Chabad-Lubavitch is a
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
movement in
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
. One of the world's largest Hasidic movements, it is based in the
Crown HeightsCrown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
neighborhood of
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. The name "Chabad" (Hebrew: חב"ד) is an
acronymAcronyms and initialisms are abbreviations that are formed using the initial components in a phrase or name. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
for
ChochmahChokhmah in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the uppermost of the Sephirot of the right line . It is derived from the Hebrew word chokhmah which means "wisdom". It is to the bottom right of Keter, and with Binah across it. Under it are the sephirot of Chesed and Netzach...
,
BinahBinah, , in the Kabbalah of Judaism, is the second intellectual Sephirah on the tree of life. It sits on the level below Keter , across from Chokmah and directly above Gevurah...
,
Da'atDaat or Daas in Jewish mysticism, called Kabbalah, is the location where all ten sephirot in the Tree of Life are united as one....
: "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge," and "Lubavitch" is the only extant branch of a family of Hasidic groups once known collectively as the Chabad movement; the names are now used interchangeably.
Founded in the late
18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, Western historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work...
by
Shneur Zalman of LiadiShneur Zalman of Liadi , also known as the Baal HaTanya, , was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia...
, the movement takes its name from
LyubavichiLyubavichi is a village in Rudnyansky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. In the days of the Russian Empire, it was a shtetl in Orshansky Uyezd, in Mogilev Governorate. It is known to have existed since at least 1654. For two weeks in 1812, was occupied by Napoleonic troops. Had 2500 inhabitants...
, the
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n town that served as the movement's headquarters for over a century. The movement thrived in Russia and
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, despite persecution from the
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
government and, later, the Nazi
HolocaustThe Holocaust , also known as The Shoah is the term generally used to describe the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, a program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany,...
. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, who arrived in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in March 1940, planted the seeds of the movement in the United States, and his son-in-law, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
, began turning the movement into a powerful force in Jewish life. His policies led to the establishment of Chabad institutions in over 900 cities around the world, and in the early 21st century there were an estimated 3,300 Chabad institutions around the world in 75 countries, providing
outreachOrthodox Jewish outreach commonly referred to as Kiruv or Keruv , is the collective work or movement of Orthodox Judaism that reaches out to non-Orthodox Jews to believe in God, engage in Torah study, and practice the Mitzvot in the hope that they will live according to Orthodox Jewish law...
and educational activities for
JewThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
s through Jewish community centers,
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer....
s, schools and camps.
The movement has over 200,000 adherents, and up to one million Jews attend Chabad services at least once a year. Chabad's adherents, known as Chabadniks and/or Lubavitchers , follow Chabad
traditionsMinhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
and
prayer servicesNusach Ari means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the AriZal, in the 16th century, and, more particularly, the version of it used by Chabad Hasidim....
based on
Lurianic kabbalahIsaac Luria , also called Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi and known as "The Ari", "Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal," meaning "The Lion," was a foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine...
. As "Hasidim", they follow the
ChassidusHasidic Philosophy or Hasidus are the teachings, interpretations of Judaism, and mysticism articulated by the modern Hasidic movement...
of Israel ben Eliezer.
Chabad-Lubavitch has had seven leaders or
rebbeRebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
s, most recently the late
Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
, who succeeded his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn in 1950 and served until his death in 1994.
Nomenclature
In the seminal Hasidic work,
TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
, Shneur Zalman of Liadi defines "Chabad Hasidism" as "מוח שליט על הלב" ("mind ruling over the heart/emotions"). Chabad Chasidism considers this emphasis to make it fundamentally different from other forms of Hasidism, which are referred to as "
Chagas"; this acronym refers to the emotional attributes of
Chesed ("kindness"),
Gevurah ("power"), and
Tifereth ("beauty"), and implies that relatively speaking other Chasidic groups place a lesser emphasis on intellectual comprehension of Chasidic philosophy than that found in Chabad teaching.
Chabad is sometimes written as
Habad in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
and in all the phonetic equivalents of the name in all the countries they operate in. Thus, as an example,
Jabad is the
SpanishSpanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
form.
In
Hasidic JudaismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
, a dynasty normally takes its name from the town in
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
where it was based.
LyubavichiLyubavichi is a village in Rudnyansky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. In the days of the Russian Empire, it was a shtetl in Orshansky Uyezd, in Mogilev Governorate. It is known to have existed since at least 1654. For two weeks in 1812, was occupied by Napoleonic troops. Had 2500 inhabitants...
(called in Yiddish, which is usually rendered
Lubavitch in English) is a small town now in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, (then Imperial Russia). The name of the town means "city of love". The movement was founded in
LioznaLiozna or Liozno is an urban type settlement in Vitsebsk Voblast, Belarus, the capital of the Liozno District. It is located close to the border with Russia by the Vitsebsk-Smolensk railroad branch and highway, on the Moshna River...
, and then moved to Liadi, but it moved to Lubavitch after the Napoleonic War, and was based there for 102 years.
Philosophy of Chabad
In a break with early Hasidism, Chabad philosophy emphasises mind over emotions. The founder of the Chabad philosophy, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, developed an intellectual system and an approach to
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
intended to answer criticisms of Hasidism as anti-intellectual. Through an approach based partly on Kabbalah, Chabad philosophy methodizes an understanding of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
.
