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770 Eastern Parkway, commonly abbreviated to 770 or Seven-seventy is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York in the United States of America.

History

The building originally served as a medical clinic (and performed illegal abortions and was therefore closed down by officials), and was later purchased, in 1940, by Agudas Chasidei Chabad and adapted for the needs of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. Rabbi Schneersohn was paralyzed and required a wheelchair when he arrived in the United States in 1940. A building with an elevator needed to be purchased for his use as both a home and as a synagogue. The synagogue was given the name "Congregation Lubavitch". Crown Heights was chosen as the air was felt to be better for the Rebbe's ailing health.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok's son-in-law and eventual successor, led the movement from this building while maintaining a residence nearby on President Street, several blocks away.

From its inception the synagogue has served three parallel purposes. It is a place of daily prayer services, a study hall for advanced students, and also an assembly hall for Chabad gatherings, which are known as Farbrengens. Here the Lubavitcher Rebbe or elder Chassidim would address Chassidim and other visitors about Torah and Chassidic philosophy and practice.

As the Lubavitch movement grew in the United States, the original small synagogue was soon too small to house the growing number of worshipers and students who regularly came to pray and study there. The synagogue was expanded in several stages. The first annex was added in 1960, with subsequent expansions taking place in the late 1960's and again in the mid 1970's. The synagogue then reached its current size. The original synagogue remains as a small study hall used by rabbinical students during the week. In 1988, Rabbi Schneerson laid the cornerstone for a larger renovation project. It is yet to be completed.

The original building is part of a larger block maintained by the Agudas Chasidei Chabad. This block includes the larger synagogue, a Mikvah, a Kollel, and the community's library. It also houses parts of the secretariat of the Lubavitch Movement and other related offices.

Besides being a synagogue, the site is considered to be especially holy, as it served as the home and offices of the last 2 Lubavitch leaders. It is visited by thousands of people from around the world every year. While the building is recognized as an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, it is open to all people, with a men's section on the ground floor, and a women's section on the floor above it. On the Sabbath and holidays, smaller prayer groups can be found congregating throughout the building, including the lobby and office used by the Rebbe within the original 770 Building.

The synagogue's official name is "Congregation Lubavitch of Agudas Chasidei Chabad", although it goes by several other names throughout the worldwide Chabad community, including: Beis Moshiach ("Messiah's House"), the numerical value of 770, and Beis Rabeinu Sheb'bovel ("Our Rebbe's House in Babylon").

Because Lubavitch Chassidim attach great significance to everything that played a role in the Rebbe's life, Lubavitch Chassidim all over the world have built replicas or near-replicas of the building. These include replicas in Kefar Chabad and Jerusalem Israel; at Rutgers University on College Avenue in New Brunswick, NJ; on Pico Boulevard in Los Angeles, California; in Melbourne, Australia; Milan, Italy; Brazil and Argentina. Several artists have also created Tzedakah boxes and Mezuzah cases in the building's likeness. Joseph Zakon Wineries in New York City makes a wine called "Seven-seventy". Since the early 1990s, tefillin bags with an embroidered picture of seven-seventy have become extremely popular among Lubavitcher Bar Mitzvah boys.

References

1. Illustrating That Looks Aren't Everything

External links

• Live Stream of 770 Shul and the Lubavitcher Yeshiva (Weekdays only)
• The Portable Legacy The Forward, December 29 2006.
• A photo gallery of 770 replicas around the world, by Andrea Robbins and Max Becher

• Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism
• Hasidic Judaism in New York City
• Synagogues in New York City
• Orthodox synagogues