Rabbi Michoel Green: Taking a stand for humanity’s rights to medical and religious freedom

Rabbi Michoel Green and his wife Rebbetzin Dvora Green have served as the beloved leaders of the Westborough, MA Jewish community for the past two decades. Rabbi Green is highly esteemed by both Jews and non-Jews around the world for his passionate teaching, writing, lecturing, and spiritual leadership. The couple, along with their twelve children, are well known for their loving, open home where everyone is welcome.  

Since the beginning of the COVID mandates in 2020, Rabbi Green has spoken out with a clear, unabashed voice for medical and religious freedoms for all. 

First openly sharing his views on the tyranny of lockdowns and mask mandates on social media, Rabbi Green went on to boldly denounce the COVID shot when it became available, using principles from his religious tradition to back up his claims. He even composed a form letter people can use to “fire” their doctor if they encourage their patients to get the COVID shot. 

Holding firm to his belief that the safety of our children is paramount and that parents have a right to make their own decisions about what is best for their families, Rabbi Green has written thousands of religious exemptions to help families who sought to avoid the COVID mRNA shot. 

He has also testified before numerous state legislatures on behalf of the rights and freedoms of families from all backgrounds.  

These are just a few examples of Rabbi Green’s courageous activism efforts in the face of medical and religious tyranny.  

In these times, the cost of speaking out for truth and freedom can be high, and Rabbi Green has felt this full force. In January 2021, his strong public stance on medical freedom earned him a disavowal by the Chabad Jewish organization for which he has been a long-time emissary. Despite the painful injustice of Rabbi Green’s dissociation from the organization, he has continued to speak out and to lead his Westborough congregation undaunted: 

“My loyalties never lay with a movement, nor did I ever see myself as a follower of any movement. Instead, I am and will always be a lifelong disciple and emissary of the Rebbe (Menachem Mendel Schneerson, founder of the Chabad movement). No one can take this awesome role away from me, as it is inherently who I am. In fact, it is precisely my adherence to the Rebbe's teachings that prompted me to speak out in recent years to advocate for children's education, and in protest of medical tyranny that interferes with our religious freedoms and essential human liberties." 

"Censorship and suppression of dissent cannot be tolerated in free society. Bodily autonomy and informed consent are sacrosanct. It is a grave departure from Judaic values to engage in such unspeakable behavior, even if one believes there is some perceived societal benefit. To quote the Rebbe, 'the ends do not justify the means.'” 

In a more recent attack on Rabbi Green’s character and beliefs, the State of Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families is now threatening to remove some of the Greens’ beloved children from their home under fabricated charges of neglect. This attack came right at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah (September 25, 2022), the Jewish New Year, and continued through the Jewish high holidays in the weeks that followed.  

Friends and followers of the Greens near and far have stood behind them during this tumultuous time. They passionately maintain their views on Rabbi Green as an inspiring, caring leader and loving father. Carol Langley of Brockton, a supporter of the family, insists, “The children are happy, healthy and bright. They are clearly loved, cherished and well cared for. An organization intended to protect children should never be allowed to be weaponized or utilized in a retaliatory manner, due to a parent’s publicly stated belief.” 

Attorney Roman Brik vouched for Rabbi Green’s outstanding character in an email to DCF, stating that he is “one of the world’s most well-known and outspoken spiritual leaders of the Jewish faith, a stellar parent, and a congregational Rabbi, followed by thousands of devoted Jews and non-Jews in the US and abroad.”  

Despite the government’s attempt at revenge for Rabbi Green’s outspoken advocacy on behalf of Constitutional rights, the Green family remains confident that their malicious efforts will not succeed. They hold to their faith in God as a source of strength and hope. 

During the fall holiday of Sukkot, which commemorates God’s provision for the Israelite people in the wilderness following the Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt, Rabbi Green delivered a joyful message in which he points to God as the source of true freedom: 

“In our times, we are experiencing the birth pangs of a modern-day Exodus, in which we are finally freeing ourselves from the illegitimate tyrants who have hijacked our society at almost every level. Just like in the original Exodus, the only way to become truly free is to place our trust only in God Almighty.” 

“We will not bow to their [State of MA] medical tyranny, or any tyranny for that matter.” 

Readers may give to help cover the mounting legal costs associated with the attacks on the Green family by visiting givebutter.com/Chabad. Please specify that your donation is toward Rabbi Green’s legal defense.