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{{short description|Hasidic Jewish dynasty}}
'''Chabad Lubavitch''', or '''Lubavich''', is one of the largest branches of ] founded by Rabbi ] . It is one of the largest Jewish Orthodox organizations worldwide, especially in the United States and ]. It is also known simply as '''Chabad''' (חבד) a ] ] for "'''ח'''כמה Wisdom- '''ב'''ינה Understanding- '''ד'''עת Knowledge", or as '''Lubavitch''' (ליובאוויטש), the town that served as the movement's headquarters for over a century. In ], the name means "town of brotherly love".
{{Redirect2|Lubavich|Lubavitch|the village in Russia associated with Chabad|Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast}}
{{other uses}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Chabad
| native_name = חב״ד
| native_name_lang = he
| logo = 770 Eastern Parkway (thumbnail size).jpg
| logo_size = 25px
| logo_alt = Yellow flame
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| image = KinusChabadJerufi.jpg
| image_size =
| alt = <!-- see ] -->
| caption = Group picture of Chabad Shluchim (emissaries) in ]
| merged = <!-- Any other organizations with which the organization was merged -->
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| formation = {{start date and age|1775|||df=yes|p=y}} <!-- | formation = or: | established = --> <!--e.g. use {{start date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}}-->
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| founding_location = {{nowrap|], Russian Empire}}
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| headquarters = ], Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
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| region_served = Worldwide <!--Any particular region or regions associated with or served by the organization-->
| services =
| membership = 90,000–95,000<ref name=marcinw/>
| membership_year = 2018
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{{Chabad sidebar}}


'''Chabad''', also known as '''Lubavitch''', '''Habad''' and '''Chabad-Lubavitch'''<ref>Additional spellings include Lubawitz, and Jabad (in Spanish speaking countries)</ref> ({{IPAc-en|US|x|ə|ˈ|b|ɑː|d|_|l|u|ˈ|b|ɑː|v|ɪ|tʃ}}; {{Langx|he|חב״ד לובביץּ׳}}; {{Langx|yi|חב״ד ליובאוויטש}}), is a ] in ]. Belonging to the ] (ultra-Orthodox) branch of ], it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Hasidism.html |title=Hasidism |publisher=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and caters to nonobservant Jews.
Its adherents, or ''Chasidim'', known as "Lubavitchers" or "Chabadniks", are ] ]s belonging to ] as defined by the Chabad traditions.


Founded in 1775<ref name="Barry" /> by Rabbi ] (1745–1812) in the city of ] in the ], the name "Chabad" ({{lang|he|חב״ד}}) is an acronym formed from the three Hebrew words—], ], ]— for the first three ] of the ] after ]: {{lang|he|חכמה, בינה, דעת}}, "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge"—which represent the ] of the movement.<ref>Dara Horn, June 13, 2014 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026163324/http://online.wsj.com/articles/book-review-rebbe-by-joseph-telushkin-and-my-rebbe-by-adin-steinsaltz-1402696458 |date=October 26, 2014}} ''The Wall Street Journal''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=36226 |title=About Chabad-Lubavitch on |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref> The name ] derives from the town in which the now-dominant line of leaders resided from 1813 to 1915.<ref name=jta1808>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/08/21/global/swastikas-daubed-chabad-center-movements-cradle-lyubavichi|title=Swastikas daubed on Russian Chabad center in cradle of Lubavitch Hasidic movement|date=August 21, 2018}}</ref><ref name=haaretz1920>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-lubavitcher-rabbi-who-met-with-freud-dies-1.5235021|title=This Day in Jewish History, 1920 Lubavitcher Rabbi Who Met with Freud Dies|first=David B.|last=Green|date=March 21, 2013|newspaper=Haaretz}}</ref> Other, ] either disappeared or merged into the Lubavitch line. In the 1930s, the sixth ] of Chabad, Rabbi ], moved the center of the Chabad movement from Russia to Poland. After the outbreak of World War II, he moved the center of the movement to Brooklyn, New York, in the United States, where the Rebbe lived on 770 Eastern Parkway until the end of his life.
], where Lubavitch originated]]
Like all Hasidim they follow the teachings and customs of '']'' as taught by the ], base on the ] works of Rabbi ] (also know as the Arizal).


Between 1951 and 1994, Rabbi ] transformed the movement into one of the most widespread Jewish movements in the world. Under his leadership, Chabad established a large network of institutions that seek to satisfy the religious, social and humanitarian needs of Jews across the world.<ref name=ch100>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2017/11/20/news-opinion/united-states/uganda-is-100th-outpost-for-chabad|title=Uganda is 100th outpost for Chabad-Lubavitch|via=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=2017-11-20}}</ref> Chabad institutions provide ] and humanitarian aid, as well as religious, cultural and educational activities. During his life and after his death, Schneerson has been believed by some of his followers to be the ], with his own position on the matter debated among scholars. ] in Chabad sparked controversy in various Jewish communities and it is still an unresolved matter. Following his death, no successor was appointed as a new central leader. The Rebbe was also known to have never visited Israel, for reasons which remain disputed among the Chabad community.
Since the foundation of the movement, it has had seven leaders or '']s'', the seventh being Rabbi ] (1902-1994), the son of Rabbi ] (1878-1944) who is the great grandson of the fourth leader, the ].


The global population of Chabad has been estimated to be 90,000–95,000 adherents as of 2018, accounting for 13% of the global Hasidic population.<ref name=marcinw>], ''Historical Atlas of Hasidism'', Princeton University Press, 2018. pp. 192–196.</ref> However, up to one million Jews are estimated to attend Chabad services at least once a year.<ref name="SamH">{{cite web |last=Heilman |first=Samuel |title=The Chabad Lubavitch Movement: Filling the Jewish Vacuum Worldwide |publisher=] |date=December 15, 2005 |url=http://jcpa.org/article/the-chabad-lubavitch-movement-filling-the-jewish-vacuum-worldwide/ |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Slater Page 279">Slater, Elinor and Robert, ''Great Jewish Men'', Jonathan David Publishers 1996 ({{ISBN|08246 03818}}). p. 279.</ref> In a 2020 study, the ] found that 16% of ] participated in Chabad services or activities at least semi-regularly.<ref>{{cite web|website=Pew Research Center|title=Jewish Americans in 2020|url=https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/05/PF_05.11.21_Jewish.Americans.pdf}}</ref>
] ] (1902-1994) the seventh '']'' of Chabad Lubavitch.]]


==Early origins== == History ==
The Chabad movement was established after the ] in the town of Liozno, ], ] (now ], ]), in 1775, by ],<ref name="Barry" /> a student of ], the successor to Hasidism's founder, Rabbi ]. ], the Second Rebbe, moved the movement to ] ({{langx|yi|ליובאַװיטש}}, ''Lyubavitsh''), in current-day Russia, in 1813.<ref name=jta1808/>
The movement originated in ] in ]. Chabad traces its roots back to the beginnings of ]. Its founder, Rabbi ] (1698-1760), known as the ''Baal Shem Tov'', based his nascent movement in Mezibush, ]. His successor was Rabbi ] (d. ]), his leading disciple, who was well-versed in the ] and developed the movement further.


The movement was centered in Lyubavichi for a century until the fifth Rebbe, ] left the village in 1915<ref name=haaretz1920 /> and moved to the city of ]. During the ], following Bolshevik persecution, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, under the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, was centered in ] and then in ]. The outbreak of World War II led the Sixth Rebbe to move to the ]. Since 1940,<ref name="Barry">{{cite web|url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/19872113650fsupp146311879|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609131447/http://www.leagle.com/decision/19872113650FSupp1463_11879|url-status=dead|title=AGUDAS CHASIDEI CHABAD OF &#124; 650 F.Supp. 1463 (1987) &#124; Leagle.com|archive-date=June 9, 2015|website=Leagle}}</ref> the movement's center has been in the ] neighborhood of ].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/272209/jewish/Rabbi-Sholom-DovBer-Schneersohn.htm |publisher=Chabad |title=Sholom DovBer Schneersohn (1860–1920) |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Altein, R page 270">Altein, R, Zaklikofsky, E, Jacobson, I: ''Out of the Inferno: The Efforts That Led to the Rescue of ] of Lubavitch from War Torn Europe in 1939–40'', p. 270. Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, 2002 {{ISBN|0-8266-0683-0}}</ref>
] (1745-1812) founder of ] and author of ] and ].]]


]
# Rabbi ] (1745&ndash;1812), son of Rabbi Boruch, was the youngest student of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch and founded the ''Chabad'' dynasty within Hasidism. He defined the direction of his movement and influenced ] through his master works the '']'', which is primarily mystical and in line with the ], and his authoritative work on ] known as the '']'', which Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch asked him to write with the sources of the law, but some chapters were lost in a fire. He was recognized and accepted as a '']'' (Rabbinic authority in Jewish law), and is often cited in other Halakhic works such as the Mishnah Berura and '']''. The names "Schneersohn" and "Schneerson" began as ]s by Shneur Zalman's descendants. The first form of this name was "Shneuri" (Hebrew for "of Shneur"). This was later changed to "Schneersohn".
]
# Rabbi ] 1773&ndash;1827, son of Shneur Zalman.
# Rabbi ] 1789&ndash;1866, grandson of Shneur Zalman and son-in-law of Dovber, known after this work ''Tzemach Tzedek''.
# Rabbi ] 1834&ndash;1882, son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel.
# Rabbi ] 1860&ndash;1920, son of Rabbi Shmuel known for founding ] ] Network.
# Rabbi ] 1880&ndash;1950, only son of Sholom Dovber.
# Rabbi ] 1902&ndash;1994, (his family name does not have the "h" of "...sohn" as he was a cousin from a different branch of the family), sixth in paternal line from Rabbi Menachem Mendel, and son-in-law of Joseph Isaac.


While the movement spawned a number of ] throughout its history, the Chabad-Lubavitch branch is the only one still active, making it the movement's main surviving line.<ref name=beck /> Historian ] has characterized Chabad as having enjoyed the fastest rate of growth of any ] in the period 1946–2015.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jonathan D. Sarna |url=https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/symposium-part-5/ |title=The Jewish Future: What will be the condition of the Jewish community 50 years from now? |work=]|publisher=Commentary|date=October 14, 2015}}</ref>
==Origin of name==
===Chabad===
The names ] and ] each have a history. Chabad is a ] ] for ''Chochma'' ("wisdom"), ''Bina'' ("understanding"), and ''Da'as'' ("knowledge"), that was chosen early on by its founder, the first Rebbe, Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The name Chabad reflects the intellectual accessibility of the ] teachings of the ]. Rabbi Shneur Zalman is the author of the seminal Hassidic work, '']'', as well as the '']'' - a code of Jewish Law.


In the early 1900s, Chabad-Lubavitch legally incorporated itself under ] ("Association of Chabad Hasidim").{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}
Chabad is sometimes written as ''Habad'' in ], and in all the ] equivalents of the name in all the countries they operate in. Thus, as an example, ''Jabad'' is the ] form, particularly important to the Jews of ], most notably ], which has the largest concentration of Spanish speaking Jews anywhere in the world and therefore has a large Lubavitch presence as well.


In the 1980s, tensions arose between Chabad and ] as a result of several assaults on Chabad Hasidim by Satmar Hasidim.<ref name="beardcut">''Jew cleared in beard-cutting case'', Philadelphia Daily News, May 25, 1984</ref><ref name="anguish">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/22/nyregion/attack-on-rabbi-brings-anguish-to-borough-park.html|title=ATTACK ON RABBI BRINGS ANGUISH TO BOROUGH PARK|first=Ari L.|last=Goldman|date=22 June 1983|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>Letters to the Editor, ''Time'', August 1, 1983</ref>
===Lubavitch===
Lubavitch is the name of a small town in ] meaning "town of love". It was Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi who founded the movement, but his son established court in Lubavitch, and the name stuck. In ], a dynasty normally takes its name from the town in Eastern Europe where it was born and originated. The followers of Lubavitch place great emphasis on the value and meaning of their group name and town of origin. They say that this evokes, symbolizes and embodies who they are.


=== Oppression and resurgence in Russia ===
==History of the movement==
{{Main|Antisemitism in the Russian Empire|Antisemitism in the Soviet Union|History of the Jews in Russia|History of the Jews in the Soviet Union}}
In 19th and 20th century ] Chabad had a large following and had a sizeable network of ] called ''Tomchei Temimim''. Most of this system was destroyed by ] governments and the ] invasion in ]. The then current '']'' ] had been living in ], ], and with the lobbying of many Jewish leaders on his behalf, he was finally granted diplomatic immunity and given safe conduct to go via ], then to ], and then on to ] where he arrived on ] ]. His son-in-law and cousin ], who had been living in ], ], since ], escaped from France in ] and joined his father-in-law in the ] section of ], ]. Nowdays, Chabad can be found wherever there are Jews. The worldwide headquarters of the Chabad movement is ] in the neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, referred to as "770" by Lubavitchers who deem the number to have great mystical significance.
The Chabad movement was subjected to governmental oppression in Russia. The Russian government, first under the ], later under the ], imprisoned all but one of the Chabad rebbes.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3btYAwAAQBAJ&q=chabad+imprisoned+Russia&pg=PA554 |title=Encyclopaedia Judaica: Blu-Cof |editor1-first=Fred |editor1-last=Skolnik |editor2-first=Michael |editor2-last=Berenbaum |publisher=Granite Hill Publishers |year=2007 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Visual Culture of Chabad |author=Maya Balakirsky Katz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeIuE1tE36QC&q=chabad+imprisoned+Russia |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=October 11, 2010 |page=40|isbn=9780521191630}}</ref> The Bolsheviks also imprisoned, exiled and executed a number of Chabad Hasidim.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabadmequon.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/700831/jewish/Mrs-Sima-Itkin-obm.htm |title=Mrs. Sima Itkin OBM |publisher=The Joseph and Rebecca Peltz Center for Jewish Life}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Former Soviet Union |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/244380/jewish/Former-Soviet-Union.htm |publisher=Chabad.org |quote=The communists persecuted, chased and harassed the Rebbe and his operatives.{{nbsp}} Through the years of communism, hundreds of Chassidic activists were executed. Thousands more were arrested and sent to Siberia for years of hard labor.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://azjewishpost.com/2012/chabadniks-proud-of-criminal-past/|title=Chabadniks proud of 'criminal' past|date=November 30, 2012|author=Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin}}</ref> During the Second World War, many Chabad Hasidim evacuated to the Uzbek cities of Samarkand and Tashkent where they established small centers of Hasidic life, while at the same time seeking ways to emigrate from Soviet Russia due to the government's suppression of religious life.<ref>Estraikh, G. (2018). Escape through Poland: Soviet Jewish Emigration in the 1950s. Jewish History, 31(3-4), 291-317.</ref> The reach of Chabad in Central Asia also included earlier efforts that took place in the 1920s.<ref>Levin, Z. (2015). 1 "The Wastelands": The Jews of Central Asia. In Collectivization and Social Engineering: Soviet Administration and the Jews of Uzbekistan, 1917–1939 (pp. 7–26). Brill.</ref> Following the war, and well after the center of the Chabad movement moved to the ], the movement remained active in Soviet Russia, aiding the local Jews known as ] who sought to learn more about Judaism.<ref>Beizer, M. (2007). The Jews of struggle: the Jewish national movement in the USSR, 1967–1989.</ref> And throughout the Soviet era, the Chabad movement maintained a secret network across the USSR.<ref>Gitelman, Z. (2007). Do Jewish Schools Make a Difference in the Former Soviet Union?. East European Jewish Affairs, 37(3), 377–398.</ref> Since the ] in 1991, state persecution of Chabad ceased. The ], ], a Chabad emissary, maintains warm relations with Russian President ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2017/04/10/news-opinion/united-states/politico-says-chabad-is-trumps-jewish-movement-not-so-fast|title=Politico says Chabad is Trump's partner in – something. Not so fast|author=Ben Sales|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=10 April 2017|access-date=4 June 2017}}</ref> Lazar also received the ] and ] medals from him.<ref name="The Forward">{{cite web|url=http://forward.com/news/breaking-news/309514/russian-chief-rabbi-berel-lazar-stands-by-vladimir-putin/|title=Why Russian Chief Rabbi stands by Vladimir Putin|author=Cnaan Lipshiz|publisher=The Forward|date=5 June 2015|access-date=June 4, 2017}}</ref>


