim, it has become a successful modern charismatic enterprise on the market of symbolic and religious goods, able to compete with other socio-religious subjects in the same social environment.