Chabad philosophy incorporates the teachings of
KabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
as a means to deal with one's daily life and psyche. It teaches that every aspect of the world exists only through the intervention of God. Through an intellectual approach and meditations, Chabad teaches that one can attain complete control over one's inclinations.
"Chabad"
According to Shneur Zalman's seminal work
TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
, the intellect consists of three interconnected processes:
Chochma (wisdom),
Bina (understanding), and
Da'at (knowledge). While other branches of Hasidism focused primarily on the idea that "God desires the heart," Rabbi Shneur Zalman argued that God also desires the mind, and that without the mind the heart was useless. With the Chabad philosophy he elevated the mind above the heart, arguing that
"...understanding is the mother of...fear and love of God. These are born of knowledge and profound contemplation of the greatness of God."
According to
Jonathan SacksJonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks, Kt is the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth. His Hebrew name is Yaakov Zvi....
, in Rabbi Shneur Zalman's system
Chochma represents "the creation in its earliest potentiality; the idea of a finite world as was first born in the divine mind.
Binah is the idea conceived in its details, the result of contemplation.
Da'at is, as it were, the commitment to creation, the stage at which the idea becomes an active intention." While in Kabbala there are clearly delineated levels of holiness, in Chabad philosophy these are grounded in the mundanities of people's inner lives. So in reality — according to the Chabad analogy —
Chochma is the birth of an idea in the mind,
Binah is the contemplation, and
Da'at is the beginning of the actualisation of an idea. Sacks argues that this provided a psychological formulation that enabled the hasid to substantiate his mystical thoughts.
"This was an important advance because bridging the gap between spiritual insight and daily behaviour had always been a problem for Jewish mysticismMysticism is the pursuit of communion with, identity with, or conscious awareness of an ultimate reality, divinity, spiritual truth, or God through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on a practice or practices intended to nurture those experiences or...
."
Chabad philosophy argues that man is neither static nor passive nor dependent on others to connect to God. Shneur Zalman rejected all ideas of aristocratic birth and elitism — he argued for meritocracy where all were capable of growth, every Jew — in his view — was capable of becoming a
TzadikTzadik is a title which is generally given to those who are considered to be righteous such as a spiritual master or rebbe. The root of the word tzadik, is tzedek , which means justice or righteousness. This term thus refers to one who acts righteously.In Arabic the word/name "saadiq" , has a...
.
Chabad can be contrasted with the
Chagat (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet) school of Hasidism. While all Hasidim have a certain focus on the emotions, Chagat saw emotions as a reaction to physical stimuli, such as dancing singing or beauty. Shneur Zalman, on the other hand, taught that the emotions must be led by the mind, and thus the focus of Chabad thought was to be
TorahThe term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts...
study and prayer rather than
esotericismEsotericism or Esoterism is a term with two basic meanings. In the dictionary sense of the term, it signifies the holding of esoteric opinions, and derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward", mystic. Its antonym is exoteric...
and song. As a Talmudist, Shneur Zalman endeavored to place Kabbalah and Hasidism on a rational basis. In
TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
, he defines his approach as "מוח שליט על הלב" ("the brain ruling the heart").
Tanya
TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
, Shneur Zalman's moral magnum opus, is the first schematic treatment of Hasidic moral philosophy and its metaphysical foundations. The original name of the first book is
Sefer Shel Beinonim, the "Book of the Intermediates." It is also known as
Likutei Amarim — "Collected Sayings."
Sefer Shel Beinonim analyzes the inner struggle of the individual and the path to resolution. The philosophy is based on the notion that man himself is not evil; rather, every individual has an inner conflict that is characterized with two different inclinations, the good and the bad.
Some have argued that Shneur Zalman's moderation and synthesis saved Hasidism from becoming a Jewish breakaway movement, keeping it within the fold. Avrum Erlich writes: "Shneur Zalman was instrumental in the preservation of Hasidism within mainstream Judaism. It allowed for some of the mystically inclined Hasidim to reacquaint themselves with traditional scholarship and the significance of strict halakhic observance and behavior, concerns with which other Hasidic schools were sometimes less exacting. Shneur Zalman also provided the opportunity for traditionalists and scholars to access the Hasidic mood and its spiritual integrity without betraying their traditional scholarly allegiances."
Torah study
Shneur Zalman fought against the perception that was prevalent in the early years of Hasidism that the movement neglected Talmudic study by focusing too heavily on mysticism and obscurantism. He emphasized that mysticism without Talmudic study was worthless — even dangerous. Without Talmudic study, he argued, the mind could never be elevated — and if the mind is not elevated, the
soulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
will starve. On the other hand, he argued that while Torah was to be the focus of all study, it was also important to integrate the Torah's teachings into one's life. In a letter to Rabbi
Joshua ZeitlinJoshua Zeitlin, , , was a Russian rabbinical scholar and philanthropist. He was a pupil of the Talmudist Rabbi Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg who was the author of Sha'agat Aryeh; and, being an expert in political economy, he stood in close relations with Prince Potemkin, the favorite of...
of Shklow, Shneur Zalman wrote: "The Hasidim, too, set aside time for study. The difference between them and the
MisnagdimMisnagdim or mitnagdim is a Hebrew word meaning "opponents". It is the plural of misnaged or mitnaged. Most prominent among the misnagdim was Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman , commonly known as the Vilna Gaon or GRA...
is this: the latter set time for study and they are limited by time, whereas the former make the Torah their path of life."
