Chabad: Difference between revisions

{{Chabad}}

'''Chabad-Lubavitch''' is the Chassidic movement founded by [[the Alter Rebbe|Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (the Alter Rebbe)]] dedicated to spreading the teachings of [[the Baal Shem Tov|Rabbi Yisrael ben Elizer (the Baal Shem Tov)]] and [[the Maggid of Mezritch|Rabbi Dovber ben Avraham (the Maggid of Mezritch)]]. Including the Alter Rebbe, there are seven Rebbes of Chabad-Lubavitch. The teachings of Chabad focus on the transformation of the individual to serve [[Hakadosh Baruch Hu (G-d)|the Almighty]] with one's mind and heart, and on the mission of bringing the Jewish People from [[Galus (Exile)]] and to the Geulah (final redemption).

== Geography ==

The [[geography of Chabad|geography of the Chabad movement]] spreads across the world. Chabad maintains a strong presence in every significant Jewish community across the world. Although the Chabad movement was founded and originally based in the Russian Empire and Eastern Europe, various Chabad communities span the globe, including [[Crown Heights]] in [[Brooklyn]], and [[Kfar Chabad]] in [[Eretz Yisroel]]. Chabad communities are present in many other countries, as are Chabad shluchim in many more remote places.

* '''Russia and Eastern Europe''' - Initially, Chabad was based in Liozna and Liadi before being centered in Lubavitch. The Chabad movement was at times 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 many Chabad Chassidim. And many were sent to Siberia for years of hard labor. Between the two World Wars, Chabad communities were reestablished and strengthened across Eastern Europe, including in Poland, where the Rebbe Rayatz settled. During the Second World War, the Rebbe Rayatz was rescued and came to America. Many Chabad Chassidim evacuated to the Uzbek cities of Samarkand and Tashkent where they established small centers of Chassidic 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 United States, the movement remained active in Soviet Russia, aiding the local Jews known as Refuseniks 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 dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, state persecution of Chabad ceased, and the Chabad movement openly leads the rebuilding of Judaism in Russia. Similarly, the Chabad presence in other Eastern European countries have grown since the fall of the Soviet Union.

== Spreading of the Wellsprings ==

=== Mivtzoim ===

Chabad outreach includes activities promoting the practice of Jewish commandments in the form of the [[Mivtzoim]] (Campaigns), and this call is aimed all Jews: "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".<ref>Chabad.org "The Rebbe's 10-Point Mitzvah Campaign" Accessed 2010-05-12.</ref> The original campaigns, included Jewish women and girls from the age of three [[Mivtza Neiros Shabbos Kodesh|lighting candles before Shabbos]], Jewish men putting on [[Mivtza Tefillin|Tefillin]], affixing a [[Mivtza Mezuzah|Mezuzah]] to all doorways of the home, [[Mivtza Torah|regular Torah study]], giving [[Mivtza Tzedakah|Tzedakah]] (Charity), [[Mivtza Bayis Molei Seforim|filling one's home]] with sefarim (holy Jewish books), [[Mivtza Kashrus|observing Kashrus]] (Kosher dietary laws), keeping the [[Mivtza Taharas Hamishpacha|Laws of Family Purity]] (Hilchos Niddah), [[Mivtza Ahavas Yisroel|loving every Jew]], supporting [[Mivtza Chinuch|Jewish education]]. A special campaign for non-Jews aimed at educating the masses about the [[Seven Laws of Noah|Noahide Laws]]. In addition, the Rebbe emphasized spreading awareness of preparing for and the coming of the [[Moshiach]], and that it was the responsibility to reach out to teach every fellow Jew with love, and implore that all Jews believe in the imminent coming of the moshiach as explained in the halachik writings of the Rambam (Maimonides). In honor of the Rebbe's efforts in education the United States government established the Rebbe's Hebrew birthday of Yud Aleph Nissan (11 Nissan) as "Education and Sharing Day".

== Holidays and customs ==

=== Holidays ===

=== ''Minhagim'' (Customs) ===

== The Arts ==