==Chabad today== == Leadership ==
]
===Emissaries===
{{Chabad (Rebbes and Chasidim)|Rebbes of Chabad}}
Menachem Mendel Schneerson, after becoming the ''Rebbe'' himself, and following an initiative of the previous ''Rebbe'', spurred the movement on to what has become known as ''shlichus'' (outreach work). As a result, Chabad ''shluchim'' (emissaries, sing. ''shaliach'') have moved all over the world with a mission of helping all Jews, regardless of denomination or affiliation, with all their needs, physical assistance and spiritual, to learn more about their Jewish heritage, and Judaism as practiced by Chabad.
The Chabad movement has been led by a succession of Hasidic ]s. The main branch of the movement, Chabad-Lubavitch, has had seven rebbes:
* Rabbi ] (1745–1812), founded the Chabad movement in the town of Liozna. The Chabad movement began as a separate school of thought within the Hasidic movement, focusing of the spread of Hasidic mystical teachings using logical reasoning (creating a kind of Jewish "rational-mysticism").<ref>{{cite book |last=Mindel |first=Nissan |title=The Philosophy of Chabad |volume=2 |chapter=Intro |location=Brooklyn |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=1985 |isbn=978-0826604170}}</ref> Shneur Zalman's main work is the ] (or {{transliteration|he|Sefer Shel Beinonim}}, "Book of the Average Man"). The ''Tanya'' is the central book of Chabad thought and is studied daily by followers of the Chabad movement. Shneur Zalman's other works include a collection of writings on Hasidic thought, and the {{transliteration|he|]}}, a revised version of the code of ], both of which are studied regularly by followers of Chabad. Shneur Zalman's successors went by last names such as "Schneuri" and "Schneersohn" (later "Schneerson"), signifying their descent from the movement's founder. He is commonly referred to as the "Old Rebbe" ({{Langx|yi|אַלטער רבי|]}} or {{Langx|he|אדמו״ר הזקן|Admur Hazoken}}).<ref name="sacks">''The Encyclopedia of Hasidism'', "Habad", Jonathan Sacks, pp. 161–164</ref><ref name="masters">''Hasidism: The movement and its masters'', Harry M. Rabinowicz, 1988, pp. 83–92, Jason Aronson, London {{ISBN|0-87668-998-5}}</ref>
* Rabbi ] (1773–1827), son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, led the Chabad movement in the town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch). His leadership was initially disputed by Rabbi ], however, Rabbi Dovber was generally recognized as his father's rightful successor, and the movement's leader. Rabbi Dovber published a number of his writings on Hasidic thought, greatly expanding his father's work. He also published some of his father's writings. Many of Rabbi Dovber's works have been subsequently republished by the Chabad movement. He is commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|yi|]}} ({{Langx|yi|מיטעלער רבי}} 'Middle Rabbi', {{Langx|he|אדמו״ר האמצעי|Admur Ha'emtzoei}}).<ref name="earl">''Leadership in the Chabad movement'', Avrum Erlich, Jason Aronson, 2000 {{ISBN|0-7657-6055-X}}</ref><ref>''Hayom Yom'', p. A10</ref>
* Rabbi ] (1789–1866), a grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and son-in-law of Rabbi Dovber. Following his attempt to persuade the Chabad movement to accept his brother-in-law or uncle as rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel assumed the title of rebbe of Chabad, also leading the movement from the town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch). He published a number of his works on both Hasidic thought and Jewish law. Rabbi Menachem Mendel also published some of the works of his grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman. He is commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|he|Tzemach Tzedek}} after the title of his ].<ref>Chanoch Glitzenshtein, ''Sefer Hatoldos Tzemach Tzedek''</ref>
* Rabbi ] (1834–1882), was the seventh and youngest son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel. He assumed the title of rebbe in town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch), while several of his brothers assumed the title of rebbe in other towns, forming ] which existed for several decades. Years after his death, his teachings were published by the Chabad movement. He is commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|he|Maharash}}, an acronym for {{transliteration|he|Moreinu HaRav Shmuel}} ('our teacher, Rabbi Shmuel').<ref>''Hayom Yom'', p. A14</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sefer HaToldos Admur Maharash |url=http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sefer-hatoldos-admur-maharash/03.htm |access-date=March 8, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080422214316/http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sefer-hatoldos-admur-maharash/03.htm |archive-date=April 22, 2008}}</ref>
* Rabbi ] (1860–1920), Shmuel's second son, succeeded his father as rebbe. Rabbi Shalom Dovber waited some time before officially accepting the title of rebbe, as not to offend his elder brother, Zalman Aaron. He established a ] called ]. During ], he moved to ]. Many of his writings were published after his death, and are studied regularly in Chabad yeshivas. He is commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|he|Rashab}}, an acronym for {{transliteration|he|Rabbi Shalom Ber}}.<ref>''Hayom Yom'', pp. 15–16</ref>
* Rabbi ] (1880–1950), the only son of Sholom Dovber, succeeded his father as rebbe of Chabad. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was exiled from Russia, following an attempt by the ] government to have him executed.<ref>''Encyclopedia of Hasidism'', "Schneersohn, Joseph Isaac". Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}</ref> He led the movement from ], ], until the start of ]. After fleeing the ], Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak lived in ], ] until his death. He established much of Chabad's current organizational structure, founding several of its central organizations as well as other Chabad institutions, both local and international. He published a number of his writings, as well as the works of his predecessors. He is commonly referred to as the {{transliteration|he|Rayatz}} or the {{transliteration|he|Frierdiker Rebbe}} ('Previous Rebbe').
* Rabbi ] (1902–1994),{{efn|He dropped the second 'h' from his name.}} son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, and a great-grandson of the third Rebbe of Lubavitch, assumed the title of rebbe one year after his father-in-law's death. Rabbi Menachem Mendel greatly expanded Chabad's global network, establishing hundreds of new Chabad centers across the globe. He published many of his own works as well as the works of his predecessors. His teachings are studied regularly by followers of Chabad. He is commonly referred to as "the Lubavitcher Rebbe", or simply "the Rebbe". Even after his death, many continue to revere him as the leader of the Chabad movement.<ref name="earl" />


=== Influence ===
The movement, following Rabbi Schneerson's call, has trained and ordained thousands of ]s, educators, ritual slaughterers, and ], who are all accompanied by equally motivated spouses and typically large families, all of whom aim to fulfill their mandate of Jewish outreach, education, and revival. They look for and recruit Jews who want to join them, encourage Jews to strengthen their commitment to Judaism, and assist in supporting the religious needs of hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide. Emissaries have commented on various occasions that "wherever there is ], there is Chabad".
Chabad's influence among world Jewry has been far-reaching since ]. Chabad pioneered the post-World War II ] movement, which spread Judaism to many assimilated Jews worldwide, leading to a substantial number of {{transliteration|he|]}} ("returnees" to Judaism). The very first Yeshiva/Rabbinical College for such baalei teshuva, ], was established by the Lubavitcher rebbe. It is reported that up to a million Jews attend Chabad services at least once a year.<ref name="Slater Page 279" /><ref name="winnipegfreepress.com">{{cite news|url=http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/faith/story/4017869p-4630456c.html |title=Chabad Lubavitch centre set for River Heights area |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194259/http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/faith/story/4017869p-4630456c.html |archive-date=27 September 2007 |date=5 August 2007 |author=Sharon Chisvin |newspaper=Winnipeg Free Press |url-status=dead}}</ref>


According to journalist ], Chabad's ideology has dramatically influenced non-Hasidic Jews' outreach practices.<ref>{{cite news |last=Weiss |first=Steven I |url=http://forward.com/articles/1518/orthodox-rethinking-campus-outreach/? |title=Orthodox Rethinking Campus Outreach |work=The Jewish Daily Forward |date=January 20, 2006 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> Because of its outreach to all Jews, including those Jews who are quite alienated from religious Jewish traditions, Chabad has been described as the one Orthodox group which evokes great affection from large segments of ].<ref>''Jewish Literacy'', Telushkin, William Morrow 2001, p. 471<!-- Error! Published 1991 and 2008, not 2001 --></ref>
===The Chabad House===
A Chabad House is a Jewish community center, the nerve center of all the educational and outreach activities of a ''shliach''. Often until the community is big enough for its own building, the Chabad House is the ''shliach's'' house, with the synagogue being their living room.


== Philosophy ==
There are 4,000 Chabad centers in 70 countries serving the needs of the local Jewish communities worldwide.
{{Main|Chabad philosophy}}
Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious and spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments. Classical Judaic writings and Jewish mysticism, especially the ] and the ] of Rabbi ], are frequently cited in Chabad works. These texts are used both as sources of Chabad teachings and as material requiring interpretation by Chabad authors. Many of these teachings discuss what is commonly referred to as bringing "heaven down to earth", i.e. making the Earth a dwelling place for God. Chabad philosophy is rooted in the teachings of Rabbis ], (the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism) and ], the "Maggid of Mezritch" (Rabbi Yisroel's successor).{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}}


]'s teachings, particularly in the {{transliteration|he|]}}, formed the basis of Chabad philosophy, as expanded by succeeding generations. Many Chabad activities today are understood as applications of Shneur Zalman's teachings.{{Citation needed|date=April 2015}}
===Mitzvot campaigns===
Chabad is also remarkable in its openness to non-Orthodox Jews; in fact, it aims to attract them to do '']'', and believes this part of the process to bring the '']''. This practice is called "'']''" - based on the words ''mitzvat ]''.


=== {{transliteration|he|Tanya}} ===
The Rebbe issued a call to every Jew: "Even if you are not fully commited to a Torah life, do something. Begin with a ''mitzvah'' - any ''mitzvah''; its value will not be diminished by the fact that there are others which you are not prepared to do." The Rebbe believed even one act of goodness and kindness is imcompareble.
{{Main|Tanya (Judaism)}}
The {{transliteration|he|Tanya}} ({{Lang|he|תניא}}) is a book by Rabbi Shneur Zalman first published in 1797. It is the first schematic treatment of ] and its metaphysical foundations.<ref name="sacks" />


According to the {{transliteration|he|Tanya}}, the intellect consists of three interconnected processes: {{transliteration|he|Chochma}} (wisdom), {{transliteration|he|Bina}} (understanding), and {{transliteration|he|Da'at}} (knowledge). While other branches of Hasidism primarily focused on the idea that "God desires the heart," Shneur Zalman argued that God also desires the mind, and he also argued that the mind is the "gateway" to the heart. With the Chabad philosophy, he elevated the mind above the heart, arguing that "understanding is the mother of fear and love for God".<ref>''Tanya'', Shneur Zalman of Liadi, Chapter 13.</ref>
The Rebbe also suggested ten specific ''mitzvot'' - likely, because of their centrality to the Torah's guide to life, are ideally suited for a first experience of the mitzvah connection.
#Lighting candles before ] and the ]s (women and girls)
#Putting on '']'' (phylacteries, for men over 13)
#Affixing a '']'' (scroll with central Torah passsages) on doors
#] on a regular basis
#'']'' (charity)
#Obtaining Jewish religious literature (a '']''/Pentateuch, ], and a '']''/prayer book)
#Adhering to '']'' (the dietary laws)
#loving one's neighbor like oneself
#Proper Jewish eductation
#Observing "family purity" (the laws of '']'').


The {{transliteration|he|Tanya}} has five sections. The original name of the first section is {{transliteration|he|Sefer Shel Beinonim}}, the "Book of the Intermediates". It is also known as {{transliteration|he|Likutei Amarim}} ("Collected Sayings"). {{transliteration|he|Sefer Shel Beinonim}} analyzes the inner struggle of the individual and the path to resolution. Citing the biblical verse "the matter is very near to you, in your mouth, your heart, to do",<ref>{{bibleverse|Deuteronomy|30:14|HE}}</ref> the philosophy is based on the notion that the human is not inherently evil; rather, every individual has an inner conflict that is characterized by two different inclinations, the good and the bad.<ref name="sacks tanya">''The Encyclopedia of Hasidism'', "Tanya", Jonathan Sacks, pp. 475–477 (15682–11236)</ref>
In addition to the above campaigns, Schneerson greatly emphasized spreading awareness of the coming of ''Moshiach'' and preparing for his imminent arrival. Some of the points Schneerson stressed in his teachings include:
* Belief in the imminent coming of '']'' is a fundamental Jewish belief as explained by the ].
* The ''Geula'', or the Era of Redemption, is the culmination of the spiritual work since the Creation of the world.
* Jews prepare and pave the way for the coming of ''Moshiach'' and the ''Geula'' by doing acts of goodness and kindness.
* Non-Jews have seven '']'', called the '']'' that they should become aware of and practice. Chabad has been a prime force in the dissemination of awareness of these laws, and several Noahide communities have sprung up as a result.
* The importance of opposing any discussion concerning concession of territories in the Holy Land of Israel, or otherwise strategically vital territories to Arabs or anyone else.


Chabad often contrasted itself with what is termed the {{transliteration|he|]}} schools of Hasidism.{{efn|{{transliteration|he|Chagat}} is an acronym for {{transliteration|he|Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet}} (kindness, severity, beauty), the Kabbalistic terms for the three primary emotions. Schools of Hasidic thought stressing emotive patterns of worship have been termed {{transliteration|he|Chagat}} in the Chabad philosophy.}} While all schools of Hasidism put a central focus on the emotions, {{transliteration|he|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 ] study and prayer rather than ] and song.<ref name="sacks" /> As a Talmudist, Shneur Zalman endeavored to place Kabbalah and Hasidism on a rational basis. In {{transliteration|he|Tanya}}, he defines his approach as {{transliteration|he|moach shalit al halev}} (]: {{Lang|he|מוח שליט על הלב}}, "the brain ruling the heart").<ref>''Tanya'', ch. 12</ref>
Often when asked what remains to be done to bring ''Moshiach'' (the messiah), Schneerson answered that we need to perform "Acts of Goodness and Kindness," now a popular catchphrase. Rabbi Schneerson intended that ''Moshiach'' awareness be an essential part of everything we do, and thus it is unusual for any Chabad function to be without mention of the desire for the immediate Redemption.


== Community ==
===Outreach activities===
] parade in front of Chabad headquarters at ], Brooklyn, New York, in 1987]]
Activities:
An adherent of Chabad is called a {{transliteration|he|Chabad Chasid}} (or {{transliteration|he|Hasid}}) ({{langx|he|חסיד חב"ד}}), a Lubavitcher ({{langx|yi|ליובאַוויטשער}}), a {{transliteration|he|Chabadnik}} ({{langx|he|חבדניק}}), or a {{transliteration|yi|Chabadsker}} ({{langx|yi|חבדסקער}}).<ref>{{cite book |last=Cohen|first=J. Simcha|title=How Does Jewish Law Work?|publisher=Jason Aronson|date=December 28, 1999|page=329|isbn=978-0-7657-6090-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8XBjccyzdL8C&pg=PA329|access-date=September 4, 2009}}</ref> Chabad's adherents include both Hasidic followers, as well as non-Hasidim, who have joined Chabad synagogues and other Chabad-run institutions.<ref name=chuck1965/>
* Chabad has set up an extensive network of camps around the world most using the name Gan Israel, a name chosen by the Rebbe for the first overnight camp. There are 1,200 sites serving 210,000 children -- most of whom are not Orthodox. Of these, 500 camps are in the United States.
* In recent years Chabad has greatly expanded its reach on Campuses. They serve hundreds of college campuses worldwide and has 85 full-service Jewish Student Centers.They have received much praise from faculty and students alike. Professor ] has stated "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".
* Dissemination of literature by ] (the Chabad publishing house) in Hebrew, Yiddish, English and other languages.
* ]s (mobile booths for outreach activities) are operated in busy areas.


Although the Chabad movement was founded and originally based in ], various Chabad communities span the globe, including ], ], and ], ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Goldschmidt |first1=Henry |title=Race and Religion Among the Chosen People of Crown Heights |date=2006 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |location=New Brunswick, NJ |jstor=j.ctt5hj1p2 |isbn=9780813538839 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj1p2 |access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=JTA |title=In all-Chabad Israeli village, Brooklyn meets country living |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-all-chabad-israeli-village-brooklyn-meets-country-living/ |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=The Times of Israel |date=11 February 2016}}</ref> The movement has attracted a significant number of ] adherents in the past several decades,<ref>{{cite book |last=Shokeid |first=Moshe |title=Children of Circumstances: Israeli Emigrants in New York |location=Ithaca |publisher=] |year=1988 |series=Anthropology of Contemporary Issues |pages= |isbn=978-0801420788 |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenofcircum0000shok/page/139}}</ref> and some Chabad communities include both ] and Sephardic Jews. For example, in ], close to 25% of Chabad households include a Sephardi parent.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=The Chabad Sociologist |date=July 9, 2013 |title=Did You Know 25% of Chabad in Montreal are Sefardi? |url=https://chabadsociologist.wordpress.com/2013/07/09/did-you-know-25-of-chabad-in-montreal-are-sefardi/}}</ref><ref>Shahar, Charles. "A Comprehensive Study of the Ultra Orthodox Community of Greater Montreal (2003)". Federation CJA (Montreal). 2003.</ref>
==Customs of Chabad==
Chabad has specific '']im'' (customs) that distinguish it from other Hasidic groups. For example, in contrast with other Hasidic sects, Chabad hassidim do not wear ]s (fur hats worn on special days and occasions).


According to sociologists studying contemporary Jewry, the Chabad movement fits into neither the standard category of ] nor that of ] among Orthodox Jews. This is due in part to the existence of the number of Chabad supporters and affiliates who are not Orthodox (dubbed by some scholars as "non-Orthodox Hasidim"), the general lack of official recognition of political and religious distinctions within Judaism, and the open relationship with non-Orthodox Jews represented by the activism of Chabad emissaries.<ref name=chuck1965>Liebman, Charles S. "Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life." The American Jewish Year Book (1965): 21–97.</ref><ref name=adam2007>Ferziger, Adam S. "Church/sect theory and American orthodoxy reconsidered."Ambivalent Jew—Charles S. Liebman in memoriam, ed. Stuart Cohen and Bernard Susser (2007): 107–124.</ref>
Chabad hassidim pronounce Hebrew according to the ] dialect, with the ] ''cholem'' sounding somewhat closer to /ey/ than the Modern Hebrew /o/ and the Ashkenazi /oi/.


===Population===
Like many other Hasidic groups, Chabad attaches importance to singing Hasidic '']'' (tunes), either with or without words and following precise customs of their leaders.
In 2018, ] conducted the first global estimate of worldwide Hasidism in the ''Historical Atlas of Hasidism''. Using Chabad community directories, Wodziński estimated that Chabad included 16,000–17,000 households, or 90,000–95,000 individuals, representing 13% of the total Hasidic population and ranking Chabad as the second-largest Hasidic community behind the ].<ref name=marcinw/>


=== United States ===
==Influence on the Jewish world==
] receives menorah from the "American Friends of Lubavitch", White House, 1984]]
Chabad has had a notable influence on ] entertainment. Singing rabbi ] was affiliated with Chabad, and popular singers such as ] and ] and children's entertainer ] attract sizable crowds on their tours and have popularized many melodies for various Jewish occasions.


Estimates for Chabad and other Hasidic groups are often based on extrapolation from the limited information available in US census data for some of the areas where Hasidim live. A 2006 estimate was drawn from a study on the ] Chabad community (determining average household size), in conjunction with language and other select indicators from US census data, it is estimated that Chabad in the ] includes approximately 4,000 households, which contains between 22,000 and 25,000 people. In terms of Chabad's relation to other Hasidic groups, within the New York metropolitan area, Chabad in the New York area accounts for around 15% of the total New York Hasidic population. Chabad is estimated to have an annual growth of 3.6%:<ref name=comenetz/>
Chabad took a lead in the post-War ''] rechokim'' ("outreach") movement which spread the message of authentic Judaism to many assimilated Jews worldwide, leading to a substantial number of '']'' ("returnees" to Judaism"). Chabad was one of the first Jewish outreach organizations to discover the ] as an outreach tool.