Shneur Zalman taught that Torah must be studied joyously — studying without joy is frowned upon. He provided a metaphor: when a
mitzvahThis article is about commandments in Judaism. For the Jewish rite of passage, see Bar Mitzvah and Bat MitzvahMitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments given in the Torah and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later for a total of 620...
is fulfilled an angel is created. But if the
mitzvah was joyless then the angel too will be dispirited. Thus, while Shneur Zalman emphasized that Hasidism focus on traditional Jewish scholarship rather than on mysticism, he was emphatic that this must be done with zeal and joy.
Role of a Rebbe
In its earlier formulations, Hasidic thought elevated the
RebbeRebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the identical Hebrew word Rabbi. It mostly refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...
(Hasidic leader, in this context) to a level above that of a typical person. A rebbe was closer to God, his prayers were more amenable to Him, and a Hasid should satisfy himself with attachment to the rebbe and hence indirectly to God. A rebbe was to be a living example of perfection and would concern himself with intellectualism on behalf of his followers. According to Sacks, Chabad stressed the individual responsibilities of every Jew: "The rebbe ... became more of a teacher and adviser, recognising the vocation of each of his followers, guiding them towards it, uncovering their strengths, and rejoicing in their achievements." Shneur Zalman focused on training his followers to become spiritually self-sufficient and to turn to their respective rebbes for instructions rather than intercession with God, miracles or blessings, though he did not teach that a rebbe does not possess the same powers as taught in other groups.
Role of a Hasid
Hasidism traditionally demanded that every Hasid personally participate in the dissemination of Torah and Judaism to one's surroundings and seek out the benefit of one's fellow Jew. Rabbi
Sholom Dovber SchneersohnSholom Dovber Schneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the fifth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement...
said:
A Hasid is he who surrenders himself for the benefit of another. Beyond this, Chabad demands
pnimiyut (inwardness): one should not act superficially, as a mere act of faith, but rather with inner conviction.
M. M. Schneerson's philosophy
Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson strove, in his writings and lectures, to attain unity between opposites. He aimed to unite the mundane aspects of the world with the aspect of "godliness" in the world. Schneerson emphasized the concept of creating an abode for God on this world. Consequently, he sought to unite the modern world with the teachings of Judaism. He felt that the world was not a contradiction to the word of God, and it was to be embraced rather than shunned.
Schneerson taught that modern technology is not a contradiction to spirituality. For that reason, Chabad has consistently utilized modern technology to spread Judaism and Jewish thought. Since their inception, Chabad has used the radio, and later television, satellite feeds, and the internet to spread their message.
Role of the rebbe
Schneerson emphasised Chabad's view of a rebbe as a "collective soul", connecting his disciples with God. In a letter written several months after the passing of his father-in-law and predecessor, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, Schneerson writes that the role of a Rebbe is to develop the minds and hearts and to stimulating the faith of his followers.
Politics
Schneerson took a very hawkish view of the Israeli-Arab conflict. He maintained that as a matter of Jewish law, any territorial concession on Israel's part would endanger the lives of all the Jews in the Land of Israel and is therefore forbidden. He also insisted that even discussing the possibility of such concessions showed weakness and would encourage Arab attacks, and thus endanger Jewish lives.
In USA domestic politics Schneerson supported government involvement in education, welcomed the establishment of the
United States Department of EducationThe United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
in 1980, but insisted that part of a school's educational mission was to inculcate in children the religious values inherent in the Seven Laws of Noah. He called for the introduction of a
Moment of silenceA moment of silence is the expression for a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture of respect, particularly in mourning for those who have recently died or as part of a commemoration ceremony...
at the beginning of the school day, and for students to be encouraged to use this time for such improving thoughts or prayers as their parents might suggest.
Rabbi Schneerson demanded in 1981 that the USA be energy independent, as the dependence and hence subjugation to foreign nations could cause the country to concede to matters that are the opposite of justice, fairness, and goodness. He said that this can be done through solar energy, pointing out that in the south there is bountiful sunlight. This should be done because of God’s commandment — to fully utilize the entire potential granted by God.
Bringing the Messiah
Schneerson became infused with a drive to "accelerate the coming of the Messiah". With increasing frequency over a period of four decades, he repeated that the Messiah's arrival was imminent.
He instructed his followers to become active in
kiruv — with the aim of educating non-orthodox Jews about orthodox Jewish practices.
This approach to outreach became known as
Ufaratzta (from Genesis 28:14), a Hebrew word meaning
"you shall spread out" to implore his followers to bring the messianic times closer by spreading Jewish observance.
The Rebbes of Lubavitch
The movement originated in
BelarusBelarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel , Mahilyow and Vitebsk...
in
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, then part of Imperial Russia under the
TsarTsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or Tzar in English, is a Slavic term with Bulgarian origins used to designate certain monarchs...
s. Chabad traces its roots back to the beginnings of
Hasidic JudaismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
.
- Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi , also known as the Baal HaTanya, , was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia...
(1745–1812), was the youngest student of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch and founded the Chabad dynasty (he is known as the Alter Rebbe). He defined the direction of his movement and influenced Hasidic JudaismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
through his two most famous works the TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
and the Shulchan Aruch HaRavShulchan Aruch HaRav is a codification of halakha by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, known during his lifetime as HaRav and after his lifetime as the Alter Rebbe .At a young age, Rabbi Shneur Zalman was asked by his teacher, Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch to recodify the Shulchan...
