What is Meenut

The Rambam wrote that a Torah observant Jew must affirm the famous 13 ikkarim (fundamental Torah principles) specified by the Rambam, otherwise that Jew is a transgressor and has excluded himself from the Jewish nation.

The Rambam's third ikkar states that Hashem is not a body or a force in a body.

In Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah, Chapter Three, the Rambam lists various categories of sinners "that have no share in the World to Come but suffer excision and loss of identity, and are damned for ever and ever for their exceeding wickedness and sinfulness".

One such category of sinner who has no share in the world to come is a min. A מִין (min) is a halachic term that refers to a person who maintains an atheist or idolatrous intellectual concept of God, even if that person doesn't actually worship idols.

In Hilchot Teshuvah 3:7, the Rambam lists five types of minim: "There are five categories of minim (1) he who says that there is no God and no Omnipotence; (2) he who says that there is an Omnipotence but that there are two or more such; (3) he who says that there is One Lord; but that He is corporeal and has a form; (4) Likewise one who says that He alone is not the First Cause and Creator of all; (5) likewise he who worships a star, or planet, or any other as a mediator between him and the Lord of the universe; every one of these five is a min.”

Idolatrous videos associating the deceased Chabad Rebbe with the atzmus (essence) of Hashem (l’havdil) are being posted on prominent, well developed Chabad sites.

“The Lubavitcher Rebbe Atzmus of HaShem – Chabad Chassidus 101 – Rabbi Simon Jacobson” [Atzmus of Hashem[(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbV-YOpUfcY)

In this video, a certain "rabbi" I refer to as an "Apostle of Chabad" claims that: "...the Rebbe is beyond our comprehension, the Rebbe is Ein Sof...the Rebbe is Elokus..." Should a Lubavitcher chassid read biographies written about the Rebbe

Ein Sof is a term used by Kabbalists to refer to Hashem. Elokus is a term that refers to the properties of Hashem. When certain radical Chabad rabbis claim that "the Rebbe is beyond our comprehension, the Rebbe is Ein Sof...the Rebbe is Elokus...", this represents a complete break with Torah tradition and the establishment of a new, anti-Torah religion.

In my opinion these claims by "Apostles of Chabad" constitute "meenut", i.e. a form of intellectual idolatry. A new religion resembling early Christianity is being promoted here that is utterly in conflict with authentic Judaism. Much as ancient renegade idolatrous Jews promoted early Christianity.

I am not claiming that all Chabadniks subscribe to the radical Christianized viewpoints in those videos. However, I am looking in vain for any prominent Chabad rabbis making videos that publicly object to the idolatrous videos.

Radical Chabad beliefs that likely constitute various forms of “meenut” have been observed both in some high ranking Chabad rabbis and also in the rank and file of Chabad.

Rabbi Cunin (a high ranking Chabad rabbi) seems to be equating the deceased Chabad Rebbe with Hashem (l’havdil):

"The Rebbe runs the world and will save us from exile". Rebbe Runs the World

We have a very serious problem now where ancient forms of idolatry are being reestablished in certain segments of “Orthodox” Judaism.

For some scholarly discussions on the subject of “meenut”, please see the site Identifying Chabad