* ] – The Crown Heights Chabad community's estimated size is 10,000 to 12,000<ref name=comenetz/><ref name="SamH" /> or 12,000 to 16,000.<ref name=shaffir34>Shaffir, William. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106195854/http://jewishjournalofsociology.org/index.php/jjs/article/viewFile/36/34 |date=2016-11-06}} ''Jewish Journal of Sociology'' 48, no. 2 (2006).</ref> In 2006, extrapolating based on census data, it was estimated that the Chabad community in Crown Heights make up some 11,000. It was estimated that between 25% and 35% of Chabad Hasidim in Crown Heights speak ]. This figure is significantly lower than other Hasidic groups and may be attributed to the addition of previously non-Hasidic Jews to the community. It was also estimated that over 20% of Chabad Hasidim in Crown Heights speak Hebrew or Russian.<ref name=comenetz>Comenetz, Joshua. "Census-based estimation of the Hasidic Jewish population." ''Contemporary Jewry'' 26, no. 1 (2006): 35.</ref> The Crown Heights Chabad community has its own ] (rabbinical court) and ] (CHJCC).
* ] – Beginning from the late 2000s through the 2010s, a minor trend of cross acculturation of Chabad Hasidim and contemporary ] appeared within the New York City ]. According to '']'', a significant number of members of the Chabad Hasidic community, mostly residing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, appear to now have adopted various ] of the local hipster subculture. These members are referred to as Chabad hipsters or Hipster Hasidim.<ref name=birthofhasidic>Greenfield, Nicole. ''Religion Dispatches''. University of Southern Carolina. February 2, 2012</ref><ref name=hipsterhasids>Nussbaum-Cohen, Debra. '']''. January 26, 2012.</ref>

=== Israel ===
* ] – Kfar Chabad's estimated size is 5,100; all of the residents of the town are believed to be Chabad adherents. This estimate is based on figures which were published by the ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Israeli Census Reveals Population of Kfar Chabad |publisher=CrownHeights.info |date=July 11, 2012 |url=http://crownheights.info/chabad-news/45390/israeli-census-reveals-population-of-kfar-chabad/ |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> Other estimates place the community population at around 7,000.<ref name=shaffir34/>
* ] – The Chabad community in Safad (Tzfat) originated during the wave of Eastern European immigration to Palestine from 1777–1840. The Chabad community established synagogues and institutions in Safad. The early settlement declined by the 20th century but it was renewed following an initiative by the seventh rebbe in the early 1970s, which reestablished the Chabad community in the city.<ref name=tzefatcoil>{{cite web |url=http://www.safed.co.il/chabad-in-tzfat.html |title=The Chabad Hassidic Community in Tzfat |publisher=Safed.co.il |access-date=September 14, 2014}}</ref> Rabbi Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz (1883–1978), a Safad-born direct descendant of Rabbi ], author of the {{transliteration|he|Shnei Luchot HaBrit}}, served as the rabbi of the Chabad community in Safad from 1908 until his immigration to the U.S. during World War I.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006013938/https://www.kedem-auctions.com/content/sefer-hazohar-%E2%80%93-including-glosses-rabbi-yeshaya-horowitz-safed-and-his-son-rabbi-shmuel |date=October 6, 2016}}. '']''. Retrieved September 14, 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2016</ref> Members of the Chabad community run a number of outreach efforts during the Jewish holidays. Activities include blowing the {{transliteration|he|]}} for the elderly on ], reading the ] for hospital patients on Purim and setting up a {{transliteration|he|]}} on the town's main street during the {{transliteration|he|]}} holiday.<ref name=tzefatcoil/>

=== France ===
The Chabad community in France is estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000. The majority of the Chabad community in France are the descendants of immigrants from North Africa (specifically Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) during the 1960s.<ref name=shaffir34/><ref name=chabadfrance>Gutwirth, Jacques. 2005. Hassidim in France today. ''Jewish Journal of Sociology 47''(1–2). pp.5–21.</ref>

=== Canada ===
* ] – The estimated size of the Chabad community of Greater ] is 1,590. The estimate is taken from a 2003 community study.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chabad of Montreal: Here's the stats!!! |publisher=The Chabad Sociologist |date=October 13, 2013 |url=http://chabadsociologist.wordpress.com/2013/10/13/chabad-of-montreal-heres-the-stats-chabad-montreal-chabadsociology/ |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>Shahar, Charles. "Main Report: A Comprehensive Study of the Ultra Orthodox Community of Greater Montreal (2003)". Federation CJA (Montreal). (2003): pp. 7–33.</ref> The Chabad community in ] originated sometime before 1931. While early works on Canadian Jewry make little or no mention of early Hasidic life in ], later researchers have documented Chabad's accounts in ] starting from the 1900s and 1910s. ] notes that there is mention of two Chabad congregations in a 1915 article in the '']'' listing the delegates of the first ]. One congregation is listed as Chabad of Toronto, and the other is simply listed as "Libavitzer Congregation". The sociologist ] has noted that some Chabad Hasidim and sympathizers did reside in Montreal before 1941 but does not elaborate further. Steven Lapidus notes that in a 1931 obituary published in {{transliteration|yi|]}}, a Canadian Yiddish newspaper, the deceased Rabbi ] is credited as the founder of Anshei Chabad in ] and the Nusach Ari synagogue. Thus the Chabad presence in ] predates 1931.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lapidus |first=Steven |title=The Forgotten Hasidim: Rabbis and Rebbes in Prewar Canada |journal=Canadian Jewish Studies |year=2004 |volume=12 |url=http://pi.library.yorku.ca/ojs/index.php/cjs/article/viewFile/22624/21095 |access-date=January 13, 2014}}</ref>

=== United Arab Emirates ===
* ] – The ] has a ] and a ]. 1,000 ] chickens per week are provided to the community by local kosher {{transliteration|he|]}}. The community is headed by community president ] and Rabbi ].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-06-11|title=A robust Jewish life exists in the U.A.E.|url=https://www.ynetnews.com/article/HkuTEWg6I|access-date=2020-06-18|website=ynetnews|language=en|last1=Salami|first1=Daniel}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Baltimore Jewish Life {{!}} A New Talmud Torah Opens in Dubai|url=https://www.baltimorejewishlife.com:443/news/news-detail.php?SECTION_ID=3&ARTICLE_ID=131802|access-date=2020-06-18|website=baltimorejewishlife.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kiddush, Torah learning, and gefilte fish in Dubai – Jewish World|date=11 June 2020 |url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/281713|access-date=2020-06-18|publisher=Arutz Sheva|language=en}}</ref>
] ] with the rabbis of Ukraine on May 6, 2019]]

== Customs and holidays ==
{{Main|Chabad customs and holidays}}

=== Customs ===
Chabad adherents follow Chabad ] and ] based on ].<ref>{{cite web |author=Nissan Mindel |url=http://chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm |title=Rabbi Isaac Luria – The Ari Hakodosh |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> General Chabad customs, called {{Lang|he|]}} (or {{Lang|he|minhagei Chabad}}), distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups. Some of the main Chabad customs are minor practices performed on traditional ]:

* ] – It is customary in Chabad communities, on Passover, to limit contact of '']'' (an unleavened bread eaten on Passover) with water. This custom is called {{Lang|yi|]}} ({{langx|yi|געבראָכטס}}, lit. 'broken'). However, on the last day of Passover, it is customary to intentionally have matzah come in contact with water.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/265990/jewish/Gebrokts-Wetted-Matzah.htm |title=Gebrokts: Wetted Matzah |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>
* ] – It is the custom of Chabad Hasidim to place the Chanukah ] against the room's doorpost (and not on the windowsill).<ref name="sichoscustom">{{cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/calendar/candlelighting_cdo/aid/6226/jewish/Shabbat-Candle-Lighting-Times.htm|title=Shabbat Candle-Lighting Times|website=chabad.org}}</ref><ref>Schneersohn, Shalom Dovber. Tanu Rabbanan: Ner Chanukah ''Sichos In English'', N.Y., 1990.</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 24, 2013 |url=http://crownheights.info/something-jewish/412805/laws-and-customs-chanukah/ |title=Laws and Customs: Chanukah |publisher=CrownHeights.info |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>
* Prayer – The founder of Chabad wrote a very specific liturgy for the daily and festival prayers based on the teachings of the Kabbalists, primarily the ].
* The founder of Chabad also instituted various other ] rulings, including the use of stainless steel knives for the slaughter of animals before human consumption, which are now universally accepted in all sects of Judaism.

=== Holidays ===
There are a number of days marked by the Chabad movement as special days. Major holidays include the dates of the release of the leaders of the movement, the ''rebbes'' of Chabad, from prison, others corresponded to the leaders' birthdays, anniversaries of death, and other life events.

The days marking the leaders' release, are celebrated by the Chabad movement as "Days of Liberation" (]: {{Lang|he|יום גאולה}} ({{Lang|he|Yom Geulah}})). The most noted day is {{Lang|he|]}}—the liberation of Rabbi ], the founder of the Chabad movement. The day is also called the "New Year of Hasidism".<ref name="sichoscustom"/>

The birthdays of several of the movement's leaders are celebrated each year including {{Lang|he|]}}, the birthday of Rabbi ], the founder of the Chabad movement,<ref name="Elul customs">{{cite web |date=September 6, 2012 |url=http://www.shmais.com/chabad-news/latest/item/chabad-elul-customs |last=Dalfin |first=Chaim |title=Chabad Elul Customs |publisher=Shmais.com |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="ChaiElul">{{cite web |author=Menachem Mendel Schneerson |url=http://chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/155859/jewish/Chai-Elul.htm |title=Chai Elul: Breathing New Life Into Our Divine Service |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> and {{Lang|he|]}}, the birthday of Rabbi ], the seventh rebbe of Chabad.<ref>"Dade Jews throw birthday party for New York Rabbi", David Hancock, ''The Miami Herald'', April 14, 1992</ref>

The anniversaries of death, or {{Lang|yi|]}}, of several of the movement's leaders are celebrated each year, include {{Lang|he|]}}, the {{Lang|yi|yartzeit}} of Rabbi ], the sixth rebbe of Chabad,<ref name="YartzCust">{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/82245/jewish/Yahrtzeit-Observances.htm |title=Yahrtzeit Observances |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> {{Lang|he|]}}, the {{Lang|yi|yartzeit}} of Rabbi ], the seventh rebbe of Chabad,<ref name="YartzCust"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/528345/jewish/A-Brief-Biography.htm |title=A Brief Biography |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> and {{Lang|he|]}}, the {{Lang|yi|yartzeit}} of ], the wife of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabadinfo.com/index.php/jq/css/ui-lightness/jq/js/?url=newsnew_en&string=tag_Chof%20Beis%20Shvat|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216191431/http://www.chabadinfo.com/index.php/jq/css/ui-lightness/jq/js/?url=newsnew_en&string=tag_Chof%20Beis%20Shvat|url-status=dead|title=Chof Beis Shvat. ''Chabad.info''.|archive-date=December 16, 2013}}</ref>

== Organizations ==
{{Main|Chabad affiliated organizations}}

]
Chabad's central organization representing the movement at large, ], is headed by Rabbi ]. The educational, outreach and social services arms, ] and ] are headed by Rabbi ], as well as the Chabad-Lubavitch publishing house, ].

Local Chabad centers and institutions are usually incorporated as separate legal entities.<ref name="PBurstein">{{cite journal | last1 = Burstein | first1 = Paul | year = 2011 | title = Jewish Nonprofit Organizations in the U.S.: A Preliminary Survey | journal = Contemporary Jewry | volume = 31 | issue = 2| pages = 129–148 | doi = 10.1007/s12397-010-9028-5| s2cid = 144478093 }}</ref>

=== Institutions ===
As of 2020 there were over 3,500 Chabad centers in 100 countries.<ref name="drake">{{cite web|url=http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature4/index.html|last=Drake|first=Carolyn|title=A Faith Grows in Brooklyn|work=]|date=February 2006|access-date=2006-01-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060203030144/http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0602/feature4/index.html|archive-date=2006-02-03|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2346206/jewish/Facts-and-Statistics.htm|title=Facts and Statistics - Chabad.org}}</ref> The Chabad movement's online directory lists around 1,350 Chabad institutions. This number includes schools and other Chabad-affiliated establishments. The number of Chabad centers vary per country; the majority are in the ] and ]. There are over 100 countries with a small Chabad presence.

In total, according to its directory, Chabad maintains a presence in 950 ] around the world: 178 in Europe, 14 in Africa, 200 in Israel, 400 in North America, 38 in South America, and about 70 in Asia (excluding Israel, including Russia).<ref name="popo">{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/jewish/Centers.htm |title=Chabad-Lubavitch Directory |publisher=Chabad |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

==== By geographic region ====

{{See|Chabad affiliated organizations#Chabad institutions by geographic region}}
Chabad presence varies from region to region. The continent with the highest concentration of Chabad centers is North America. The ] with the fewest centers is Africa.<ref name="LubavNorthAmerica">{{cite web|url=http://lubavitch.com/centers/region.html|title=Chabad Lubavitch Brooklyn New York NY World Headquarters|first=Chabad|last=Lubavitch|website=lubavitch.com|access-date=2013-11-06|archive-date=2013-09-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901111827/http://lubavitch.com/centers/region.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="LubavAfrica">{{cite web|url=http://lubavitch.com/centers/region.html?id=1&f=c|title=Chabad Lubavitch Brooklyn New York NY World Headquarters|first=Chabad|last=Lubavitch|website=lubavitch.com|access-date=2013-11-04|archive-date=2015-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016221727/http://lubavitch.com/centers/region.html?id=1&f=c|url-status=dead}}</ref>
] (left) speaks with Russian President ], 28 December 2016]]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! style="width:110px;"| Geographic location !! data-sort-type="number" | Chabad institutions
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|North America ||2,894
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Europe ||1,133
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Asia ||615
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|South America ||208
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Oceania ||67
|-
| style="text-align:left;"|Africa ||55
|- class="sortbottom"
| '''Total''' || '''4,972'''
|}

=== Chabad house ===
{{Main|Chabad house}}
A Chabad house is a form of ], primarily serving both educational and observance purposes.<ref>{{cite news |author=Marcelle S. Fischler |title=Is It a Home or a House of Worship? |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 16, 2005 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D00EEDC1F31F93BA25751C1A9639C8B63 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2015}} Often, until the community can support its own center, the Chabad house is located in the {{Lang|he|]}}''<nowiki/>'s'' home, with the living room being used as the "synagogue". 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Passover seders, around the world |agency=] |date=March 23, 2007 |newspaper=Kentucky New Era |page=28 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=20070323&id=UAgsAAAAIBAJ&pg=5379,7656059 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> The term "Chabad House" originated with the creation of the first such outreach center on the campus of ] by Rabbi ].<ref>''Challenge''<!-- author? date? page? URL? --></ref> A key to the Chabad house was given to the Rebbe and he asked if that meant that the new house was his home. He was told yes and he replied, "My hand will be on the door of this house to keep it open twenty-four hours a day for young and old, men and women alike."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Chumash Devarim|publisher=Kehot Publication Society|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8266-0194-0|location=New York|pages=vii}}</ref>

Followers of Chabad can be seen attending to ] at the ] and ] as well as other public places and distributing ] candles on Fridays. Chabad rabbis and their families are sent to various major cities around the globe, to teach college students, build day schools, and create youth camps. Many of these efforts are geared towards secular or less religious ]. Additionally, unmarried rabbinical students spend weeks during the summer in locations that do not yet have a permanent Chabad presence, making housecalls, putting up ] and teaching about Judaism. This is known as Merkos Shlichus.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson also initiated a Jewish children's movement, called ] (lit. "Army God"), for under ]-age children, to inspire them to increase in ] and observance of ].

Rabbi Schneerson also encouraged the use of modern technology in outreach efforts such as ]s, which are mobile homes that travel a city or country.<ref>{{Citation|title=N.Y. / Region: 'Are You Jewish?'|work= The New York Times|date= 27 April 2011|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2agom-o8Ds |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/k2agom-o8Ds| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en|access-date=2019-12-05}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The Chabad website, ], a pioneer of Jewish religious outreach on the ], was started by Rabbi Yosef Y. Kazen and developed by Rabbi D. Zirkind. In 2023, it was reportedly the largest faith-based website, with 52 million unique visitors and 102,129 content pages covering all facets of ].<ref name="chabad.org">{{cite web|website=Chabad|url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2346206/jewish/Facts-and-Statistics.htm|title=Facts and Statistics}}</ref>

In June 1994, Rabbi Schneerson died with no successor. Since then, over two thousand couples have taken up communal leadership roles in outreach, bringing the estimated total number of "Shluchim" to over five thousand worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kinus.com/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/4051934|title=Banquet/Partner |publisher= Kinus Hashluchim|access-date=2019-12-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/4560827/jewish/Shluchim-Roll-Call.htm|title=Shluchim Roll Call - International Conference of Chabad Emissaries (2019)|website=Chabad.org|language=en|access-date=2019-12-05}}</ref>

In the ], the local Chabad house was targeted.<ref>{{cite news |author=Ralph Blumenthal |date=November 29, 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/nyregion/29chabad.html |title=Jewish Center Is Stormed, and 6 Hostages Die |newspaper=The New York Times |page=A13 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Joshua Runyan |date=November 30, 2008 |url=http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/775065/jewish/Funeral-Preparations-Under-Way.htm |title=Funeral Preparations for Chabad House Victims Under Way |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref> The local Chabad emissaries, Rabbi ] and his wife Rivka, and four other Jews were tortured and murdered by Islamic terrorists.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3539171/Mumbai-attacks-Jews-tortured-before-executed-during-hostage-crisis.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/3539171/Mumbai-attacks-Jews-tortured-before-executed-during-hostage-crisis.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Mumbai attacks: Jews tortured before being executed during hostage crisis |author=Damien McElroy |date=December 1, 2008 |access-date=February 8, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Chabad received condolences from around the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://jta.org/news/article/2008/12/04/1001351/obama-sends-condolences-to-chabad |title=Obama sends condolences to Chabad |publisher=Jewish Telegraph Agency (JTA) |date=December 4, 2008 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Israeli Chabad couple to be expelled from India 'for spying' {{!}} The Times of Israel|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-chabad-couple-to-be-expelled-from-india-as-mossad-agents/amp/|access-date=2021-06-10|website=The Times of Israel}}</ref>

=== 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.

Chabad emissaries often solicit the support of local Jews.<ref name="ert">{{cite book |author=Mark Avrum Ehrlich |title=The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present |location=Jersey City, N.J. |publisher=KTAV |year=2004 |page=134 |isbn=978-0881258363}}</ref> Funds are used toward purchasing or renovating Chabad centers, synagogues and {{Lang|he|]}}.<ref>Fishkoff, Sue, ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch'', Schocken Books 2003 ({{ISBN|08052 11381}}) pages 160–161.</ref>

== Activities ==
The Chabad movement has been involved in numerous activities in contemporary Jewish life. These activities include providing Jewish education to different age groups, outreach to non-affiliated Jews, publishing Jewish literature, and summer camps for children, among other activities.

=== Education ===
Chabad runs a number of educational institutions. Most are ]s; others offer secondary and adult education:

* The Chabad operates more than 1,000 schools, preschools and other educational institutions around the globe.<ref name="chabad.org" />
* Day schools – In the ], there are close to 300&nbsp;day schools and supplementary schools run by Chabad.<ref name="CS1">{{cite web |publisher=The Chabad Sociologist |date=August 6, 2013 |title=Comparing Full Time and Part Time Numbers at Chabad Schools |url=https://chabadsociologist.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/comparing-full-time-and-part-time-numbers-at-chabad-schools/ |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Schick"/> The report findings of studies on ]s and supplementary Jewish education in the ] show that the student body currently enrolled in some 295 Chabad schools exceeds 20,750, although this figure includes Chabad Hasidic children as well as non-Chabad children.<ref name="Schick">{{cite web |last=Schick |first=Marvin |title=A Census of Jewish Day Schools in the United States 2008–2009 |publisher=Avi Chai Foundation |date=October 2009 |url=http://avichai.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Census-of-JDS-in-the-US-2008-09-Final.pdf |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Wertheimer">{{cite web |last=Wertheimer |first=Jack |title=A Census of Jewish Supplementary Schools in the United States: 2006–2007 |publisher=Avi Chai Foundation |date=August 2008 |url=http://avichai.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Supplementary-School-Census-Report-Final.pdf |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>
* Secondary schools – Chabad runs multiple secondary education institutions, most notable are ] for young men, and ] for young women.
* Adult education – Chabad runs adult education programs including those organized by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute<ref>{{cite news|last1=Wertheimer|first1=Jack|title=Why the Lubavitch Movement Thrives in the Absence of a Living Rebbe|url=http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/06/2014/lubavitch-movement-thrives-absence-living-rebbe/|access-date=30 September 2014|work=JA Mag in Jewish World|agency=Orthodox Union|date=June 16, 2014|quote=Among the latter is the Jewish Learning Institute, the largest educational program for Jewish adults in the world (with the possible exception of the Daf Yomi enterprise), which currently enrolls over 66,000 teens and adults at some 850 sites around the world, each following a prescribed course of study according to a set timetable.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Dashefsky |editor-first=Arnold |editor-last2=Sheskin |editor-first2=Ira |title=American Jewish Year Book |volume=113 |date=2014 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-01657-3 |pages=447–597 |edition=Volume 113 |chapter=National Jewish Organizations |quote=... is currently the largest provider of adult Jewish learning. JLI's mission is to inspire Jewish learning worldwide and to transform Jewish life and the greater community through Torah study. Its goal is to create a global network of informed students connected by bonds of shared Jewish experience. JLI's holistic approach to Jewish study considers the impact of Jewish values on personal and interpersonal growth. (The authors of the book are Professor Ira Sheskin of Department of Geography and Regional Studies, The Jewish Demography Project, The Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, University of Miami, and Professor Arnold Dashefsky, Department of Sociology, The Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, University of Connecticut.)|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-01658-0_10|s2cid=154745222 }}</ref> and the ].