. TanyaTanya is a book more commonly known by its opening word although titled Likkutei Amarim , an early work of Hasidic Judaism, written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, in 1797 CE.The Tanya is the fundamental work of Chabad Philosophy, as it describes the general Chabad...
is primarily mystical and expounds upon the ZoharThe Zohar is widely considered the most important work of Kabbalah, or . It is a mystical commentary on the Torah , written in medieval Aramaic...
. The Shulchan Aruch HaRavShulchan Aruch HaRav is a codification of halakha by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, known during his lifetime as HaRav and after his lifetime as the Alter Rebbe .At a young age, Rabbi Shneur Zalman was asked by his teacher, Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch to recodify the Shulchan...
is an authoritative work on Jewish lawHalakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
. The names "Schneersohn" and "Schneerson" began as patronymicA patronym or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronym. Each is a means of conveying lineage...
s by Rabbi Shneur Zalman's descendants. The first form of this name was "Shneuri" (Hebrew for "of Shneur"). This was later changed to "Schneersohn".
- Rabbi Dovber Schneuri
Dovber Schneuri was the second Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement. Rabbi Dovber was the first Chabad rebbe to live in the town of Lyubavichi , the town for which this Hasidic dynasty is named...
(1773–1827), son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman. Known as the Mitteler Rebbe. He authored many works, which aimed to categorize and render accessible mystical pursuits, particularly the various states of meditation in prayer. His magnum opus Sha'ar HaYichud aims to systematically explain the concept of God's unity with the universe.
- Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn also known as the Tzemach Tzedek was an Orthodox rabbi and the third Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement.-Biography:...
(1789–1866), grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and son-in-law of Dovber, known for his responsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Catholic Church:...
named Tzemach Tzedek. He was a major hasidic posekPosek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive....
of his time. He also edited and annotated many of the Alter Rebbe's works, as well as authoring a vast amount of his own mystical works. He was politically active in resisting the HaskalahHaskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
in Russia, and to this end forged an alliance with Rabbi Yitzchok of Volozhin, a major leader of the misnagdimMisnagdim or mitnagdim is a Hebrew word meaning "opponents". It is the plural of misnaged or mitnaged. Most prominent among the misnagdim was Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman , commonly known as the Vilna Gaon or GRA...
.
- Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn
Shmuel Schneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement.-Biography:...
(1834–1882), youngest son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel, known as "The Rebbe Maharash". His most famous saying is Lechatchile ariber — don't bother trying to go around or under obstacles, go right over them. He was politically active in defending Jewish interests against antisemitic elements in the TsarTsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or Tzar in English, is a Slavic term with Bulgarian origins used to designate certain monarchs...
's government.
- Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
Sholom Dovber Schneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the fifth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement...
(1860–1920), son of Shmuel, known as "the Rebbe Rashab". He is known for founding the Tomchei TemimimTomchei Temimim is the central Yeshiva of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement...
yeshivaYeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for study of its traditional, central texts...
network and his opposition to secular and religious political ZionismZionism is the international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine. The area was the Jewish Biblical homeland, called the Land of Israel...
. His long essays on Chasidus (Ma'amorim) are studied in all Chabad yeshivas as central to a proper understanding of Chasidus.
- Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn (1880–1950), only son of Sholom Dovber, known as the "Rebbe Rayatz" or the "Frierdiker Rebbe" (Yiddish:Previous Rebbe). He was the first Lubavitcher Rebbe to visit and later settle in the United States. Following the tradition of his predecessors, he wrote lengthy complex ma'amorim, but also dedicated much time to more basic ma'amorim suitable for beginners. He kept a diary in which he recorded Hasidic stories he had heard; many excerpts of this diary have been published, and these are a major source of knowledge about both general Hasidic history as well as Chabad history in particular.
- Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
(1902–1994), fifth in paternal line from Menachem Mendel and son-in-law of the previous rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. He was successful in expanding the ranks of Chabad and spreading Orthodox Judaism in general. Even after his death he is revered as the leader of the Chabad movement.
Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of LiadiShneur Zalman of Liadi , also known as the Baal HaTanya, , was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia...
was the founder of the Chabad school of Hasidism. He became involved in the early Hasidic movement. His background as a youth had been in traditional
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
study rather than hasidism. He was a prominent as well as the youngest disciple of Rabbi
Dovber of MezeritchRabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement...
— principal disciple and successor of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of general hasidism — and was appointed Rabbi in the town of Liozna, later Liadi. Over time Chabad branched out into a number of dynastic groups in towns such as Lubavitch, Liadi, and Kapost. Doctrinal differences between these groups were minimal. Since the early 20th century, the other dynasties have ended and Lubavitch alone remains as a cohesive group.
The
Alter Rebbe became not only the leader of his own hasidic movement but a prominent figure in Hasidism in general through his writings. He was the first to codify the philosophy of Hasidism in a comprehensive way and the first to put the customs and
halacha of hasidism into book form. He was the most prominent exponent of Hasidism throughout his life, and his influence on the movement was profound. He directed the movement away from obscurantism and towards more traditional forms of study. Chabad as a school of thought changed Hasidism, and this gave the Chabad movement prestige.
He was twice arrested by the Russian authorities of suspicion of sedition or spying - the exact details remain contended to this day, although the accusations against him were certainly false.
He supported the Tsar against Napoleon in French invasion of Russia (1812) arguing that the emancipation of the Jews would lead to laxity in observance. His death in 1812, while fleeing from Napoleon left the question of succession open.
