Is it Only a Matter of Time?
The parallels between the rise of Early Christianity and what is going on in some factions of Chabad is well known and has been extensively written and argued about by people with more knowledge that I have.
What is less known because it is maybe just beginning is the weirdish cult-like following starting behind Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin. It's one thing to argue that his sentence is too long, that the federal guidelines are unjust, that he didn't get a fair shake, whatever. It's another thing completely to use Nazi comparisons when referencing the judges and call for their deaths, like several comments did here and here. That's just out of control rhetoric.
But there's another strange vibe from these websites, almost as if Chabad is slowly coalescing around another leader. Every week Shalom Mordechai writes a "dvar torah" from prison. That in itself is very strange to me. Who does that? Moreover, as this case winds down, it seems that he is becoming more and more of a martyr-like figure. Take, for example, comment #23 from here:
ANI MAAMIN!!!!
What Chizzuk!!!
REB SHOLOM HAS THE NESHUMA OF THE REBBE INSIDE BURNING INSIDE OF HIM!
RABBI SHOLOM HATZADDIK SHALITA!
I mean, is that a normal thing to say about someone who is in prison for a fraud conviction? Even if you think the sentence is too harsh? Shlita? I'm thinking that if SMR plays this well and milks his stay in prison, a little mini-nesius is not out of the question. At the very least, I expect people to line up and ask for brachos or for advice in issues of emunah.
On the other hand, maybe I am completely clueless and out of touch and the average Joe Shmoe in Crown Heights couldn't care less anymore about SMR and is sick to death of all these stupid news stories. Do these websites portray the community in a false light? Is there only a handful of crazy individuals who keep on posting the same crap? What say you, live journal?