=== Outreach activities ===
] offer help with laying ] on the street]]
Many of the movement's activities emphasize outreach activities. This is due to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson encouraging his followers to reach out to other Jews.<ref>''Hayom Yom'', p. A38</ref> Chabad outreach includes activities promoting the practice of Jewish commandments (]), as well as other forms of Jewish outreach. Much of Chabad's outreach is performed by Chabad emissaries (see ]). Most of the communities that Chabad emissaries reach out to are other Jewish communities, such as ].<ref>{{Citation |last=Heilman |first=Samuel C. |title=ChaBaD Lubavitch |date=2017-06-06 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520277236.003.0006 |work=Who Will Lead Us? |publisher=University of California Press |doi=10.1525/california/9780520277236.003.0006 |isbn=9780520277236 |access-date=2022-04-26}}</ref>

Rabbi ], 6th leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of ], and then his successor, Rabbi ] were responsible for focusing Chabad's activities on outreach. Rabbi Schneerson was a pioneer in the field of ] (''Kiruv'').

Each sent out large numbers of rabbinic emissaries, known as "]", to settle in places across the world for outreach purposes. The centers that these ] established were termed "]".

Chabad has been active in reaching out to Jews through its synagogues, and various forms of more direct outreach efforts. The organization has been recognized as one of the leaders in using free holiday services to reach out across denominations.<ref>Fishkoff, Sue. {{Dead link|date=June 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Texas Jewish Post''. Accessed September 22, 2007. "Many people credit Chabad-Lubavitch with spearheading the movement for free holiday services across the denominational spectrum."</ref>

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, had a core of dedicated Hasidim who maintained underground ] and ]s, and provided ] and ] services in the ].

==== Mitzvah campaigns ====
{{Main|Chabad 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 '']''. 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 ]—any mitzvah—its value will not be diminished by the fact that there are others that you are not prepared to do".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/62228/jewish/10-Point-Mitzvah-Campaign.htm |title=The Rebbe's 10-Point Mitzvah Campaign |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>

Schneerson also suggested ten specific {{Lang|he|mitzvot}} that he believed were ideally suited for the emissaries to introduce to non-observant Jews. These were called {{Lang|he|mivtzoim}}—meaning "campaigns" or "endeavors". These were lighting candles before ] and the ]s by Jewish women, putting on {{Lang|he|]}}, affixing a {{Lang|he|]}}, regular ], giving {{Lang|he|]}}, purchasing ], observing {{Lang|he|]}} (kosher), kindness to others, ], and observing ] laws.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}

In addition, Schneerson emphasized spreading awareness of preparing for and the coming of the {{Lang|he|]}}, consistent 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 {{Lang|he|moshiach}} as explained by ]. He argued that redemption was predicated on Jews doing good deeds, and that gentiles should be educated about the ].

Schneerson was emphatic about the need to encourage and provide strong education for every child, Jew and non-Jew alike. In honor of Schneerson's efforts in education the ] has made ] on the Rebbe's Hebrew birthday (]).

==== {{Lang|he|Shluchim}} (Emissaries) ====
In 1950, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson urged Chabad to begin {{Lang|he|shlichus}} ("serving as an emissary "). Since then, Chabad {{Lang|he|shluchim}} ("emissaries", sing. {{Lang|he|shliach}}) have moved all over the world to encourage non-observant Jews to adopt 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.<ref name="ReferenceA">Fishkoff, Sue, ''The Rebbe's Army'', Schocken books 2003 ({{ISBN|08052 11381}}){{page needed|date=January 2015}}</ref>

Thousands of rabbis, educators, ritual slaughterers, and ] have been trained and ] to serve as {{Lang|he|shluchim}}. 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 ].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

{{Lang|he|Shluchim}} operate ], ]s, and Jewish summer camps. As of 2021, there are over 6,500 Chabad ''shluchim'' families worldwide, operating over 3,500 institutions in over 110 countries.<ref name="2021RollCall">{{cite web |title=International Roll Call, Conference of Chabad Emissaries (2021) |url=https://www.chabad.org/multimedia/video_cdo/aid/5294623/jewish/International-Roll-Call.htm |website=Chabad.org |publisher=Chabad-Lubavitch |access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref><ref name="Facts and Statistics">{{cite web |title=Facts and Statistics |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2346206/jewish/Facts-and-Statistics.htm |website=Chabad.org |publisher=Chabad-Lubavitch |access-date=10 March 2023}}</ref> Chabad runs the largest network of synagogues of any Jewish movement as of 2023.<ref name="NorthJersey.com">{{cite news |last1=Yellin |first1=Deena |title=Dinner for 6,500: NJ to host record gathering for growing Chabad Jewish movement |url=https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2022/11/18/chabad-conference-2022-ends-with-record-setting-gala-in-edison-nj/69652054007/ |access-date=10 March 2023 |publisher=NorthJersey.com |date=2022-11-18}}</ref>

==== Mitzvah tank ====
{{Main|Mitzvah tank}}
] Mitzvah tank in ], London]]
A mitzvah tank is a vehicle which is used as a portable "educational and outreach center" and a "mini-synagogue" (or a "minagogue") by Chabad members who are involved in outreach. Mitzvah tanks are commonly used for advancing the mitzvah campaigns. Mitzvah tanks have been commonplace on the streets of New York City since 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/timeline_cdo/aid/62178/jewish/1974-The-Mitzvah-Tank.htm |title=1974: The Mitzvah Tank on |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2011-04-13}}</ref> Today, they are used all over the globe in countries where Chabad is active.

==== Campus outreach ====
{{Main|Chabad on Campus International Foundation}}
In recent years, Chabad has greatly expanded its outreach on university and college campuses. The ''Chabad on Campus'' is active on dozens of campuses outside of the ], some of which include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ].<ref name="chabad.org" /> ''Chabad Student Centers'' are active on over 950 campuses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.edu |title=Directory of Chabad on Campus |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2015}} Professor ] has said "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."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oxfordchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/AID/331005 |title=Address by Professor Alan Dershowitz |publisher=Oxford Chabad Society |date=2005-11-27 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>

==== CTeen ====
The '''Chabad Teen Network''' (CTeen) is an international organization dedicated to educating Jewish youth about their heritage. It is the teen-focused arm of the Chabad movement operated by ]. There are over 100,000 members worldwide<ref name="timesofisrael.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-school-shooting-survivors-seek-healing-at-new-york-meet-up/|title=Jewish school shooting survivors seek healing at New York meet-up|newspaper=Times of Israel}}</ref> with 630 chapters across 44 countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cteen.com/|title=Chabad Teen Network|website=CTeen}}</ref> CTeen is open to all Jewish teens, regardless of affiliation, and has been called "the fastest growing and most diverse Jewish youth organization in the world."<ref name="heritagefl.com">{{Cite news|last=CTeen International|title=Orlando well represented at International CTeen Shabbaton|newspaper=Heritage Florida Jewish News|url=https://www.heritagefl.com/story/2018/03/30/features/orlando-well-represented-at-international-cteen-shabbaton/9544.html}}</ref>

The organization was launched in 2010,<ref name="ejewishphilanthropy.com">{{cite web|last=Levy|first=Faygie|date=28 May 2015|title=In Just Five Years, CTeen Movement Attracts Tens of Thousands of Young Jews|url=http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/in-just-five-years-cteen-movement-attracts-tens-of-thousands-of-young-jews/|url-status=live|website=eJewish Philanthropy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601004816/http://ejewishphilanthropy.com:80/in-just-five-years-cteen-movement-attracts-tens-of-thousands-of-young-jews/? |archive-date=2015-06-01 }}</ref> and operates worldwide in cities such as Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Leeds, Munich, Buenos Aires and New York.<ref name="israelnationalnews.com">{{Cite news|first1=Carin M. |last1=Smilk|title=Teens and mentors from Bangkok to Brazil at Poconos Retreat|url=https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/232778|date=July 21, 2017 |access-date=2021-09-14|website=Israel National News|language=en}}</ref> Its director is Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, and Rabbi ] serves as chairman.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bowling|first=Suzanna|title=Thousands of Jewish Teens Gather in Times Square For Havdalah – Times Square Chronicles|url=https://t2conline.com/thousands-of-jewish-teens-gather-in-times-square-for-havdalah/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-23|website=Times Square Chronicles|date=2 March 2020 |language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524042421/https://t2conline.com/thousands-of-jewish-teens-gather-in-times-square-for-havdalah/ |archive-date=2020-05-24 }}</ref> Individual chapters and programs are managed by local directors.
]

CTeen runs a number of ongoing and annual programs, some of which include:
* CTeen International Shabbaton, an annual inspirational weekend that brings together thousands of teens from around the world. The program includes a traditional Shabbat experience in the heart of Hasidic Crown Heights, a Torah completion ceremony in Times Square, and the CTeen Choice Awards at Brooklyn's Pier 12. The weekend includes a Saturday night concert in Times Square with guest performances by singers such as ], ] and American Hasidic rapper ].<ref name="heritagefl.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.jewishvoicesnj.org/articles/local-teens-have-time-of-their-lives-at-nyc-shabbaton/|title = Local teens have time of their lives at NYC Shabbaton |newspaper= Jewish Community Voice|date = 10 April 2019 }}</ref>
* CTeen XTREME, a summer travel camp where campers challenge themselves both physically and spiritually by partaking in extreme sports, observing a completely tech-free Shabbat, and keeping kosher on the road.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-county-democrat/2015/02/chabad_of_hunterdon_teen_group_makes_impact_in_com.html|title=Chabad of Hunterdon CTeen group makes impact in community|newspaper=Nj|date=26 February 2015}}</ref>
* CTeen U, a college-accredited program where teens learn about Jewish philosophy, ethics and history. The program was launched in 2019 through a partnership with ].<ref>{{cite web|first=|title=Chabad and Yeshiva University Offer Torah Class for High Schoolers|date=14 October 2020|url=https://jewishjournal.com/community/322869/chabad-and-yeshiva-university-offer-torah-class-for-high-schoolers/|url-status=live|access-date=|newspaper=Jewish Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201014165912/https://jewishjournal.com/community/322869/chabad-and-yeshiva-university-offer-torah-class-for-high-schoolers/ |archive-date=2020-10-14 }}</ref>
* Heritage Quest, educational travel programs that aim to deepen the connection of Jewish teens to their heritage through trips to ] and ], offering teens the chance to explore their roots at the source.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/3239262/jewish/CTeen-Summer-Quest-to-Explore-Roots-in-Poland-and-Israel.htm|title=CTeen Summer 'Quest' to Explore Roots in Poland and Israel - Another adventure in the roster of programs for Jewish youth - Chabad.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubavitch.com/leading-voices/|title = Meet Hallandale's New CTeen Directors|date = 17 October 2019}}</ref>
*Kosher Food Club, a co-curricular high school club operating in over fifty high schools throughout the ] that serves as a humanitarian initiative to promote healthy lifestyles, feed the homeless, and provide educational and hands-on experiences making traditional Jewish foods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cteen.com/highschoolclub|title=CTeen &#124; Leadership|website=CTeen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/5144558/jewish/Jewish-Teens-in-Skokie-Ill-Respond-to-Hate-With-Celebration.htm|title=Jewish Teens in Skokie, Ill., Respond to Hate With Celebration - Windows smashed in nearby synagogue followed by outpouring of Jewish pride - Chabad.org}}</ref>
* National Campus Office, coordinator of ], a network of Jewish Student Centers on more than 230 university campuses worldwide (as of April 2016), as well as regional Chabad-Lubavitch centers at an additional 150 universities worldwide<ref name="The National Campus Office">{{cite web |url=http://lubavitch.com/department.html?h=674 |title=The National Campus Office |date=2009 |access-date=25 September 2010 |publisher=lubavitch.com |archive-date=19 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819210507/http://lubavitch.com/department.html?h=674 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Suicide Alert, workshops that equip teens to assist peers dealing with anxiety and depression resulting from the ]. The workshops have been organized by CTeen chapters in Florida, New Hampshire and New Jersey, among others, in partnership with the Gelt Charitable Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.livingworks.net/blog/by-us-for-us|title=By us, for us|website=LivingWorks}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tapinto.net/towns/berkeley-heights/events/suicide-prevention-training-workshop|title=Suicide Prevention Training Workshop|website=TAPinto}}</ref>

=== Publishing ===
{{Main|Kehot Publication Society}}
Chabad publishes and distributes Jewish religious literature. Under ], Chabad's main publishing house, ] has been translated into 12 different languages. Kehot regularly provides books at discounted prices, and hosts book-a-thons. Kehot commonly distributes books written or transcribed from the rebbes of Chabad, prominent ] and other authors who have written Jewish materials.{{cn|date=September 2024}} ] is a division of ], the movement's educational arm.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

More than any other Jewish movement, Chabad has used media as part of its religious, social, and political experience. Their latest leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was the most video-documented Jewish leader in history.<ref name="Maya Balakirsky Katz 2010">{{cite book |author=Maya Balakirsky Katz |title=The Visual Culture of Chabad |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010}}</ref>{{page needed|date=January 2015}} The Chabad movement publishes a wealth of Jewish material on the internet. Chabad's main website ], is one of the first Jewish websites<ref name="Zaleski 1997">{{cite book |last=Zaleski |first=Jeffrey P. |title=The Soul of Cyberspace: How New Technology Is Changing Our Spiritual Lives |date=June 1997 |publisher=Harpercollins |isbn=978-0-06-251451-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/soulofcyberspace00zale |access-date=April 7, 2007}}</ref> and the first and largest virtual congregation.<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160827182515/http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/36222/jewish/Our-Founding-Director.htm |date=August 27, 2016}}, Chabad.org</ref><ref name="Kazen-Times">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/13/nyregion/yosef-kazen-hasidic-rabbi-and-web-pioneer-dies-at-44.html |title=Yosef Kazen, Hasidic Rabbi And Web Pioneer, Dies at 44|last=Harmon|first=Ami|date=December 13, 1998|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=January 1, 2010}}</ref> It serves not just its own members, but Jewish people worldwide in general.<ref>{{cite news|last=Steinfels|first=Peter|date=January 22, 2000|title=Beliefs|newspaper=]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/22/nyregion/beliefs-469874.html|access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref> Other popular Chabad community websites include asktherav.com, anash.org, CrownHeights.info, and the Hebrew site, COL.org.il.<ref>{{cite book |last=Golan |first=Oren |chapter=Frontiers of online religious communities: The case of Chabad Jews |editor=Heidi Campbell |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ox4q7T59KikC&q=Crownheights.info&pg=PA160 |title=Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds |publisher=Routledge |year=2012 |page=160 |isbn=9780415676106 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419231329/http://books.google.com/books?id=ox4q7T59KikC&pg=PA160&vq=Crownheights.info&dq=Crownheights.info&lr=&output=html_text&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1 |archive-date=April 19, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Shaer |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1uWpyg2fh0oC&q=crownheights.info&pg=PT18 |title=Among Righteous Men: A Tale of Vigilantes and Vindication in Hasidic Crown Heights |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2011 |isbn=9781118095201 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140419231347/http://books.google.com/books?id=1uWpyg2fh0oC&pg=PT18&vq=Crownheights.info&dq=crownheights.info&lr=&output=html_text&source=gbs_search_r&cad=1 |archive-date=April 19, 2014}}{{page needed|date=January 2014}}<!-- Couldn't figure out how to get Google to reveal page number--></ref>

=== Summer camps ===
{{Main|Gan Israel Camping Network}}
Chabad has set up an extensive ] 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 ] homes. Of these, 500 camps are in the ].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/14394/edition_id/279/format/html/displaystory.html |title=Chabad camps electrify many Jews, not just Lubavitch |date=September 1, 2000 |author=Julie Wiener |work=]|publisher=Jewish Telegraphic Agency}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/centers/default_cdo/aid/280451/jewish/Camp-Directory.htm |title=Camp Gan Israel Directory |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>

=== Political activities ===
Rabbi Schneerson involved himself in matters relating to the resolution of the ] conflict.<ref>"When Silence is a Sin". ''Sichos in English''.
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113021020/http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/when-silence-is-a-sin/17.htm |date=November 13, 2014}}</ref> He maintained that as a matter of Jewish law,<ref>Based on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim, 328</ref> any territorial concession on Israel's part would endanger the lives of all Jews in the Land of Israel and is therefore forbidden. He also insisted that even discussing the possibility of such concessions showed weakness, would encourage Arab attacks, and therefore endanger Jewish lives.<ref>Essentially his argument sought merely the position that would prevent loss of life, rather than taking a stance in the nature of the Land of Israel and Zionism. {{cite web |last=Freeman |first=Tzvi |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/807777/jewish/Should-I-Pray-for-the-Death-of-Terrorists.htm |title=Should I Pray for the Death of Terrorists? |publisher=Chabad |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>

In US domestic politics, Schneerson supported government involvement in education and welcomed the establishment of the ] in 1980 yet insisted that part of a school's educational mission was to incorporate the values espoused in the ]. He called for the introduction of a ] 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.<ref>''Hayom Yom'', p. A29</ref>

In 1981, Schneerson publicly called for the use of solar energy. Schneerson believed that the US could achieve energy independence by developing solar energy technologies. He argued that the dependence on foreign oil may lead to the country compromising on its principles.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/394468/jewish/Americas-Mandate-Energy-Independence-Part-1.htm |title=Website video link |publisher=chabad.org |date=April 15, 1981 |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/player_cdo/aid/408957/jewish/Americas-Mandate-Energy-Independence-Part-2.htm |title=Chabad.org website video link |publisher=chabad.org |date=1981-04-15 |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>

==== Library dispute with Russia ====
In 2013, US federal judge ] ruled in favor of Chabad lawyers who sought ] sanctions on three Russian organizations to return the Schneersohn Library, 12,000 books belonging to Rabbi ] seized and nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1917–18, to the Brooklyn ].<ref name="The Forward"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-arts-and-culture/books/143902/moscow-putin-lubavitcher-library|title=Putin refuses to let the Lubavitcher Rebbe's library leave Moscow|author=Avital Chizhik|publisher=Tablet|date=September 30, 2013|access-date=June 4, 2017}}</ref> Chabad Rabbi ], Russia's Chief Rabbi, reluctantly accepted Putin's request in moving the Schneerson Library to Moscow's ] as a form of compromise, which was criticized by the Chabad Library.<ref name="The Forward"/>


==Controversies== ==Controversies==
Several movement-wide controversies have occurred in Chabad's 200-year history. Two major leadership succession controversies occurred in the 19th century; one took place in the 1810s following the death of the movement's founder, the other occurred in the 1860s following the death of the third Rebbe. Two other minor offshoot groups were formed later in the movement's history. The movement's other major controversy is Chabad messianism, which began in the 1990s.
] of ] ] (1880-1950) left, with his son-in-law and successor ] (1902-1994), right, the last ''Lubavitcher Rebbe'', in a slightly edited picture.]]