Dovber Schneuri
Schneuri moved with the followers who preferred him to the small border town of
LyubavichiLyubavichi is a village in Rudnyansky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia. In the days of the Russian Empire, it was a shtetl in Orshansky Uyezd, in Mogilev Governorate. It is known to have existed since at least 1654. For two weeks in 1812, was occupied by Napoleonic troops. Had 2500 inhabitants...
. He established a Yeshiva in Lubavitch, one of the earliest Hasidic yeshivas.
Like his father he was the subject of an arrest in 1828. DovBer began a campaign (in 1822, or 1823) to urge Jews to learn trades and skilled factory work. He continued in his father's philosophical path, encouraging the study of
kabbalahKabbalah is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mystical aspect of Judaism. It is a set of esoteric teachings that is meant to explain the relationship between an infinite, eternal and essentially unknowable Creator with the finite and mortal universe of His creation...
alongside traditional halachic texts. He served as the Rebbe for 15 years, dying in 1827.
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Menachem Mendel SchneersohnMenachem Mendel Schneersohn also known as the Tzemach Tzedek was an Orthodox rabbi and the third Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement.-Biography:...
, a grandson of the
Alter Rebbe, born in 1789, is known as the
Tzemach Tzedek, the title of his
responsaResponsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Catholic Church:...
. In 1806 he married his first cousin, Dovber's daughter Chaya Mushka, also born in 1789. Upon Dovber's death, he became the prime candidate for succession; after a 3-year interregnum during which he tried to persuade the chasidim to accept Dovber's son Menachem-Nachum, or brother Chaim-Avraham, he accepted the leadership in 1831. He was active in the opposition to the
HaskalahHaskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
(enlightenment Jews). In retaliation, the maskilim slandered him to the government several times between 1840-1842. However his services to the crown earned him the title "hereditary honored citizen". He served as Rebbe for 35 years until his death in 1866. He is buried in Lubavitch.
Shmuel Schneersohn
Shmuel SchneersohnShmuel Schneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement.-Biography:...
, the seventh son of Menachem Mendel, took over for his father following his death and served as Rebbe of the movement until his own death in 1882. As a leader of a prominent Hasidic grouping, he became active in fighting Anti-Semitic decrees and pogroms in Russia and beyond. He traveled widely to places such as St. Petersburg,
KievKiev or Kyiv , is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
to this end.
Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
Sholom Dovber SchneersohnSholom Dovber Schneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the fifth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch chasidic movement...
, Shmuel's second son, rose to prominence interceding on behalf of the Jews in a number of issues including the
May LawsThe May Laws were anti-Jewish regulations enacted on May 15 , 1882, by Czar Alexander III of Russia that were described as "temporary" but remained in effect for more than thirty years.-History:...
. Although he fulfilled many of the functions of Rebbe after his father's death in 1882, he didn't officially accept the leadership until 1892, after his elder brother, Zalman Aharon, had moved from Lubavitch to Vitebsk. In 1897 he established the
Tomchei TemimimTomchei Temimim is the central Yeshiva of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement...
yeshiva.
He was a fierce critic of secular
ZionismZionism is the international political movement that originally supported the reestablishment of a homeland for the Jewish People in Palestine. The area was the Jewish Biblical homeland, called the Land of Israel...
and a proponent of Jews taking on factory work and farming. He kept the Lubavitch movement out of the
World Agudath IsraelWorld Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
when it formed in 1912. He died in 1920, after almost 40 years of stewardship of Lubavitch.
Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn
Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, the only son of Sholom Dovber took charge of the movement on the death of his father and led it until his death in 1950. He fought against the Bolsheviks by attempting to preserve Jewish life in Russia. In 1927 he was arrested and imprisoned in the Spalerno prison in Leningrad, and sentenced to death for spreading Judaism. After international protests his life was spared and he went on a world tour in the early 1930s. He returned to
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2009 was estimated at 1,709,781, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000...
in 1934, disillusioned with the secularism of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He stayed in Warsaw with his Hasidim through 1940 and the capture of the city by the Nazis. A desperate struggle to save his life ensued. Ultimately he was granted diplomatic immunity, and arrived in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
in March 1940, reputedly with the help of Admiral
Wilhelm CanarisWilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
. Most of the Chabad
YeshivaYeshiva or yeshivah , or metivta or mesivta ) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for study of its traditional, central texts...
system was destroyed by
BolshevikThe Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903...
governments and the Nazi invasion in 1941, and many of its students were killed.
His ten years in New York saw the seeds of Lubavitch emissary work, and its messianic drive that was later taken on by his son-in-law and successor
Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
. In 1948, on his instruction
Kfar ChabadKfar Khabad is a Chabad-Lubavitch village in central Israel. Located between Beit Dagan and Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Lod Valley Regional Council. In 2007 it had a population of 5,100.-History:...
was established in
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
.
Succession
He had three daughters, the oldest, Chana, married Rabbi
Shemaryahu GuraryRabbi Shemaryahu Gurary, also known by his Hebrew initials as The Rashag, was an Orthodox rabbi belonging to the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. His father was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Gurary. He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn , known as Rebbe Rayatz, the sixth Rebbe of the...
. The second daughter,
Chaya MushkaChaya Mushka Schneerson referred to by Lubavitchers as The Rebbetzin was the wife of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism. She was the second of three daughters of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok...
