Rabbi Tokayer

Our synagogue recently had a Sunday morning breakfast with Rabbi Marvin Tokayer, recognized expert on Jews and the Far East. He gave a talk that was both informative and enjoyable, appealing to a broad cross-section of the membership.

At the end of the talk he entertained a variety of questions. One question concerned his relationship with the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Rabbi Tokayer naturally declined to answer the question, correctly pointing out that it was not the topic of the day. For this, he was naturally praised by Rabbi Block.

Of course, Rabbi Tokayer had a long relationship with Rabbi Schneerson. For one thing, the Rebbe was the one who told Rabbi Tokayer to go to Japan in the first place:

"When the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, arranged for a young Rabbi Marvin Tokayer to serve Jews across Asia from a post in Tokyo, the former U.S. Air Force chaplain didn’t understand why he had been singled out for such a task. Sure, he had been stationed in Tokyo during his stint in the military, but he didn’t speak Japanese. He was engaged to be married to an Israeli woman who wasn’t too keen about travelling to such a foreign land. And he wasn’t even a Chabad-Lubavitch Chasid."

For the rest, click here.

And Rabbi Tokayer's relationship with Rabbi Schneerson predates his Far East mission, going back to his college days:

"I wrote a letter to the Rebbe, in Hebrew, outlining what I was studying, and explained that I had some philosophical questions that I would like to discuss with him, if possible.

"Within a couple of days, I was contacted by the Rebbe’s secretariat and given an appointment for three weeks later at 3:00 AM."

For the rest, click here.

Of course, we wouldn't necessarily assume that Rabbi Tokayer would approve of Chabad philosophy, or of the activities of certain Chabad groups after the Rebbe's passing. In fact, we can't even necessarily assume that Rabbi Tokayer approved of everything the Rebbe himself said or did. What we do learn, though, is the most normal Jewish people don't consider Rabbi Schneerson or Chabad to be the big bogey man that some people would have us believe.