===Succession disputes and offshoot groups===
===History of controversy===
{{Main|Chabad offshoot groups}}
Since its inception, ] was the center of much controversy within the Jewish community. The founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel ] was a populist preacher and ] virtually unknown to the accepted Rabbinate at the time. His quickly growing popularity and novel interpretations of the ] and '']'' (Jewish law) quickly caused a growing backlash by established Rabbis who called themselves '']'' (lit. opposers). Hasidim were accused of idolatry, false messianism and laxity in observance of ''halakha''. This opposition was led by Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer, known as the ].
A number of groups have split from the Chabad movement, forming their own Hasidic groups, and at times positioning themselves as possible successors of previous Chabad rebbes. Following the deaths of the first and third rebbes of Chabad, disputes arose over their succession.


Following the death of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad rebbe, a dispute over his succession led to a break within the movement. While the recognized successor was his oldest son, Rabbi ], a student of Rabbi ], Rabbi ] assumed the title of rebbe and led a number of followers from the town of Strashelye (forming the ]). The new group had two rebbes, Rabbi Aaron and his son Rabbi ]. The new group eventually disbanded following Rabbi Haim Rephael's death.<ref name=beck>{{cite web |last=Beck|first=Atara|title=Is Chabad Lubavitch|work=]|date=16 August 2012|url=http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Judaism/Is-Chabad-Lubavitch}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RcRAQAAIAAJ&q=leadership+in+the+habad|title=Leadership in the HaBaD Movement: A critical evaluation of HaBaD leadership, history, and succession|first1=Avrum M. |last1=Ehrlich |first2=Mark Avrum |last2=Ehrlich |publisher=Jason Aronson|year=2000|isbn=978-0765760555 |chapter=11: The Leadership of Dov Ber}}{{page needed|date=January 2015}}</ref> One of the main points the two rabbis disagreed on was the place of ] in prayer. R' Aaron supported the idea while Rabbi Dovber emphasized genuine ecstasy can only be a result of meditative contemplation (]). Rabbi Dovber published his arguments on the subject in a compilation titled {{Lang|he|Kuntres Hispa'alus}} ("Tract on Ecstasy").<ref>Ehrlich, Leadership in the HaBaD Movement, pp. 160–192, esp. pp. 167–172.</ref>
After the death of the Baal Shem Tov's successor, Rabbi ]; Hasidism split into many groups. Rabbi ] is believed by Chabad Hasidim to be the rightful heir and successor of Rabbi Dovber of Mezritch. During the lives of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and his son ], the controversies between the Hasidim and Mitnagdim intensified in many ways. Subjects of the disagreement were the rules for ritual slaughter and the conduction and phrasing of prayers, but rapidly involved many other aspects of Jewish life. As a result, Rabbi Shneur Zalman and his followers were subjected to bans and persecution. Finally, a prominent member of the '']'' informed the Russian government that Rabbi Shneur Zalman was encouraging his followers to send money to Palestine. Palestine was a part of the ], which was at war with ]. Rabbi Shneur Zalman was arrested for treason. His subsequent release on ] is celebrated by Chabad Hasidim as the New Year of Hasidism and divine vindication of the movement.


Following the death of the third Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the {{Lang|he|Tzemach Tzedek}}), a dispute over his succession led to the formation of several Chabad groups. While Rabbi ] was recognized as the heir to the Chabad-Lubavitch line, several of his brothers formed groups of their own in the towns of ] (forming the ]), ] (forming the ]), ] (forming the ]), and ] (forming the ]). The lifespan of these groups varied; Niezhin and Avrutch had one rebbe each, Liadi had three rebbes, and Kapust had four. Following the deaths of their last rebbes, these groups eventually disbanded.<ref name="pop">''Encyclopedia of Hasidism, entry: Schneersohn, Shmaryahu Noah''. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996. {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}</ref><ref name="kam">{{cite book |last=Kaminetzky |first=Yosef Y. |title=Days in Chabad |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |location=Brooklyn |year=2005 |page=19 |isbn=978-0826604897}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Rabbi Chaim Schneur Zalman of Liadi|journal=L'Maan Yishmeu|issue=128|year=2012|url=http://www.lmaanyishmeu.com/pdf/128%20-%20Revering%20the%20Torah%20-2.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Zevin|first1=Shelomoh Yosef |first2=Uri|last2=Kaploun|title=A Treasury of Chassidic Tales on the Torah: A Collection of Inspirational Chassidic Stories Relevant to the Weekly Torah Readings|volume=1|page=115|publisher=]|year=1980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NnyuhrzRDCMC&q=kopust|isbn=978-0899069005}}</ref><ref name=dalfin_seven>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lTgAAQAAQBAJ&q=dalfin+chaim|last=Dalfin|first=Chaim|title=The Seven Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbes|publisher=Jason Aronson|year=1998|isbn=978-1461710134}}</ref>
There was brief rapprochement between Chabad, other Hasidim and the '']'' during the tenure of Rabbi ], the grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman. However, controversies continued throughout the generations.


Two other minor offshoot groups were formed by Chabad Hasidim. The ] were formed as a quasi-Hasidic group. The group claims to recognize the teachings of the first four rebbes of Chabad, thus rivaling the later Chabad rebbes. The Malachim's first and only rebbe, Rabbi ] (1859/1860–1938), also known as "The Malach" (lit. "the angel"), was a follower of the fourth and fifth rebbes of Chabad.<ref>B. Sobel, ''The M'lochim''</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ehrlich|first=M. Avrum|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39633846|title=Leadership in the HaBaD movement : a critical evaluation of HaBaD leadership, history, and succession|date=2000|publisher=J. Aronson|isbn=0-7657-6055-X|location=Northvale, N.J.|pages=269–271|oclc=39633846}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uEP5KNUAFh0C&pg=PA21|first=Jerome R.|last=Mintz|title=Hasidic People: A Place in the New World|pages=21–26|year=1992|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674041097}}</ref> While Levine's son chose not to succeed him, the Malachim group continues to maintain a yeshiva and ] in ].
===Controversy during the seventh Rebbe's life===
Rabbi ], the seventh Chabad leader, took the reins of the sect shortly after ] and became their '']''. At the time, many believed that ] was about to die. Schneerson believed that the Messiah was soon to come. At the speech where he accepted leadership, he proclaimed the defining theme of his tenure. He stated that his purpose as the seventh ''Rebbe'' was to complete the work of bringing the ]. He further stated that the previous ''Rebbe'' had not finished this work, but because of the unusual character of his self-sacrifice was still present to lead the charge in bringing about the Messianic Age. "Beyond this, the Rebbe will bind and unite us with the infinite Essence of G-d... When he redeems us from the exile with an uplifted hand and the dwelling places of all Jews shall be filled with light... May we be privileged to see and meet with the Rebbe here is this world, in a physical body, in this earthy domain - and he will redeem us" ().


Following the death of the seventh Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, an attempt by ] to form a breakaway Chabad movement, with Deutsch as "Liozna Rebbe", failed to gain popular support.<ref name="rebbe">"Dissidents Name 'Rebbe'," ''The Forward'', December 6, 1996</ref><ref>Heinon, Herb, "Bigger than Death," ''The Jerusalem Post'', August 15, 1997</ref><ref>Segall, Rebecca, "Holy Daze The problems of young Lubavitcher Hasidim in a world without the Rebbe," ''The Village Voice'', September 30, 2000</ref><ref>Eisenberg, Charles. ''The Book of Daniel: A Well Kept Secret''. Xulon Press. 2007. Page 103.</ref>
Schneerson renounced the traditionally insular or assimilationist way of life espoused by many Jews in the United States. He encouraged growing long beards, women wearing wigs and other overt signs of religiosity. His followers held public ] celebrations, encouraged secular Jews to put on ] in public and made themselves highly visible in their Jewish observance. This caused a backlash from both liberal and traditional factions of the Jewish establishment. The County of Allegheny with the support of Chabad defended itself in court all the way to the ] from the ] in ] over the display of a public ] owned by Chabad. Many prominent Rabbis were staunchly opposed to allowing secular Jews to wear ], as they believed it to be a desecration. The controversies over the role of a '']'' and the coming of the ] continue to rage.


===Chabad messianism===
===Relationship between God, the Rebbe and his followers===
{{Main|Chabad messianism}}
Based on the teachings of Rabbi ], the ] and the ], Rabbi ] taught in the name of the ] that "He who breathed life into man, breathed from Himself." Therefore a person's soul comes from the essence of God.
A few years prior to Schneerson's death, most members of the Chabad movement expressed their belief that Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the Messiah. Those subscribing to the beliefs have been termed ''meshichists'' (messianists). A typical statement of belief for Chabad messianists is the song and chant known as ''yechi adoneinu'' ("long live our master", {{langx|he|יחי אדונינו}}).<ref>The full text is ''Yechi adoneinu moreinu v'rabbeinu melech ha-moshiach l'olam vo'ed'' ("Long live our master, our teacher, and our rabbi, King Messiah, for ever and ever).</ref> Customs vary among messianists as to when the phrase is recited.


Since 1994, most of<ref>{{Cite web|last=Newfield|first=Joseph|date=Spring–Summer 2021|title=After The Death Of Chabad's Messiah|url=https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/after-the-death-of-chabads-messiah/|url-status=live|website=Harvard Divinity Bulletin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526140948/https://bulletin.hds.harvard.edu/after-the-death-of-chabads-messiah/ |archive-date=2021-05-26 }}</ref> Chabad persists in the belief in Schneerson as the Jewish messiah. Chabad messianists either believe Schneerson will be ] from the dead to be revealed as the messiah or profess the belief that Schneerson never died in the first place. The Chabad messianic phenomenon has been met mostly with public concerns or opposition by non-Chabad Jewish leaders.<ref name=NYT>{{cite web |title=Lubavitchers Mark 10 Years Since Death of Revered Rabbi |first=Corey |last=Kilgannon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/20/nyregion/lubavitchers-mark-10-years-since-death-of-revered-rabbi.html |work=] |date=20 June 2004 |access-date=19 January 2010}}</ref>
According to ], a tzadik, because he has completely nullified himself and his desires to what God wants, his soul which like every Jewish soul is part of God is revealed within him more than other people whom have not completely nullified themselves to God. However, ] does not believe in the Tzadik being like God.


== In the arts ==
In ] the seventh ] of Chabad, Rabbi ] said a similiar statement to those statements discussed in ], (Lekutei Sichos Vol 2 pg 510-511) saying regarding the practice by ] to have a Rebbe act as an intermediary with God on their behalf, by explaining that "''the Rebbe is completely connected with his Hasidim, not like two separate things that connect, rather they become completely one. And the Rebbe is not an intermediary which separates rather he is one that connects. Therefore by a Hassid, he with the Rebbe with God are all one... Therefore one can not ask a question about an intermediary since this is the essence of God Himself, as He has clothed Himself in a human body''".
=== Art ===
Chabad Hasidic artists ] and Zalman Kleinman have painted a number of scenes depicting Chabad Hasidic culture, including religious ceremonies, study and prayer. Chabad artist ] has painted scenes of the ].<ref name="Maya Balakirsky Katz 2010"/>{{rp|156}}


Artist and {{Lang|he|shaliach}} ] has adapted silkscreen techniques, bright colours and Jewish and Hasidic images to create a form of "Chasidic Pop Art".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/3824604/jewish/Under-the-Black-Hat-Pop-Art-in-Jerusalem-Focuses-on-Chassidim.htm|title='Under the Black Hat' Pop Art in Jerusalem Focuses on Chassidim – Rabbi Yitzchok Moully brings spiritual and emotional depth to a new exhibit|website=chabad.org}}</ref>
In recent years some critics, notably Berger, Keller and others, have expressed the concern that this is a Chabad innovation that deifies the Rebbe, which whould be contrary to accepted Jewish theology. Chabad writers counter that these reactions are based on a misunderstanding of the Kabbalistic terminology used by Schneerson, and that similar expressions can be found throughout non-Chabad Hassidic literature.


===Various forms of messianism=== === Music ===
Vocalists ] and ] have included recordings of traditional Chabad songs on their albums of contemporary Orthodox Jewish music. Bluegrass artist ] has also recorded Chabad spiritual melodies ({{Lang|he|niggunim}}).
During the later years of his life Schneerson's teachings were interpreted by many to mean that he was claiming to be the ]. The development of this messianism and its impact on Chabad in specific &mdash; and ] in general &mdash; has been the subject of much discussion in the Jewish press, as well as within the pages of peer-reviewed journals.


Reggae artist ] has included portions of Chabad {{Lang|he|niggunim}} and lyrics with Chabad philosophical themes in some of his songs.
There are various expressions of the Messianic message:
* Some Chabad Hasidim hold that Schneerson was the best candidate for messiah in his generation, but now say that people were mistaken to believe that he was the Messiah. Rather, he ''could'' have been the messiah if God willed it to be so, but it was not to be. As such, the Messiah will come nonetheless in the person of some other great leader.
* Some Chabad Hasidim hold that the classic meaning of ] does not apply to a truly righteous person such as Schneerson, as his soul was closer to God than that of an ordinary human being. In this view Schneerson never died, and is still alive in some way that ordinary humans cannot perceive. He will return in a more obvious way to proclaim his messiahship (see e.g. Rabbi Levi Yitzchack Ginsberg, of Kfar Chabad Yeshiva, in his book ''Mashiah Akhshav'', volume IV, 1996). Many Chabad Hasidim refuse to put the typical honorifics for the dead (e.g. zt"l or ''zecher tzaddik livrocho'', "may the memory of the righteous be for a blessing") after Schneerson's name.
* Some Chabad Hasidim hold that Schneerson will literally return from the dead amidst a general bodily resurrection of the dead, and will be proclaimed as Messiah. Some Chabad Hasidim have developed an extensive literature of prooftexts attempting to show that this is what previous rabbinic literature actually meant (Berger 2001, see below for details).
* Berger also asserts that a few Chabad followers hold Schneerson to be God incarnate, and that they worship him as such. However this belief runs contrary to Judaism and has been condemed both within chabad (See Bistritzky and Ashkenazi) and outside chabad (See Feldman and Keller).


In 2022, an Israeli theatrical company produced a Chabad-themed musical ''{{ill|HaChabadnikim|he|החבדניקים_(מחזמר)}}'' which follows two young men from ] who go to live in ]. The musical runs for 140 minutes.<ref></ref>
Vociferous opponents of the "''meschichist''" ("messianist") approach were some of the prominent ] (deans of Talmud colleges), such as ] Elazar Menachem Shach, dean of the Ponovezh yeshiva in Israel, who had condemned Chabad beliefs even before Schneerson's death. He was the leader of a group that had historically been at odds with all Hasidim, including Chabad, although from the 20th century onwards they worked quite closely together in organizations such as ], and Shach himself had not criticized any other Hasidic group in this way. It is noteworthy that many ], including the late ] Moses Feinstein and ] Abraham Pam (essentially from the same camp as Schach) held Schneerson in the highest regard and did not take a stance ''vis a vis'' the Messianic stirrings.


=== Literature ===
The most vocal critic in the ] camp has been Rabbi David Berger, professor of ] at ]. In his 2001 book ''The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference'', he criticizes the movement's Messianistic teachings, the perceived belief by many followers that the Rebbe was indeed the Messiah, and the incompatibility of these beliefs with traditional Judaism. He urges the Orthodox community to distance itself from Chabad.
In the late 1930s, Dr Fishl Schneersohn, a psychiatrist, pedagogical theorist, and descendant of the founder of Chabad authored a Yiddish novel titled ''Chaim Gravitzer: The Tale of the Downfallen One from the World of Chabad''. The novel explores the spiritual struggle of a Chabad Hasid who doubts his faith and finally finds peace in doing charitable work.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ingeveb.org/texts-and-translations/chaim-gravitzer|title=חיים גראַװיצער (די געשיכטע פֿון דעם געפֿאַלענעם): פֿון דער חבדישער װעלט &#124; Chaim Gravitzer (The Tale of the Downfallen One): From the World of Chabad|website=In geveb}}</ref>


Novelist ] authored a work '']'' in which a Hasidic teen struggles between his artistic passions and the norms of the community. The "Ladover" community is a thinly veiled reference to the Lubavitcher community in Crown Heights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/hirsch-succeeds-with-theatrical-production-of-my-name-is-asher-lev/|title=Hirsch Succeeds with Theatrical Production of 'My Name is Asher Lev'|date=29 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cochrum |first=Alan Morris |title=CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: JACOB FIGURES AND THEMES IN THE NOVELS OF CHAIM POTOK |url=https://rc.library.uta.edu/uta-ir/bitstream/handle/10106/5378/Cochrum_uta_2502M_10893.pdf?sequence=1 |access-date=22 October 2023 |website=ResearchCommons}}</ref>
At the request of Berger, the ] (RCA) resolved through a majority vote that “"In light of disturbing developments which have recently arisen in the Jewish community, the Rabbinical Council of America in convention assembled declares that there is not and has never been a place in Judaism for the belief that Mashiach ben David will begin his Messianic Mission only to experience death, burial and resurrection before completing it."” Additonally Rosh Yeshiva of ], and major leader in the Modern Orthodox community, Rabbi ], has gone on record criticising the messianic tendencies within Chabad.