, married Menachem Mendel Schneerson. The youngest daughter married Mendel Hornstein, and died alongside him in the Holocaust. Schneerson and Gurary became the candidates for succession on Yosef Yitzchak's death. After one year of declining to take over, Schneerson accepted leadership and turned the movement from a fairly prominent Hasidic sect into a large organization with a presence throughout the world.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who had been living in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
and
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, since 1933, escaped from Paris via Nice in 1941 and joined his father-in-law in the
Crown HeightsCrown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
section of
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
,
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. The worldwide headquarters of the Chabad movement is at
770 Eastern Parkway770 Eastern Parkway is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in the United States of America.-History:...
in the neighborhood of
Crown Heights, BrooklynCrown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
, and is referred to as "770" by Chabad adherents. Since assuming the mantle of leadership in 1951, aside from 2 short visits to the movement's upstate sleep away camp, and monthly visits to the gravesite of his predecessor, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn in Queens, NY, the Rebbe never left Crown Heights until his death in 1994.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
On
Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
's accession to the post of Rebbe a year after his father-in-law's death, he began turning the movement into a powerful force in Jewish life. His policies led to the establishment of Chabad institutions in over 900 cities around the world. He inspired many of his followers to dedicate their life's work to Chabad by talking of the impending messianic redemption.
His regular talk of the coming of the messiah — and what some say are hints that he was to be the long promised saviour of the Jews — led to the emergence of the idea that he was going to reveal himself as the messiah. This belief — first openly professed by
Shalom Dov WolpoRabbi Shalom Dov Wolpo, also Sholom Ber Wolpe, is a prominent religious author and political activist in Israel and a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi....
in a 1984 book became commonplace within the movement in the years leading up to his death.
The fragmentation of the movement from the top down into rival camps has not seriously impeded Chabad's activities around the world — indeed, it continues to open new institutions on a regular basis. However, the lack of the Rebbe's central authority has led to controversy within the movement as the competing factions vie for power and control. there are 3,300 Chabad institutions around the world. there were Chabad centers in 75 countries.
Adherents
Chabad is currently thought to be the third or fourth largest
HasidicHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
movement in
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
in terms of numbers of adherents. There are more than 200,000 adherents to the movement, and up to a million Jews attend Chabad services at least once a year.
Emissaries
Following the initiative of the sixth
Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson spurred on the movement to what has become known as
shlichus ("serving as an emissary [performing outreach]") after becoming
Rebbe in 1950–1951. As a result, Chabad
shluchim ("emissaries", sing.
shliach) have moved all over the world with the stated mission of persuading non-observant Jews to adopt Orthodox Jewish observance. They assist Jews with all their religious needs, as well as with physical assistance and spiritual guidance and teaching. The stated goal is to encourage Jews to learn more about their Jewish heritage and to practice Judaism.
The movement, motivated by Schneerson, has trained and
ordainedSemikhah , also semichut , or semicha lerabbanut is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
thousands of
rabbiRabbi is the term in Judaism for a religious teacher. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ‘great’ in many senses, including "revered." The word comes from the Semitic root R-B-B, and is cognate to Arabic ربّ rabb, meaning "lord" Rabbi ' onMouseout='HidePop("65678")' href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mohel">ritual circumcisers
A mohel is a Jewish man who performs the Jewish ritual of Brit milah .-Biblical origins:For Jews, circumcision is mandatory, as it is prescribed in the Torah:...
, who are then accompanied by their spouses to many locations around the world. Typically a young Lubavitch rabbi and his wife, in their early twenties, with one or two children, will move to a new location, and as they settle in will raise a large family who as a family unit, will aim to fulfill their mandate of bringing Jewish people closer to Orthodox Judaism and encouraging gentiles to adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah.
Chabad Houses
A Chabad House or Center is a form of
Jewish community centerA Jewish Community Center or Jewish Community Centre is a general recreational, social and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations, Israel-related programming, and Jewish education, however...
under their own religious auspices, often serving as the nerve center of all the educational and outreach activities of a
shliach (emissary) rabbi and his colleagues or allies in any given community. Often until the community can support the building of its own building for a Chabad house, the "Chabad House" is located in the
shliach's home, with the living room being used as the "
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer....
". The term "Chabad House" originated in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
with the creation of the first such outreach center on the campus of UCLA by Rabbi
Shlomo CuninRabbi Shlomo Cunin is the director of Chabad-Lubavitch CA activities on the West Coast of the United States...
.
The centers are informal in setup. They primarily serve both educational and observance purposes. Effort is made to provide an atmosphere in which the nonobservant will not feel intimidated by any perceived contrast between their lack of knowledge of Jewish practice and the advanced knowledge of some of the people they meet there.
Numbers
As of 2007 there are 3,300 Chabad institutions around the world. As of 2006 there were Chabad centers in 75 countries.
Mitzvah campaigns
The Rebbes of Chabad have issued the call to all Jews to attract non-observant Jews to adopt Orthodox Jewish observance, teaching that this activity is part of the process of bringing the
Messiah. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson issued a call to every Jew:
"Even if you are not fully committed to a Torah life, do something. Begin with a mitzvahThis article is about commandments in Judaism. For the Jewish rite of passage, see Bar Mitzvah and Bat MitzvahMitzvah is a word used in Judaism to refer to the 613 commandments given in the Torah and the seven rabbinic commandments instituted later for a total of 620...
— any mitzvah — its value will not be diminished by the fact that there are others that you are not prepared to do".
