Neighborhood

A neighborhood is an urban residential unit with uniform social, architectural, and geographical characteristics. Its size can vary from individual buildings (like Kfar Chabad in Tzfat) to numerous streets (like Crown Heights in New York).

Characteristics of a Neighborhood

Most neighborhoods have shared local infrastructure, such as educational institutions, public buildings, and public gardens. Neighborhoods can develop as a result of urban planning or grow naturally. In areas where a certain ethnic group congregates, a neighborhood with specific characteristics can form. For example, the Crown Heights neighborhood in Brooklyn has Chabad characteristics.

A city typically consists of several neighborhoods (depending on its size), with neighborhood sizes varying significantly. Important neighborhoods in large cities may have tens or hundreds of thousands of residents, while Kfar Chabad in Tzfat contains only 3 buildings.

In Eretz Yisroel, large Jewish cities have neighborhood rabbis appointed by the Chief Rabbinate, who are below city rabbis in the rabbinical hierarchy and are responsible for the religious care of neighborhood residents.

Chabad Neighborhoods

There are several official Chabad neighborhoods in Israel:

• Nachalat Har Chabad and Nachalat Menachem in Kiryat Malachi
• Shikun Chabad in Yerushalayim
• Kfar Chabad (Tzfat)
• Givat Shoshana in Tzfat
• Shikun Chabad in Lod

The Kfar Chabad settlement is also divided into neighborhoods, such as Levi Yitzchok neighborhoods A and B, Build Your Home neighborhood, the Rav's neighborhood, and more.

The largest Chabad neighborhood in the world is Crown Heights in Brooklyn with nearly 4,000 families.

Establishment of Neighborhoods by the Rebbe

The first neighborhood that the Rebbe instructed to establish was Shikun Chabad in Yerushalayim. In 5718 (1957-1958), the Rebbe instructed Rav Slonim to establish a Chabad neighborhood in Yerushalayim. The cornerstone was laid in 5720 (1959-1960), and the first residents moved in before Rosh Hashanah 5722 (1961).

The second neighborhood, Nachalat Har Chabad, was established in Kiryat Malachi. The establishment came after an instruction from the Rebbe to find a neighborhood to settle immigrants from Russia, and Chabad activists in Israel suggested Kiryat Malachi. On 23 Shevat 5729 (1969), the Rebbe gave a positive response. The neighborhood's name "Nachalat Har Chabad" has the initials "Chana," named after Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe's mother.

The third neighborhood is Kfar Chabad in Tzfat, built in 5733 (1973) by Rav Kaplan. Under the Rebbe's instruction, Rav Kaplan gathered ten young married men from the kollelim then existing in Kfar Chabad and Nachalat Har Chabad, and established the first nucleus with them. Today, nearly 800 Chabad families live in Tzfat. The original size of the neighborhood is 3 tall buildings, containing nearly 200 families. As the community expanded, four additional smaller buildings were added, and today the neighborhood extends into nearby neighborhoods.

In 5743 (1983), about two years after Beit Romano was redeemed from the Arabs, there were plans to establish a large Chabad yeshiva in Chevron, and to establish a Chabad neighborhood around it. Initially, the Rebbe showed a positive direction to the proposal, and practical plans for establishing the neighborhood began. The plans were presented to the Prime Minister at the time, Menachem Begin, and Housing Minister Mr. David Levy, who agreed in principle to the plans. But at a later stage, the Rebbe froze the plans. In a letter he sent, he explained that despite the desire to renew the Chabad settlement in Chevron, he was not willing to take responsibility for sending his chassidim there, as the current security situation was not safe enough. The Rebbe concluded his letter with a promise that as soon as the security situation changes and it becomes possible to settle in Chevron without security risks, the plan would be raised again.

Additional Chabad neighborhoods were formed as a result of the natural development of the local community, such as the Chabad neighborhood in Rechovot.

Chabad Neighborhood Rabbis

• Rav Baruch Boaz Yorkowitz - Rabbi of Shikun Chabad in Lod
• Rav Mordechai Bistritzky - Rabbi of Kfar Chabad in Tzfat
• Rav Yitzchak Yehuda Yeruslavsky - Rabbi of Nachalat Har Chabad, Kiryat Malachi
• Rav Pinchas Althaus - Neighborhood Rabbi in Cholon
• Rav Mordechai Nachimovsky - Neighborhood Rabbi in Cholon
• Rav Menachem Wolpe - Rabbi of Shikun Chabad and Rabbi of the Irusim neighborhood, Netanya
• Rav Yaakov Naki - Rabbi of Yad HaTisha neighborhood, Herzliya
• Rav Meir Swissa - Rabbi of Neighborhood A, Beer Sheva
• Rav Shimon Eisenbach - Rabbi of the Shachmon neighborhood, Eilat

See Also

• Kfar Chabad

External Links

• Nachalat Har Chabad - Instructions and guidance from the Rebbe's secretariat regarding the establishment of Nachalat Har Chabad in Kiryat Malachi, 5768 (2008)
• Foundation of Kfar Chabad in Tzfat - Kfar Chabad, 5769 (2009)
• Foundation and Development of Shikun Chabad in Lod, Kfar Chabad, 5770 (2010)