Chabad poet ] has written poems on Chabad philosophical topics including {{Lang|he|Ratzo V'Shov}} (spiritual yearning).
In contrast, Berger's claims have been attacked as false and misleading by several books written in response to his claims. Moshe Idel, the Max Cooper Professor of Jewish Thought at Hebrew University, considered the world's foremost academic authority on kabbala, or Jewish mysticism, disagrees with Berger's key point, that Judaism abhors the idea of a messiah who rises from the dead. He pointed out that this notion is not as foreign as Berger would have readers believe. After all, the professor argued, the late ] is considered in Jewish literature as a top candidate for the post of Messiah (Yanover). Rabbi ] expressed concern for voices attacking Chabad. At the time, he had authorized publication of a letter in which he urged respect for Chabad, expressed praise for its work and stated that its beliefs are not outside the realm of Orthodox Judaism. Likewise, Professor ], chairman of the department of Jewish philosophy at Hebrew University, strongly disputes Berger's claims that new Chabad teachings amount to heresy; however he does not believe that such beliefs are correct. In regards to those who wait for Schneerson to return from the dead as a messiah, Ravitzky stated "Torah does not prohibit a person from being stupid."


The American Jewish writer and publisher, ], wrote a short science fiction story depicting the future followers of the "70th Rebbe" of Chabad and their outreach efforts on an alien planet called Tau Ceti IV. The story is told through the eyes of a young extraterrestrial yeshiva student.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=325901 | title=Aardwolf (1994) comic books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://comicsbulletin.com/main/sites/default/files/meth/116414408594091.htm|title=Comics Bulletin - Clifford Meth: Meth Addict - A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Library}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
Earlier responses from other various Jewish spokespeople had been also been aimed specifically at the last two expressions of messianism. Longtime critics Allan Nadler (2001) and Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller (1998) warned that Chabad had moved its focus from God to Schneerson to the point that they "worship him", but their criticism did not have the impact that Berger's work and subsequent campign. Comparisons with Christianity have also been made. Rabbi Jack Riemer (Conservative) Judaism|Conservative), for example, refers to the literature of Meschichist Chabad Jews as Christian, and as being the same as that of ] tract. Professor ] (Conservative) Judaism|Conservative) similarly writes (2001) that Chabad has invented "Halachic Christianity".


The American Jewish writer and publisher, Richard Horowitz, wrote a memoir, The Boys Yeshiva, describing his time teaching at a Chabad yeshiva in Los Angeles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08WJN28TF?pf_rd_r=TX7RWCA3B2YC1K40SEE1&pf_rd_p=5ae2c7f8-e0c6-4f35-9071-dc3240e894a8&pd_rd_r=d1db7338-a252-4e1e-b10b-ce6107bf082a&pd_rd_w=QssvI&pd_rd_wg=4sHt7&ref_=pd_gw_unk|title=The Boys Yeshiva: A Memoir|first=Richard|last=Horowitz|via=Amazon}}</ref>
<!--elaboration of the Dalfin and Rapaport responses to all the above-->


==References and further reading== ===Film and television===
The Chabad-Lubavitch community has been the subject of a number of documentary films. These films include:
* Berger, David. "The Fragility of Religious Doctrine: Accounting for Orthodox Acquiescence in the Belief In A Second Coming," ''Modern Judaism'', Vol. 22, p.103-114, 2002
* Berger, David. ''The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference'', Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001 (ISBN 1874774889)
* Dalfin, Chaim. ''Attack on Lubavitch: A Response'', Jewish Enrichment Press, February 2002 (ISBN 1880880660)
* Fishkoff, Sue. ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch'', Schocken, 2003 (ISBN 0805241892)
* Frumer, Assaf. Kol Hanikra Bishmi (Hebrew)
* Hoffman, Edward. ''Despite All Odds: The Story of Lubavitch''. Simon & Schuster, 1991 (ISBN 0671677039)
* Keller, Chaim Dov. "G-d - Centered or Rebbe/Messiah - Centered: What is Normative Judaism?", ''Jewish Observer'', March, 1998
* chabad.org
* Mindel, Nissan. ''The philosophy of Chabad''. Chabad Research Center, 1973
* Nadler, Allan. ''Last Exit to Brooklyn: The Lubavitcher's powerful and preposterous messianism''. ] May 4, 1992.
* Nadler, Allan. ''A Historian's Polemic Against 'The Madness of False Messianism' '' ] Oct. 19, 2001.
* Neusner, Jacob. ''A Messianism That Some Call Heresy''. Jerusalem Post October 19, 2001
* Pavzener, Avraham. ''Al HaTzadikim'' (Hebrew). Kfar Chabad. 1991
* Prager, Dennis. ''Irresponsible Slander'' ]
* Rapoport, Chaim ''The Messiah Problem; Berger, The Angel and the Scandal of Reckless Indiscrimination Chaim Rapoport'' 2002
* Riemer, Jack. ''Will the Rebbe Return?''. ] February 2002.
* Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. ''On the Essence of Chasidus: A Chasidic Discourse by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of Chabad-Lubavitch''. Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, 2003 (ISBN 0826604668)
* Schochet, Rabbi J. Immanuel. ''G-d Centered or ''Machloket''-Centered: Which is Normative Judaism? A Response to Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller of Chicago''. Algemeiner Journal.
* Schochet, Rabbi J. Immanuel. ''Mashiach.'' .
* Shaffir, William. ''When Prophecy is Not Validated: Explaining the Unexpected in a Messianic Campaign''. The Jewish Journal of Sociology. Vol.XXXVII, No.2, Dec. 1995
* Student, Gil. ''Can the Rebbe Be Moshiach?: Proofs from Gemara, Midrash, and Rambam that the Rebbe cannot be Moshiach'', Universal Publishers, 2002, (ISBN 1581126115).
* Yanover, Yori. ''Attack on Chabad Is Called Unredeemable'' ]


* '''' : A 1966 documentary of Chabad Chassidim in Kfar Chabad, Israel. This film was directed and narrated by Koby Jaeger.
== External links ==


* ''The Spark'' – a 28-minute film, produced in 1974, providing an overview of the Lubavitch and ] of New York.<ref name="PBS hasid">. PBS {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503052544/http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/res_film.html/ |date=May 3, 2015}}</ref> The film was directed by ].<ref name=NYmag80s>{{Cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOcCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA176|title= Movies: Theater Guide |magazine=New York|date=September 15, 1986|page=176|via=Google Books}}</ref>
===Chabad sites===
* '']'' – a 1979 documentary film on Jews who joined the Chabad movement, directed by Yisrael Lifshutz and Barry Ralbag.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thejewishreview.org/articles/?id=168|title=An Interview with the Slopeover Rebbe|website=thejewishreview.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/1981/04/29/archive/the-return-a-hassidic-experience-a-documentary-focusing|title=News Brief – Jewish Telegraphic Agency|date=29 April 1981}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Return: a Hassidic experience|date=June 18, 2020|oclc=50902286}}</ref><ref name=NYmag80s/>
* ''What Is a Jew?'' – a 1989 documentary on Chabad produced by the ] for the series ].
* '']'' – a 60-minute, 1993 film on Lubavitcher Hasidim by ] student Roggerio Gabbai<ref name="PBS hasid"/>
* '']'' – a 1993 TV adaptation of the one-person play by ]. It explores the Black and Hasidic viewpoints of people connected directly and indirectly to the ]s.<ref name="Smith, Anna Deavere 1993">Smith, Anna Deavere. ''Fires in the Mirror''. New York City: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1993.</ref> The adaptation was produced by PBS as part of its ] series.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/28/arts/review-television-one-woman-show-on-black-vs-jew.html|title=Review/Television; One-Woman Show on Black vs. Jew|first=John J.|last=O'Connor|date=April 28, 1993|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 1997 documentary film contrasting three Jewish women, one of whom joins Chabad.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/returnofsd.html|title=A Life Apart: Hasidism In America – Filmography|publisher=PBS}}</ref>
* '']'' – A 1997 documentary written and directed by Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow on the ] and other incidents involving intergroup conflict.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jwa.org/thisweek/jul/29/1997/deborah-kaufman|title=Broadcast of Deborah Kaufman's "Blacks and Jews" &#124; Jewish Women's Archive|website=jwa.org}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 2003 documentary of a Chabad family in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://shop.nfsa.gov.au/welcome-to-the-waks-family|title=Welcome to the Waks Family|website=NFSA Online Shop}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 2008 documentary on young men and women who left the Hasidic Jewish community. The film was directed by ] and the stories featured include former Hasidic Jews living in the ], ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/leaving-the-fold-20080623-2vlh.html|title=Leaving the fold|first=Rachelle|last=Unreich|date=June 23, 2008|website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Leaving The Fold |url=http://7thart.com/press/leavingthefold/Leaving%20the%20Fold_PRESSKIT.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907113013/http://7thart.com/press/leavingthefold/Leaving%20the%20Fold_PRESSKIT.pdf |archive-date=2023-09-07 |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=SEVENTH ART RELEASING}}</ref> Featured in the ] are two young men from a Chabad family in ] as well as a French Lubavitch rabbi.
* '']'' – a 2008 ] on a Chabad family in Vietnam. Written and directed by Ido and Yael Zand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/film-and-videos/?fa=location:vietnam%7Csubject:vietnam%7Clanguage:hebrew&all=true|title=Search results from Film, Video, Vietnam, Vietnam, Hebrew|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 70&nbsp;min, 2013 documentary exploring the perspectives of the female students of a Chabad school in ]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/film-reviews/secrets-and-lives-of-hasidic-women/article18703691/|title=Secrets and lives of Hasidic women|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://thesuburban.com/news/articles/?id=article02642 |title=New film Shekinah provides unprecedented access to the world of young Hasidic women |publisher=TheSuburban.com |date=October 11, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131220142040/http://thesuburban.com/news/articles/?id=article02642 |archive-date=December 20, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?q=node/116289 |last=Arnold |first=Janice |title=Film presents chassidic women's attitudes to intimacy |work=The Canadian Jewish News |date=October 20, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 2012 television series aired on Israeli television based on the lives of the Chabad emissaries in Kathmandu, Nepal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newvoices.org/2012/12/05/zany-heartfelt-kathmandu-evokes-the-soul-of-jewish-culture-in-nepal/|title=Zany, Heartfelt 'Kathmandu' Evokes the Soul of Jewish Culture in Nepal|date=December 5, 2012}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 30&nbsp;min, 2013 documentary on the Chabad Hasidim and ] residents of Crown Heights, using ] in place of conventional camera techniques<ref name="patch">{{cite news |url=http://prospectheights.patch.com/groups/arts-and-entertainment/p/crown-heights-google-glass-doc-premieres-next-month |last=Hampton |first=Matthew |title=Crown Heights 'Google Glass' Doc Premieres Next Month |work=Prospect Heights Patch |date=November 26, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.psfk.com/2013/10/google-glass-documentary-crown-heights.html/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131219031938/http://www.psfk.com/2013/10/google-glass-documentary-crown-heights.html/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 19, 2013 |last=Piras |first=Lara |title=Google Glass Filmed Documentary Goes Where Normal Camera Crews Can't. |publisher=psfk.com |date=October 9, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015 }}</ref><ref name="Gotham">{{cite news |url=http://gothamist.com/2013/10/07/crown_heights_documentary_shot_on_g.php |last=Evans |first=Lauren |title=Intrepid 20-Somethings Examine Crown Heights Through Google Glass |publisher=Gothamist |date=October 7, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225022808/http://gothamist.com/2013/10/07/crown_heights_documentary_shot_on_g.php |archive-date=December 25, 2014}}</ref><ref name="DNA glass">{{cite news |url=http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131007/crown-heights/crown-heights-documentary-shot-completely-with-google-glass |last=Sharp |first=Sonja |title=Crown Heights Documentary Claims to be First Ever Shot With Google Glass |publisher=DNAInfo |date=October 7, 2013 |access-date=January 13, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104174025/http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131007/crown-heights/crown-heights-documentary-shot-completely-with-google-glass |archive-date=November 4, 2014}}</ref>
* '']'' – a 2019 documentary on a Chabad rabbi who moves to Montana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jfi.org/watch-online/jfi-on-demand/rabbi-goes-west-the|title=Rabbi Goes West, The|website=jfi.org}}</ref>
* ''Guns and Moses'' – a 2024 film produced by ] and Nina Litvak. The film portrays Rabbi Mo (]), a Chabad emissary, and his wife, Rebbetzin Hindy (]), whose community is targeted by a ] who shoots and kills a congregant. Rabbi Mo later trains in the use of firearms and seeks to find the killer. The film was released to Jewish film festivals in 2024.<ref>. ''Jewish Journal''. Accessed 22 June 2024.</ref> The film's original title was ''Man in the Long Black Coat''.<ref>. ''Variety''. Accessed 22 June 2024.</ref>


====Other television====
*
* '']'' – a 28-minute, 1974 ] documentary series episode focusing on a day in the life of a Lubavitcher man.<ref name="PBS hasid"/>
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* '']'' – (2018) 50 min television segment by ], SBS, covering the regional and rural Australia (RARA) program of Chabad. Directed by ]. Featured on the SBS "Untold Australia" series.
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== See also ==
{{Portal|Jewish|Judaism}}
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==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |author=Menachem Mendel Schneerson |title=Hayom Yom |publisher=Kehot Publication Society |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-8266-0669-3}}

== Further reading ==
* Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. ''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}})
* Drake, Carolyn. . '']'' (February 2006).
* Ehrlich, Avrum M. ''Leadership in the Chabad Movement: A Critical Evaluation of Habad Leadership, History, and Succession'', Jason Aronson, 2000. ({{ISBN|0-7657-6055-X}})
* Feldman, Jan L. ''Lubavitchers as Citizens: A Paradox of Liberal Democracy'', Cornell University Press, 2003 ({{ISBN|0-8014-4073-4}})
* Fishkoff, Sue. ''The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch'', Schocken, 2003 ({{ISBN|0-8052-4189-2}})
* Heilman, Samuel and Menachem Friedman. ''The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson'' (]; 2010) 400 pages
* 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}})
* Katz, Maya Balakirsky, "Trademarks of Faith: Chabad and Chanukah in America", ''Modern Judaism'', 29,2 (2009), 239–267.
* ''Challenge: An Encounter with Lubavitch-Chabad'', Lubavitch Foundation of Great Britain, 1973. {{ISBN|0-8266-0491-9}}.
* Miller, Chaim. ''Turning Judaism Outward: A Biography of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe''. Kol Menachem, 2014.
* Mindel, Nissan. ''The Philosophy of Chabad''. Chabad Research Center, 1973 ({{ISBN|082660417X}})
* Oberlander, Boruch and Elkanah Shmotkin. ''Early Years: The Formative Years of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, as Told by Documents and Archival Data'', Kehot Publication Society. 2016. ({{ISBN|978-1-932349-04-7}}).
* Steinzaltz, Adin Even Israel. ''My Rebbe''. Koren Publishers, 2014.
* Tannenbaum, Michal and Hagit Cohen. 2018. "Language Educational Policy in the Service of Group Identity: The Habad case". ''Language Policy'' Volume 17, Issue 3, pp 319–342.
* Telushkin, Joseph. ''Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Shneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History''. Harperwave, 2014.
* Weiss, Steven I. (January 20, 2006). {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505065752/http://www.forward.com/articles/orthodox-rethinking-campus-outreach-1/ |date=2007-05-05 }}. '']''.

Early community histories of Chabad produced by members or former members of the Chabad community include ''Toldot Amudei HaChabad'' (Konigsberg, 1876) by ] and '']'' (Berdichev, 1902) by Hayim Meir Heilman.
*Tworek, W. (2017). ''Lubavitch Hasidism''. Oxford Bibliographies.
*Karlinsky, N. (2007). The Dawn of Hasidic—Haredi Historiography. ''Modern Judaism-A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience'', 27(1), 20-46.
*Assaf, D. (2010). ''Untold Tales of the Hasidim: Crisis & Discontent in the History of Hasidism''. UPNE.

== External links ==
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{{Hasidic dynasties}}
{{Jews and Judaism}}
{{New Religious Movements}}
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Latest revision as of 03:37, 22 December 2024

Hasidic Jewish dynasty "Lubavich" and "Lubavitch" redirect here. For the village in Russia associated with Chabad, see Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast. For other uses, see Chabad (disambiguation).
Chabad
חב״ד
Yellow flame
Group picture of Chabad Shluchim (emissaries) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Formation1775 (249 years ago) (1775)
FounderShneur Zalman of Liadi
Founded atLiozno, Russian Empire
Type
Headquarters770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Region served Worldwide
Membership90,000–95,000 (2018)
Key peopleMenachem Mendel Schneerson
SecessionsStrashelye, Kopust, Liadi, Niezhin, Avrutch, Malachim
AffiliationsHasidic Judaism
Website
770 Eastern Parkway
Part of a series on
Chabad
Rebbes
Places and landmarks
Holidays
Organizations
Schools
Texts
Practices and concepts
Chabad offshoots

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (US: /xəˈbɑːd luˈbɑːvɪtʃ/; Hebrew: חב״ד לובביץּ׳; Yiddish: חב״ד ליובאוויטש), is a dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and caters to nonobservant Jews.

Founded in 1775 by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812) in the city of Liozno in the Russian Empire, the name "Chabad" (חב״ד) is an acronym formed from the three Hebrew words—Chokmah, Binah, Da'at— for the first three sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life after Keter: חכמה, בינה, דעת, "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge"—which represent the intellectual and kabbalistic underpinnings of the movement. The name Lubavitch derives from the town in which the now-dominant line of leaders resided from 1813 to 1915. Other, non-Lubavitch scions of Chabad either disappeared or merged into the Lubavitch line. In the 1930s, the sixth Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, moved the center of the Chabad movement from Russia to Poland. After the outbreak of World War II, he moved the center of the movement to Brooklyn, New York, in the United States, where the Rebbe lived on 770 Eastern Parkway until the end of his life.

Between 1951 and 1994, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson transformed the movement into one of the most widespread Jewish movements in the world. Under his leadership, Chabad established a large network of institutions that seek to satisfy the religious, social and humanitarian needs of Jews across the world. Chabad institutions provide outreach to unaffiliated Jews and humanitarian aid, as well as religious, cultural and educational activities. During his life and after his death, Schneerson has been believed by some of his followers to be the Messiah, with his own position on the matter debated among scholars. Messianic ideology in Chabad sparked controversy in various Jewish communities and it is still an unresolved matter. Following his death, no successor was appointed as a new central leader. The Rebbe was also known to have never visited Israel, for reasons which remain disputed among the Chabad community.

The global population of Chabad has been estimated to be 90,000–95,000 adherents as of 2018, accounting for 13% of the global Hasidic population. However, up to one million Jews are estimated to attend Chabad services at least once a year. In a 2020 study, the Pew Research Center found that 16% of American Jews participated in Chabad services or activities at least semi-regularly.

History

The Chabad movement was established after the First Partition of Poland in the town of Liozno, Pskov Governorate, Russian Empire (now Liozna, Belarus), in 1775, by Shneur Zalman, a student of Dov Ber of Mezeritch, the successor to Hasidism's founder, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Dovber Shneuri, the Second Rebbe, moved the movement to Lyubavichi (Yiddish: ליובאַװיטש, Lyubavitsh), in current-day Russia, in 1813.

