The OU's Executive Vice President Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb writes:
…In the absence of a leader, there has been a messianic reaction. Based on fragmentary remarks by the Rebbe himself, many of his followers believe that he is the Messiah, and that he will return from the dead to once again lead his followers, and not only his followers, but all the world, into the Messianic era. The belief is certainly not mainstream Judaism, and in the eyes of many is a blasphemy to Judaism no different from the messianic beliefs of Christianity. That the Rebbe's great piety, scholarship, and love of Israel should be sullied by such an unacceptable heresy is a grievous tragedy.…