Schneerson also suggested ten specific
mitzvot that he believed were ideally suited for the emissaries to introduce to non-observant Jews. These were called "
mivtzoim" — meaning "campaigns" or "endeavors." These were: lighting candles before
ShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from sundown Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night...
and the
Jewish holidayA Jewish holiday or festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as a holy or secular commemoration of an important event in Jewish history...
s by Jewish women; putting on
tefillinTefillin, , also called phylacteries, are a pair of black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Bible. The hand-tefillin, or shel yad, is worn by Jews wrapped around the arm, hand and fingers, while the head-tefillin, or shel rosh, is placed above the forehead...
; affixing a
mezuzahA mezuzah is a piece of parchment inscribed with specified Hebrew verses from the Torah...
; regular
Torah studyTorah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
; giving
TzedakahTzedakah is a Hebrew word commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice . In Judaism, tzedakah refers to the religious obligation to perform charity, and philanthropic acts, which Judaism emphasises are important parts of living a spiritual life; Jewish tradition...
; purchasing
Jewish booksSefer in simple Hebrew is a word that means any kind of "book" It is derived from the same Hebrew root-word as sofer , sifriyah and safrut ....
; keeping
kosherKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit"...
; kindness to others; Jewish education, and keeping the
family purityNiddah is a Hebrew term which literally means separation, and generally refers to separation from ritual impurity; The term niddah is overwhelmingly used in Judaism to refer to the rules of Jewish law concerning menstruation...
laws.
In addition, Schneerson emphasized spreading awareness of preparing for and the coming of the
Jewish messiahMessiah Messiah Messiah is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with the holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
, in line with his philosophy. He wrote on the responsibility to reach out to teach every fellow Jew with love, and implored that all Jews believe in the imminent coming of the Messiah as explained by
MaimonidesMoses Maimonides, also known as Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or the acronym the Rambam , was born in Cordoba, Spain on March 30, 1135, and died in Egypt on December 13, 1204....
. He argued that redemption was predicated on Jews doing good deeds, and that gentiles should be educated about the
Noahide LawsThe Seven Laws of Noah , often referred to as the Noahide Laws, are a set of seven moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God to Noah as a binding set of laws for all mankind...
. Chabad has been a prime force in disseminating awareness of these laws.
He was emphatic about the need to encourage and provide strong education for every child, Jew and non-Jew alike.
Camps
Chabad has set up an extensive
network of campsGan Israel Camping Network is an umbrella term for a group of Jewish religious summer camps affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement of Orthodox Judaism. Most of these camps bear the name "Gan Israel."...
around the world, most using the name Gan Israel, a name chosen by Schneerson although the first overnight camp was the girls division called Camp Emunah. There are 1,200 sites serving 210,000 children — most of whom do not come from
OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
homes. Of these, 500 camps are in the United States.
Campus
In recent years Chabad has greatly expanded its reach on
universityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and
collegeCollege is a term most often used today to denote degree awarding tertiary educational institution. More broadly, it can be the name of any group of colleagues, for example, an electoral college, a College of Arms or the College of Cardinals...
campuses. Chabad Student Centers are active on over 100 campuses, and Chabad offers varied activities at an additional 150 universities worldwide. Professor
Alan DershowitzAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Dershowitz is known for his career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict...
has said that "Chabad’s presence on college campuses today is absolutely crucial", and "We cannot rest until Chabad is on every major college campus in the world".
Publishing
Distribution of Jewish religious literature.
Kehot Publication SocietyKehot Publication Society and Merkos Publications, the publishing divisions of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, were established in 1942 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn...
(the Chabad publishing house) has promoted this by translating
booksSefer in simple Hebrew is a word that means any kind of "book" It is derived from the same Hebrew root-word as sofer , sifriyah and safrut ....
into 12 languages, providing books at discounted prices, and hosting book-a-thons. Kehot has traditionally distributed books either transcribed from the
Rebbeim, chassidim, or those on practical law penned by rabbis and authors.
Internet
Setting up
Chabad.orgChabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It serves not just its own members but Jews worldwide in general. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites and the first and largest virtual congregation.-History:...
, one of the first Jewish educational websites and the first and largest virtual congregation. It serves not just its own members but Jews worldwide in general. According to
Alexa.comAlexa Internet, Inc. is a California, U.S.-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and website. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the website where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's web...
, Chabad.org is currently the largest Jewish educational website worldwide.
Fundraising
Funds for activities of a Chabad center rely entirely on the local community. Chabad centers do not receive funding from Lubavitch headquarters. For the day to day operations, local emissaries do all the fundraising by themselves. The monies fundraised in the local community is invested in that local community. The emissary takes a minimum salary and seldom goes on vacation. Sue Fishcoff writes: "Emissaries in the field may sink millions of dollars into their center, synagogues and Mikvahs, but their own homes are modest, again patterned after their Rebbe's lack of personal ostentation."
Influence
Chabad pioneered the post-
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
outreachBaal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jewish person who embraces Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "master of return", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
movement, which spread Judaism to many assimilated Jews worldwide, leading to a substantial number of
baalei teshuvaBaal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jewish person who embraces Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "master of return", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
("returnees" to Judaism). The very first Yeshiva/Rabbinical College for such "baalei teshuva",
Hadar HatorahYeshiva Hadar Hatorah is the world's first baal teshuva yeshivas for men rediscovering their Jewish roots.-History:The yeshiva was founded in 1962 by Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson, a Chabad activist, to accommodate baalei teshuva interested in full-time study in a traditional yeshiva...
was established by the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Chabad was also one of the first Jewish outreach organizations to use the
World Wide WebThe World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view Web pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them using hyperlinks...
as an outreach tool.