The movement was centered in Lyubavichi for a century until the fifth Rebbe, Rabbi Shalom Dovber left the village in 1915 and moved to the city of Rostov-on-Don. During the interwar period, following Bolshevik persecution, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, under the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, was centered in Riga and then in Warsaw. The outbreak of World War II led the Sixth Rebbe to move to the United States. Since 1940, the movement's center has been in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Chabad newspaper, Huh-Ukh (1911)
Chabad of Boston Appeal (1927)

While the movement spawned a number of offshoot groups throughout its history, the Chabad-Lubavitch branch is the only one still active, making it the movement's main surviving line. Historian Jonathan Sarna has characterized Chabad as having enjoyed the fastest rate of growth of any Jewish religious movement in the period 1946–2015.

In the early 1900s, Chabad-Lubavitch legally incorporated itself under Agudas Chasidei Chabad ("Association of Chabad Hasidim").

In the 1980s, tensions arose between Chabad and Satmar Chasidim as a result of several assaults on Chabad Hasidim by Satmar Hasidim.

Oppression and resurgence in Russia

Main articles: Antisemitism in the Russian Empire, Antisemitism in the Soviet Union, History of the Jews in Russia, and History of the Jews in the Soviet Union

The Chabad movement was subjected to governmental oppression in Russia. The Russian government, first under the Czar, later under the Bolsheviks, imprisoned all but one of the Chabad rebbes. The Bolsheviks also imprisoned, exiled and executed a number of Chabad Hasidim. During the Second World War, many Chabad Hasidim evacuated to the Uzbek cities of Samarkand and Tashkent where they established small centers of Hasidic life, while at the same time seeking ways to emigrate from Soviet Russia due to the government's suppression of religious life. The reach of Chabad in Central Asia also included earlier efforts that took place in the 1920s. Following the war, and well after the center of the Chabad movement moved to the United States, the movement remained active in Soviet Russia, aiding the local Jews known as Refuseniks who sought to learn more about Judaism. And throughout the Soviet era, the Chabad movement maintained a secret network across the USSR. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, state persecution of Chabad ceased. The Chief Rabbi of Russia, Berel Lazar, a Chabad emissary, maintains warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lazar also received the Order of Friendship and Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" medals from him.

Leadership

Schneersohn family
Part of a series on
Chabad
(Rebbes and Chasidim)
770 Eastern Parkway
Rebbes of Chabad
Schneersohn family
Rabbonim
Mashpiim and scholars
Mazkirus and other leaders
Shluchim
Other notable figures
Controversies

The Chabad movement has been led by a succession of Hasidic rebbes. The main branch of the movement, Chabad-Lubavitch, has had seven rebbes:

  • Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), founded the Chabad movement in the town of Liozna. The Chabad movement began as a separate school of thought within the Hasidic movement, focusing of the spread of Hasidic mystical teachings using logical reasoning (creating a kind of Jewish "rational-mysticism"). Shneur Zalman's main work is the Tanya (or Sefer Shel Beinonim, "Book of the Average Man"). The Tanya is the central book of Chabad thought and is studied daily by followers of the Chabad movement. Shneur Zalman's other works include a collection of writings on Hasidic thought, and the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, a revised version of the code of Halakha, both of which are studied regularly by followers of Chabad. Shneur Zalman's successors went by last names such as "Schneuri" and "Schneersohn" (later "Schneerson"), signifying their descent from the movement's founder. He is commonly referred to as the "Old Rebbe" (Yiddish: אַלטער רבי, romanizedAlter Rebbe or Hebrew: אדמו״ר הזקן, romanizedAdmur Hazoken).
  • Rabbi Dovber Schneuri (1773–1827), son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, led the Chabad movement in the town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch). His leadership was initially disputed by Rabbi Aaron Halevi of Stroselye, however, Rabbi Dovber was generally recognized as his father's rightful successor, and the movement's leader. Rabbi Dovber published a number of his writings on Hasidic thought, greatly expanding his father's work. He also published some of his father's writings. Many of Rabbi Dovber's works have been subsequently republished by the Chabad movement. He is commonly referred to as the Mitteler Rebbe (Yiddish: מיטעלער רבי 'Middle Rabbi', Hebrew: אדמו״ר האמצעי, romanizedAdmur Ha'emtzoei).
  • Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789–1866), a grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and son-in-law of Rabbi Dovber. Following his attempt to persuade the Chabad movement to accept his brother-in-law or uncle as rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel assumed the title of rebbe of Chabad, also leading the movement from the town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch). He published a number of his works on both Hasidic thought and Jewish law. Rabbi Menachem Mendel also published some of the works of his grandfather, Rabbi Shneur Zalman. He is commonly referred to as the Tzemach Tzedek after the title of his responsa.
  • Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn (1834–1882), was the seventh and youngest son of Rabbi Menachem Mendel. He assumed the title of rebbe in town of Lyubavichi (Lubavitch), while several of his brothers assumed the title of rebbe in other towns, forming Chabad groups of their own which existed for several decades. Years after his death, his teachings were published by the Chabad movement. He is commonly referred to as the Maharash, an acronym for Moreinu HaRav Shmuel ('our teacher, Rabbi Shmuel').
  • Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn (1860–1920), Shmuel's second son, succeeded his father as rebbe. Rabbi Shalom Dovber waited some time before officially accepting the title of rebbe, as not to offend his elder brother, Zalman Aaron. He established a yeshiva called Tomchei Temimim. During World War I, he moved to Rostov-on-Don. Many of his writings were published after his death, and are studied regularly in Chabad yeshivas. He is commonly referred to as the Rashab, an acronym for Rabbi Shalom Ber.
  • Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880–1950), the only son of Sholom Dovber, succeeded his father as rebbe of Chabad. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak was exiled from Russia, following an attempt by the Bolshevik government to have him executed. He led the movement from Warsaw, Poland, until the start of World War II. After fleeing the Nazis, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak lived in Brooklyn, New York until his death. He established much of Chabad's current organizational structure, founding several of its central organizations as well as other Chabad institutions, both local and international. He published a number of his writings, as well as the works of his predecessors. He is commonly referred to as the Rayatz or the Frierdiker Rebbe ('Previous Rebbe').
  • Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), son-in-law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, and a great-grandson of the third Rebbe of Lubavitch, assumed the title of rebbe one year after his father-in-law's death. Rabbi Menachem Mendel greatly expanded Chabad's global network, establishing hundreds of new Chabad centers across the globe. He published many of his own works as well as the works of his predecessors. His teachings are studied regularly by followers of Chabad. He is commonly referred to as "the Lubavitcher Rebbe", or simply "the Rebbe". Even after his death, many continue to revere him as the leader of the Chabad movement.

Influence

Chabad's influence among world Jewry has been far-reaching since World War II. Chabad pioneered the post-World War II Jewish outreach movement, which spread Judaism to many assimilated Jews worldwide, leading to a substantial number of baalei teshuva ("returnees" to Judaism). The very first Yeshiva/Rabbinical College for such baalei teshuva, Hadar Hatorah, was established by the Lubavitcher rebbe. It is reported that up to a million Jews attend Chabad services at least once a year.

According to journalist Steven I. Weiss, Chabad's ideology has dramatically influenced non-Hasidic Jews' outreach practices. Because of its outreach to all Jews, including those Jews who are quite alienated from religious Jewish traditions, Chabad has been described as the one Orthodox group which evokes great affection from large segments of American Jewry.

Philosophy

Main article: Chabad philosophy

Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious and spiritual concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments. Classical Judaic writings and Jewish mysticism, especially the Zohar and the Kabbalah of Rabbi Isaac Luria, are frequently cited in Chabad works. These texts are used both as sources of Chabad teachings and as material requiring interpretation by Chabad authors. Many of these teachings discuss what is commonly referred to as bringing "heaven down to earth", i.e. making the Earth a dwelling place for God. Chabad philosophy is rooted in the teachings of Rabbis Yisroel ben Eliezer, (the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Hasidism) and Dovber ben Avraham, the "Maggid of Mezritch" (Rabbi Yisroel's successor).

Rabbi Shneur Zalman's teachings, particularly in the Tanya, formed the basis of Chabad philosophy, as expanded by succeeding generations. Many Chabad activities today are understood as applications of Shneur Zalman's teachings.

Tanya

Main article: Tanya (Judaism)

The Tanya (תניא) is a book by Rabbi Shneur Zalman first published in 1797. It is the first schematic treatment of Hasidic moral philosophy and its metaphysical foundations.

According to the Tanya, the intellect consists of three interconnected processes: Chochma (wisdom), Bina (understanding), and Da'at (knowledge). While other branches of Hasidism primarily focused on the idea that "God desires the heart," Shneur Zalman argued that God also desires the mind, and he also argued that the mind is the "gateway" to the heart. With the Chabad philosophy, he elevated the mind above the heart, arguing that "understanding is the mother of fear and love for God".

The Tanya has five sections. The original name of the first section 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. Citing the biblical verse "the matter is very near to you, in your mouth, your heart, to do", the philosophy is based on the notion that the human is not inherently evil; rather, every individual has an inner conflict that is characterized by two different inclinations, the good and the bad.

Chabad often contrasted itself with what is termed the Chagat schools of Hasidism. While all schools of Hasidism put a central 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 Torah study and prayer rather than esotericism and song. As a Talmudist, Shneur Zalman endeavored to place Kabbalah and Hasidism on a rational basis. In Tanya, he defines his approach as moach shalit al halev (Hebrew: מוח שליט על הלב, "the brain ruling the heart").

Community

A Lag BaOmer parade in front of Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York, in 1987

An adherent of Chabad is called a Chabad Chasid (or Hasid) (Hebrew: חסיד חב"ד), a Lubavitcher (Yiddish: ליובאַוויטשער), a Chabadnik (Hebrew: חבדניק), or a Chabadsker (Yiddish: חבדסקער). Chabad's adherents include both Hasidic followers, as well as non-Hasidim, who have joined Chabad synagogues and other Chabad-run institutions.

Although the Chabad movement was founded and originally based in Eastern Europe, various Chabad communities span the globe, including Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Kfar Chabad, Israel. The movement has attracted a significant number of Sephardic adherents in the past several decades, and some Chabad communities include both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews. For example, in Montreal, close to 25% of Chabad households include a Sephardi parent.

According to sociologists studying contemporary Jewry, the Chabad movement fits into neither the standard category of Haredi nor that of modern Orthodox among Orthodox Jews. This is due in part to the existence of the number of Chabad supporters and affiliates who are not Orthodox (dubbed by some scholars as "non-Orthodox Hasidim"), the general lack of official recognition of political and religious distinctions within Judaism, and the open relationship with non-Orthodox Jews represented by the activism of Chabad emissaries.

Population

In 2018, Marcin Wodziński conducted the first global estimate of worldwide Hasidism in the Historical Atlas of Hasidism. Using Chabad community directories, Wodziński estimated that Chabad included 16,000–17,000 households, or 90,000–95,000 individuals, representing 13% of the total Hasidic population and ranking Chabad as the second-largest Hasidic community behind the Satmar community.

United States

President Ronald Reagan receives menorah from the "American Friends of Lubavitch", White House, 1984

Estimates for Chabad and other Hasidic groups are often based on extrapolation from the limited information available in US census data for some of the areas where Hasidim live. A 2006 estimate was drawn from a study on the Montreal Chabad community (determining average household size), in conjunction with language and other select indicators from US census data, it is estimated that Chabad in the United States includes approximately 4,000 households, which contains between 22,000 and 25,000 people. In terms of Chabad's relation to other Hasidic groups, within the New York metropolitan area, Chabad in the New York area accounts for around 15% of the total New York Hasidic population. Chabad is estimated to have an annual growth of 3.6%:

  • Crown Heights – The Crown Heights Chabad community's estimated size is 10,000 to 12,000 or 12,000 to 16,000. In 2006, extrapolating based on census data, it was estimated that the Chabad community in Crown Heights make up some 11,000. It was estimated that between 25% and 35% of Chabad Hasidim in Crown Heights speak Yiddish. This figure is significantly lower than other Hasidic groups and may be attributed to the addition of previously non-Hasidic Jews to the community. It was also estimated that over 20% of Chabad Hasidim in Crown Heights speak Hebrew or Russian. The Crown Heights Chabad community has its own Beis Din (rabbinical court) and Crown Heights Jewish Community Council (CHJCC).
  • Chabad hipsters – Beginning from the late 2000s through the 2010s, a minor trend of cross acculturation of Chabad Hasidim and contemporary hipster subculture appeared within the New York City Jewish community. According to The Jewish Daily Forward, a significant number of members of the Chabad Hasidic community, mostly residing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, appear to now have adopted various cultural affinities of the local hipster subculture. These members are referred to as Chabad hipsters or Hipster Hasidim.

Israel

  • Kfar Chabad – Kfar Chabad's estimated size is 5,100; all of the residents of the town are believed to be Chabad adherents. This estimate is based on figures which were published by the Israeli Census Bureau. Other estimates place the community population at around 7,000.
  • Safed – The Chabad community in Safad (Tzfat) originated during the wave of Eastern European immigration to Palestine from 1777–1840. The Chabad community established synagogues and institutions in Safad. The early settlement declined by the 20th century but it was renewed following an initiative by the seventh rebbe in the early 1970s, which reestablished the Chabad community in the city. Rabbi Yeshaya HaLevi Horowitz (1883–1978), a Safad-born direct descendant of Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz, author of the Shnei Luchot HaBrit, served as the rabbi of the Chabad community in Safad from 1908 until his immigration to the U.S. during World War I. Members of the Chabad community run a number of outreach efforts during the Jewish holidays. Activities include blowing the shofar for the elderly on Rosh Hashana, reading the Megilla for hospital patients on Purim and setting up a Sukka on the town's main street during the Sukkot holiday.

France

The Chabad community in France is estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000. The majority of the Chabad community in France are the descendants of immigrants from North Africa (specifically Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) during the 1960s.

Canada

  • Montreal – The estimated size of the Chabad community of Greater Montreal is 1,590. The estimate is taken from a 2003 community study. The Chabad community in Montreal originated sometime before 1931. While early works on Canadian Jewry make little or no mention of early Hasidic life in Canada, later researchers have documented Chabad's accounts in Canada starting from the 1900s and 1910s. Steven Lapidus notes that there is mention of two Chabad congregations in a 1915 article in the Canadian Jewish Chronicle listing the delegates of the first Canadian Jewish Conference. One congregation is listed as Chabad of Toronto, and the other is simply listed as "Libavitzer Congregation". The sociologist William Shaffir has noted that some Chabad Hasidim and sympathizers did reside in Montreal before 1941 but does not elaborate further. Steven Lapidus notes that in a 1931 obituary published in Keneder Odler, a Canadian Yiddish newspaper, the deceased Rabbi Menashe Lavut is credited as the founder of Anshei Chabad in Montreal and the Nusach Ari synagogue. Thus the Chabad presence in Montreal predates 1931.

United Arab Emirates

Meeting of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with the rabbis of Ukraine on May 6, 2019

Customs and holidays

Main article: Chabad customs and holidays

Customs

Chabad adherents follow Chabad traditions and prayer services based on Lurianic Kabbalah. General Chabad customs, called minhagim (or minhagei Chabad), distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups. Some of the main Chabad customs are minor practices performed on traditional Jewish holidays:

  • Passover – It is customary in Chabad communities, on Passover, to limit contact of matzah (an unleavened bread eaten on Passover) with water. This custom is called gebrokts (Yiddish: געבראָכטס, lit. 'broken'). However, on the last day of Passover, it is customary to intentionally have matzah come in contact with water.
  • Chanukah – It is the custom of Chabad Hasidim to place the Chanukah menorah against the room's doorpost (and not on the windowsill).
  • Prayer – The founder of Chabad wrote a very specific liturgy for the daily and festival prayers based on the teachings of the Kabbalists, primarily the Arizal.
  • The founder of Chabad also instituted various other halachic rulings, including the use of stainless steel knives for the slaughter of animals before human consumption, which are now universally accepted in all sects of Judaism.

Holidays

There are a number of days marked by the Chabad movement as special days. Major holidays include the dates of the release of the leaders of the movement, the rebbes of Chabad, from prison, others corresponded to the leaders' birthdays, anniversaries of death, and other life events.

The days marking the leaders' release, are celebrated by the Chabad movement as "Days of Liberation" (Hebrew: יום גאולה (Yom Geulah)). The most noted day is Yud Tes Kislev—the liberation of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad movement. The day is also called the "New Year of Hasidism".

The birthdays of several of the movement's leaders are celebrated each year including Chai Elul, the birthday of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad movement, and Yud Aleph Nissan, the birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh rebbe of Chabad.

The anniversaries of death, or yartzeit, of several of the movement's leaders are celebrated each year, include Yud Shvat, the yartzeit of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth rebbe of Chabad, Gimmel Tammuz, the yartzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh rebbe of Chabad, and Chof Beis Shvat, the yartzeit of Chaya Mushka Schneerson, the wife of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Organizations

Main article: Chabad affiliated organizations
Map of Countries with Chabad Shluchim
Map of countries with Chabad Shluchim

Chabad's central organization representing the movement at large, Agudas Chasidei Chabad, is headed by Rabbi Abraham Shemtov. The educational, outreach and social services arms, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch and Machneh Israel are headed by Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, as well as the Chabad-Lubavitch publishing house, Kehot Publication Society.

Local Chabad centers and institutions are usually incorporated as separate legal entities.

Institutions

As of 2020 there were over 3,500 Chabad centers in 100 countries. The Chabad movement's online directory lists around 1,350 Chabad institutions. This number includes schools and other Chabad-affiliated establishments. The number of Chabad centers vary per country; the majority are in the United States and Israel. There are over 100 countries with a small Chabad presence.

In total, according to its directory, Chabad maintains a presence in 950 cities around the world: 178 in Europe, 14 in Africa, 200 in Israel, 400 in North America, 38 in South America, and about 70 in Asia (excluding Israel, including Russia).

By geographic region

Further information: Chabad affiliated organizations § Chabad institutions by geographic region

Chabad presence varies from region to region. The continent with the highest concentration of Chabad centers is North America. The continent with the fewest centers is Africa.

Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar (left) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 28 December 2016
Geographic location Chabad institutions
North America 2,894
Europe 1,133
Asia 615
South America 208
Oceania 67
Africa 55
Total 4,972

Chabad house

Main article: Chabad house

A Chabad house is a form of Jewish community center, primarily serving both educational and observance purposes. Often, until the community can support its own center, the Chabad house is located in the shaliach's home, with the living room being used as the "synagogue". 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. The term "Chabad House" originated with the creation of the first such outreach center on the campus of UCLA by Rabbi Shlomo Cunin. A key to the Chabad house was given to the Rebbe and he asked if that meant that the new house was his home. He was told yes and he replied, "My hand will be on the door of this house to keep it open twenty-four hours a day for young and old, men and women alike."

