A number of years ago, there was a group of chassidim of a certain rebbe. The rebbe was known for his many sichos on bein adam lchaveiro. There were many anecdotes of this particular Rebbe performing all sorts of “mofsim”, helping people in all sorts of situations.
The rebbe became so popular among his chassidim that some began to suggest that he is mashiach. At first they were labeled as extremists, but after a while their message began to resonate with more and more people. Eventually, there were reports that the rebbe himself claimed to be mashiach.
The debate continued, with many frum yidden being suspicious of this chassidus, and especially of this group who became known as the “mishichists”. The mishichists began to become more and more radical. When the rebbe eventually left the world of the living, many thought that the radicals would quiet down. But the opposite happened. The mishichists continued to claim that the rebbe was mashiach, even though he was dead.
This situation was very disturbing to many frum yidden, with many asking how this outspoken fringe group can represent yiddishkeit if their hashkafos were so warped. Others argued that the group were shomer torah umitzvos, and did all sorts of chesed, so they should be respected despite their different hashkafos. The debate raged on…
Eventually, a man named Paul started preaching to the mishichists and explained to them that they no longer needed to be shomer torah umitzvos, as long as they continued to believe.
The End
Epilogue
That this story already happened 2000 years ago is scary enough. That there are people doing similar things now and at the same time trying to “kasher” the last time is much much scarier…