Chabad followers have had a notable influence on Jewish entertainment. Composer and rabbi
Shlomo CarlebachRabbi Shlomo Carlebach was a Jewish religious teacher, composer, and singer who was known as "The Singing Rabbi" during his lifetime...
began his outreach work as a representative of Chabad (he later moved away from the movement),
Avraham FriedAvraham Shabshi Hacohen Friedman is a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community, although he is known by his stage name, Avraham Fried....
is also an adherent.
According to Steven I. Weiss, Chabad's ideology has dramatically influenced non-Hasidic Jews' practice with regard to Jewish outreach issues.
Customs
Chabad has specific
minhagMinhag is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, Nusach , refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers...
im ("customs") that distinguish it from other Hasidic groups. For example, they do not wear the fur hats common among other hasidim. Until the 1950s, most wore the Russian
kasketA kasket is a Russian cap, somewhat similar to a combination cap, but made of felt. It has a crown, a band and peak. At the beginning of the 20th century, many Russian Jews wore this cap as part of their dress....
; now most wear a black fedora. Almost all American Chabad Hasidim pronounce Hebrew according to the
LithuanianLithuanian Jews are Ashkenazi Jews with roots in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ....
dialect. However, many native
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i Chabad Hasidim pronounce Hebrew according to the
Modern Israeli HebrewHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Culturally, it is considered a Jewish language. Hebrew in its modern form is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel while Classical Hebrew has been used for prayer or study in Jewish communities around the world for over...
dialect. Like many other Hasidic groups, Chabad attaches importance to singing Chabad Hasidic
nigunNigun is a Hebrew term meaning “humming tune.” Usually, the term refers to religious songs and tunes that are sung by groups. It is a form of voice instrumental music, often without any lyrics or words, although sounds like “bim-bim-bam” or “Ai-ai-ai!” are often used...
im ("tunes"), usually without words, and following precise customs of their leaders.
Controversies
Rabbi
Shneur Zalman of LiadiShneur Zalman of Liadi , also known as the Baal HaTanya, , was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia...
opposed Napoleon's conquest of Russia. Some actions of the sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn during the Second World War are not understood by some contemporary scholars. Some interpretations of its seventh leader, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
's theology has been controversial; became active in Israeli politics and was criticised heavily by Rabbi
Elazar ShachRabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach , was a leading Eastern European-born and educated Haredi rabbi who settled and lived in modern Israel.He was the rosh yeshiva of the Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak the pre-eminent yeshiva of Lithuanian...
for his messianic focus.
Chabad messianismChabad messianism, or Lubavitch messianism, is a term used to describe a spectrum of beliefs within the Chabad Hasidic movement regarding their late leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson and his purported position as the Messiah...
, the belief that Schneerson was/is the messiah has led to some friction within the Chabad community. Since his death in 1994 some members of the movement have been in conflict. Financial battles have been ongoing between these factions since 1995, and the contested control over the headquarters in
BrooklynBrooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City, located southwest of Queens on the western tip of Long Island. An independent city until its consolidation with New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York City's most populous borough, with 2.5 million residents, and second largest in area...
has led to strife.
One of the locations targeted by the terrorists in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks was the local Chabad outreach center. Chabad received condolences from around the world.
Further reading
- Feldman, Jan L. Lubavitchers As Citizens: A Paradox of Liberal Democracy, Cornell University Press, 2003 (ISBN 0-8014-4073-4)
- A Faith Grows in Brooklyn, photographs and text by Carolyn Drake. National Geographic February, 2006. For the online version click here..
- Fishkoff, Sue. The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch, Schocken, 2003 (ISBN 0-8052-4189-2)
- Hoffman, Edward. Despite All Odds: The Story of Lubavitch. Simon & Schuster, 1991 (ISBN 0-671-67703-9)
- Jacobson, Simon. Toward A Meaningful Life: The Wisdom of the Rebbe, William Morrow, 2002 (ISBN 0-06-051190-7)
- Ehrlich, Avrum M. Leadership in the Habad Movement: a Critical Evaluation of Habad Leadership, History, and Succession, Jason Aronson, 2000. (ISBN 076576055X)
- Lessons in Tanya chabad.org (ISBN 0826605400)
- Challenge: an encounter with Lubavitch-Chabad, Lubavitch Foundation of Great Britain, 1973 ISBN 0-8266-0491-9
- Mindel, Nissan. The philosophy of Chabad. Chabad Research Center, 1973 (ISBN 082660417X)
- Schneerson, Menachem Mendel
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
. On the Essence of Chasidus: A Chasidic Discourse by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Chabad-Lubavitch. Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, 2003 (ISBN 0-8266-0466-8)
- Weiss, Steven I. "Orthodox Rethinking Campus Outreach", The Forward Jan. 20, 2006.
See also
- Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew: , Hasidut, meaning "piety") is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith. The majority of Hasidic Jews are ultra-orthodox....
- Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe amongst his hasidim, was a prominent hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch movement...
- Baal Shem Tov
- Hasidic philosophy
Hasidic Philosophy or Hasidus are the teachings, interpretations of Judaism, and mysticism articulated by the modern Hasidic movement...
External links
News sites