Followers of Chabad can be seen attending to tefillin booths at the Western Wall and Ben Gurion International Airport as well as other public places and distributing Shabbat candles on Fridays. Chabad rabbis and their families are sent to various major cities around the globe, to teach college students, build day schools, and create youth camps. Many of these efforts are geared towards secular or less religious Jews. Additionally, unmarried rabbinical students spend weeks during the summer in locations that do not yet have a permanent Chabad presence, making housecalls, putting up mezuzot and teaching about Judaism. This is known as Merkos Shlichus.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson also initiated a Jewish children's movement, called Tzivos Hashem (lit. "Army God"), for under bar/bat mitzvah-age children, to inspire them to increase in study of Torah and observance of mitzvot.

Rabbi Schneerson also encouraged the use of modern technology in outreach efforts such as Mitzva tanks, which are mobile homes that travel a city or country. The Chabad website, chabad.org, a pioneer of Jewish religious outreach on the Internet, was started by Rabbi Yosef Y. Kazen and developed by Rabbi D. Zirkind. In 2023, it was reportedly the largest faith-based website, with 52 million unique visitors and 102,129 content pages covering all facets of Judaism.

In June 1994, Rabbi Schneerson died with no successor. Since then, over two thousand couples have taken up communal leadership roles in outreach, bringing the estimated total number of "Shluchim" to over five thousand worldwide.

In the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the local Chabad house was targeted. The local Chabad emissaries, Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka, and four other Jews were tortured and murdered by Islamic terrorists. Chabad received condolences from around the world.

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.

Chabad emissaries often solicit the support of local Jews. Funds are used toward purchasing or renovating Chabad centers, synagogues and mikvahs.

Activities

The Chabad movement has been involved in numerous activities in contemporary Jewish life. These activities include providing Jewish education to different age groups, outreach to non-affiliated Jews, publishing Jewish literature, and summer camps for children, among other activities.

Education

Chabad runs a number of educational institutions. Most are Jewish day schools; others offer secondary and adult education:

  • The Chabad operates more than 1,000 schools, preschools and other educational institutions around the globe.
  • Day schools – In the United States, there are close to 300 day schools and supplementary schools run by Chabad. The report findings of studies on Jewish day schools and supplementary Jewish education in the United States show that the student body currently enrolled in some 295 Chabad schools exceeds 20,750, although this figure includes Chabad Hasidic children as well as non-Chabad children.
  • Secondary schools – Chabad runs multiple secondary education institutions, most notable are Tomchei Tmimim for young men, and Bais Rivka for young women.
  • Adult education – Chabad runs adult education programs including those organized by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute and the Jewish Learning Network.

Outreach activities

Chabad chassidic Jews offer help with laying tefilin on the street

Many of the movement's activities emphasize outreach activities. This is due to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson encouraging his followers to reach out to other Jews. Chabad outreach includes activities promoting the practice of Jewish commandments (Mitzvah campaigns), as well as other forms of Jewish outreach. Much of Chabad's outreach is performed by Chabad emissaries (see Shaliach (Chabad)). Most of the communities that Chabad emissaries reach out to are other Jewish communities, such as Reform Jews.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, 6th leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism, and then his successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson were responsible for focusing Chabad's activities on outreach. Rabbi Schneerson was a pioneer in the field of Orthodox Judaism outreach (Kiruv).

Each sent out large numbers of rabbinic emissaries, known as "Shluchim", to settle in places across the world for outreach purposes. The centers that these Shluchim established were termed "Chabad houses".

Chabad has been active in reaching out to Jews through its synagogues, and various forms of more direct outreach efforts. The organization has been recognized as one of the leaders in using free holiday services to reach out across denominations.

Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, had a core of dedicated Hasidim who maintained underground yeshivos and mikvehs, and provided shechitah and ritual circumcision services in the Soviet Union.

Mitzvah campaigns

Main article: Chabad 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 mitzvah—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 Shabbat and the Jewish holidays by Jewish women, putting on tefillin, affixing a mezuzah, regular Torah study, giving tzedakah, purchasing Jewish books, observing kashrut (kosher), kindness to others, Jewish religious education, and observing the family purity laws.

In addition, Schneerson emphasized spreading awareness of preparing for and the coming of the moshiach, consistent 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 moshiach as explained by Maimonides. He argued that redemption was predicated on Jews doing good deeds, and that gentiles should be educated about the Noahide Laws.

Schneerson was emphatic about the need to encourage and provide strong education for every child, Jew and non-Jew alike. In honor of Schneerson's efforts in education the United States Congress has made Education and Sharing Day on the Rebbe's Hebrew birthday (11 Nissan).

Shluchim (Emissaries)

In 1950, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson urged Chabad to begin shlichus ("serving as an emissary "). Since then, Chabad shluchim ("emissaries", sing. shliach) have moved all over the world to encourage non-observant Jews to adopt 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.

Thousands of rabbis, educators, ritual slaughterers, and ritual circumcisers have been trained and ordained to serve as shluchim. 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.

Shluchim operate Chabad Houses, Jewish day schools, and Jewish summer camps. As of 2021, there are over 6,500 Chabad shluchim families worldwide, operating over 3,500 institutions in over 110 countries. Chabad runs the largest network of synagogues of any Jewish movement as of 2023.

Mitzvah tank

Main article: Mitzvah tank
Chabad Lubavitch Mitzvah tank in Golders Green, London

A mitzvah tank is a vehicle which is used as a portable "educational and outreach center" and a "mini-synagogue" (or a "minagogue") by Chabad members who are involved in outreach. Mitzvah tanks are commonly used for advancing the mitzvah campaigns. Mitzvah tanks have been commonplace on the streets of New York City since 1974. Today, they are used all over the globe in countries where Chabad is active.

Campus outreach

Main article: Chabad on Campus International Foundation

In recent years, Chabad has greatly expanded its outreach on university and college campuses. The Chabad on Campus is active on dozens of campuses outside of the United States, some of which include Canada, Israel, UK, Austria, Germany, France, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Russia, Argentina, China and Australia. Chabad Student Centers are active on over 950 campuses. Professor Alan Dershowitz has said "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."

CTeen

The Chabad Teen Network (CTeen) is an international organization dedicated to educating Jewish youth about their heritage. It is the teen-focused arm of the Chabad movement operated by Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch. There are over 100,000 members worldwide with 630 chapters across 44 countries. CTeen is open to all Jewish teens, regardless of affiliation, and has been called "the fastest growing and most diverse Jewish youth organization in the world."

The organization was launched in 2010, and operates worldwide in cities such as Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Leeds, Munich, Buenos Aires and New York. Its director is Rabbi Shimon Rivkin, and Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky serves as chairman. Individual chapters and programs are managed by local directors.

Picture of room '302'

CTeen runs a number of ongoing and annual programs, some of which include:

  • CTeen International Shabbaton, an annual inspirational weekend that brings together thousands of teens from around the world. The program includes a traditional Shabbat experience in the heart of Hasidic Crown Heights, a Torah completion ceremony in Times Square, and the CTeen Choice Awards at Brooklyn's Pier 12. The weekend includes a Saturday night concert in Times Square with guest performances by singers such as Gad Elbaz, Yakov Shwekey and American Hasidic rapper Nissim Black.
  • CTeen XTREME, a summer travel camp where campers challenge themselves both physically and spiritually by partaking in extreme sports, observing a completely tech-free Shabbat, and keeping kosher on the road.
  • CTeen U, a college-accredited program where teens learn about Jewish philosophy, ethics and history. The program was launched in 2019 through a partnership with Yeshiva University.
  • Heritage Quest, educational travel programs that aim to deepen the connection of Jewish teens to their heritage through trips to Poland and Israel, offering teens the chance to explore their roots at the source.
  • Kosher Food Club, a co-curricular high school club operating in over fifty high schools throughout the United States that serves as a humanitarian initiative to promote healthy lifestyles, feed the homeless, and provide educational and hands-on experiences making traditional Jewish foods.
  • National Campus Office, coordinator of Chabad on Campus, a network of Jewish Student Centers on more than 230 university campuses worldwide (as of April 2016), as well as regional Chabad-Lubavitch centers at an additional 150 universities worldwide
  • Suicide Alert, workshops that equip teens to assist peers dealing with anxiety and depression resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The workshops have been organized by CTeen chapters in Florida, New Hampshire and New Jersey, among others, in partnership with the Gelt Charitable Foundation.

Publishing

Main article: Kehot Publication Society

Chabad publishes and distributes Jewish religious literature. Under Kehot Publication Society, Chabad's main publishing house, Jewish literature has been translated into 12 different languages. Kehot regularly provides books at discounted prices, and hosts book-a-thons. Kehot commonly distributes books written or transcribed from the rebbes of Chabad, prominent chassidim and other authors who have written Jewish materials. Kehot is a division of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the movement's educational arm.

More than any other Jewish movement, Chabad has used media as part of its religious, social, and political experience. Their latest leader, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was the most video-documented Jewish leader in history. The Chabad movement publishes a wealth of Jewish material on the internet. Chabad's main website Chabad.org, is one of the first Jewish websites and the first and largest virtual congregation. It serves not just its own members, but Jewish people worldwide in general. Other popular Chabad community websites include asktherav.com, anash.org, CrownHeights.info, and the Hebrew site, COL.org.il.

Summer camps

Main article: Gan Israel Camping Network

Chabad has set up an extensive network of camps 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 Orthodox homes. Of these, 500 camps are in the United States.

Political activities

Rabbi Schneerson involved himself in matters relating to the resolution 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 Jews in the Land of Israel and is therefore forbidden. He also insisted that even discussing the possibility of such concessions showed weakness, would encourage Arab attacks, and therefore endanger Jewish lives.

In US domestic politics, Schneerson supported government involvement in education and welcomed the establishment of the United States Department of Education in 1980 yet insisted that part of a school's educational mission was to incorporate the values espoused in the Seven Laws of Noah. He called for the introduction of a moment of silence 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.

In 1981, Schneerson publicly called for the use of solar energy. Schneerson believed that the US could achieve energy independence by developing solar energy technologies. He argued that the dependence on foreign oil may lead to the country compromising on its principles.

Library dispute with Russia

In 2013, US federal judge Royce Lamberth ruled in favor of Chabad lawyers who sought contempt sanctions on three Russian organizations to return the Schneersohn Library, 12,000 books belonging to Rabbi Yosef Schneersohn seized and nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1917–18, to the Brooklyn Chabad Library. Chabad Rabbi Berel Lazar, Russia's Chief Rabbi, reluctantly accepted Putin's request in moving the Schneerson Library to Moscow's Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center as a form of compromise, which was criticized by the Chabad Library.

Controversies

Several movement-wide controversies have occurred in Chabad's 200-year history. Two major leadership succession controversies occurred in the 19th century; one took place in the 1810s following the death of the movement's founder, the other occurred in the 1860s following the death of the third Rebbe. Two other minor offshoot groups were formed later in the movement's history. The movement's other major controversy is Chabad messianism, which began in the 1990s.

Succession disputes and offshoot groups

Main article: Chabad offshoot groups

A number of groups have split from the Chabad movement, forming their own Hasidic groups, and at times positioning themselves as possible successors of previous Chabad rebbes. Following the deaths of the first and third rebbes of Chabad, disputes arose over their succession.

Following the death of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the first Chabad rebbe, a dispute over his succession led to a break within the movement. While the recognized successor was his oldest son, Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, a student of Rabbi Schneur Zalman, Rabbi Aaron HaLevi assumed the title of rebbe and led a number of followers from the town of Strashelye (forming the Strashelye dynasty). The new group had two rebbes, Rabbi Aaron and his son Rabbi Haim Rephael. The new group eventually disbanded following Rabbi Haim Rephael's death. One of the main points the two rabbis disagreed on was the place of spiritual ecstasy in prayer. R' Aaron supported the idea while Rabbi Dovber emphasized genuine ecstasy can only be a result of meditative contemplation (hisbonenus). Rabbi Dovber published his arguments on the subject in a compilation titled Kuntres Hispa'alus ("Tract on Ecstasy").

Following the death of the third Chabad rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (the Tzemach Tzedek), a dispute over his succession led to the formation of several Chabad groups. While Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn was recognized as the heir to the Chabad-Lubavitch line, several of his brothers formed groups of their own in the towns of Kopys (forming the Kapust dynasty), Nezhin (forming the Niezhin dynasty), Lyady (forming the Liadi dynasty), and Ovruch (forming the Avrutch dynasty). The lifespan of these groups varied; Niezhin and Avrutch had one rebbe each, Liadi had three rebbes, and Kapust had four. Following the deaths of their last rebbes, these groups eventually disbanded.

Two other minor offshoot groups were formed by Chabad Hasidim. The Malachim were formed as a quasi-Hasidic group. The group claims to recognize the teachings of the first four rebbes of Chabad, thus rivaling the later Chabad rebbes. The Malachim's first and only rebbe, Rabbi Chaim Avraham Dov Ber Levine haCohen (1859/1860–1938), also known as "The Malach" (lit. "the angel"), was a follower of the fourth and fifth rebbes of Chabad. While Levine's son chose not to succeed him, the Malachim group continues to maintain a yeshiva and minyan in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Following the death of the seventh Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, an attempt by Shaul Shimon Deutsch to form a breakaway Chabad movement, with Deutsch as "Liozna Rebbe", failed to gain popular support.

Chabad messianism

Main article: Chabad messianism

A few years prior to Schneerson's death, most members of the Chabad movement expressed their belief that Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the Messiah. Those subscribing to the beliefs have been termed meshichists (messianists). A typical statement of belief for Chabad messianists is the song and chant known as yechi adoneinu ("long live our master", Hebrew: יחי אדונינו). Customs vary among messianists as to when the phrase is recited.

Since 1994, most of Chabad persists in the belief in Schneerson as the Jewish messiah. Chabad messianists either believe Schneerson will be resurrected from the dead to be revealed as the messiah or profess the belief that Schneerson never died in the first place. The Chabad messianic phenomenon has been met mostly with public concerns or opposition by non-Chabad Jewish leaders.

In the arts

Art

Chabad Hasidic artists Hendel Lieberman and Zalman Kleinman have painted a number of scenes depicting Chabad Hasidic culture, including religious ceremonies, study and prayer. Chabad artist Michoel Muchnik has painted scenes of the Mitzvah Campaigns.

Artist and shaliach Yitzchok Moully has adapted silkscreen techniques, bright colours and Jewish and Hasidic images to create a form of "Chasidic Pop Art".

Music

Vocalists Avraham Fried and Benny Friedman have included recordings of traditional Chabad songs on their albums of contemporary Orthodox Jewish music. Bluegrass artist Andy Statman has also recorded Chabad spiritual melodies (niggunim).

Reggae artist Matisyahu has included portions of Chabad niggunim and lyrics with Chabad philosophical themes in some of his songs.

In 2022, an Israeli theatrical company produced a Chabad-themed musical HaChabadnikim [he] which follows two young men from Kfar Chabad who go to live in Tel Aviv. The musical runs for 140 minutes.

Literature

In the late 1930s, Dr Fishl Schneersohn, a psychiatrist, pedagogical theorist, and descendant of the founder of Chabad authored a Yiddish novel titled Chaim Gravitzer: The Tale of the Downfallen One from the World of Chabad. The novel explores the spiritual struggle of a Chabad Hasid who doubts his faith and finally finds peace in doing charitable work.

Novelist Chaim Potok authored a work My Name is Asher Lev in which a Hasidic teen struggles between his artistic passions and the norms of the community. The "Ladover" community is a thinly veiled reference to the Lubavitcher community in Crown Heights.

Chabad poet Zvi Yair has written poems on Chabad philosophical topics including Ratzo V'Shov (spiritual yearning).

The American Jewish writer and publisher, Clifford Meth, wrote a short science fiction story depicting the future followers of the "70th Rebbe" of Chabad and their outreach efforts on an alien planet called Tau Ceti IV. The story is told through the eyes of a young extraterrestrial yeshiva student.

The American Jewish writer and publisher, Richard Horowitz, wrote a memoir, The Boys Yeshiva, describing his time teaching at a Chabad yeshiva in Los Angeles.

Film and television

The Chabad-Lubavitch community has been the subject of a number of documentary films. These films include:

Other television

Notable people

A

B

C

E

F

G

H

J

K

L

M

O

P

R

S

T

W

Y

Z

See also

Notes

  1. He dropped the second 'h' from his name.
  2. Chagat is an acronym for Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet (kindness, severity, beauty), the Kabbalistic terms for the three primary emotions. Schools of Hasidic thought stressing emotive patterns of worship have been termed Chagat in the Chabad philosophy.

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Sources

Further reading

  • Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. 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)
  • Drake, Carolyn. "A Faith Grows in Brooklyn". National Geographic (February 2006).
  • Ehrlich, Avrum M. Leadership in the Chabad Movement: A Critical Evaluation of Habad Leadership, History, and Succession, Jason Aronson, 2000. (ISBN 0-7657-6055-X)
  • Feldman, Jan L. Lubavitchers as Citizens: A Paradox of Liberal Democracy, Cornell University Press, 2003 (ISBN 0-8014-4073-4)
  • Fishkoff, Sue. The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch, Schocken, 2003 (ISBN 0-8052-4189-2)
  • Heilman, Samuel and Menachem Friedman. The Rebbe: The Life and Afterlife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Princeton University Press; 2010) 400 pages
  • 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)
  • Katz, Maya Balakirsky, "Trademarks of Faith: Chabad and Chanukah in America", Modern Judaism, 29,2 (2009), 239–267.
  • Challenge: An Encounter with Lubavitch-Chabad, Lubavitch Foundation of Great Britain, 1973. ISBN 0-8266-0491-9.
  • Miller, Chaim. Turning Judaism Outward: A Biography of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson the Seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. Kol Menachem, 2014.
  • Mindel, Nissan. The Philosophy of Chabad. Chabad Research Center, 1973 (ISBN 082660417X)
  • Oberlander, Boruch and Elkanah Shmotkin. Early Years: The Formative Years of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, as Told by Documents and Archival Data, Kehot Publication Society. 2016. (ISBN 978-1-932349-04-7).
  • Steinzaltz, Adin Even Israel. My Rebbe. Koren Publishers, 2014.
  • Tannenbaum, Michal and Hagit Cohen. 2018. "Language Educational Policy in the Service of Group Identity: The Habad case". Language Policy Volume 17, Issue 3, pp 319–342.
  • Telushkin, Joseph. Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Shneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History. Harperwave, 2014.
  • Weiss, Steven I. (January 20, 2006). "Orthodox Rethinking Campus Outreach" Archived 2007-05-05 at the Wayback Machine. The Jewish Daily Forward.

Early community histories of Chabad produced by members or former members of the Chabad community include Toldot Amudei HaChabad (Konigsberg, 1876) by Michael Levi Rodkinson and Beit Rebbe (Berdichev, 1902) by Hayim Meir Heilman.

  • Tworek, W. (2017). Lubavitch Hasidism. Oxford Bibliographies.
  • Karlinsky, N. (2007). The Dawn of Hasidic—Haredi Historiography. Modern Judaism-A Journal of Jewish Ideas and Experience, 27(1), 20-46.
  • Assaf, D. (2010). Untold Tales of the Hasidim: Crisis & Discontent in the History of Hasidism. UPNE.

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