Chabad: Difference between revisions
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
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 many Chabad Chassidim. And many were sent to Siberia for years of hard labor. During the Second World War, 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. | 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 many Chabad Chassidim. And many were sent to Siberia for years of hard labor. During the Second World War, 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. | ||
Chabad's influence among world Jewry has been far-reaching since [[World War II]]. Chabad pioneered the | Chabad's influence among world Jewry has been far-reaching since [[World War II]]. The Chabad movement pioneered the effort to lead to ''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.<ref name="Slater Page 279" /><ref name="winnipegfreepress.com">Chabad Lubavitch centre set for River Heights area. 5 August 2007. Sharon Chisvin. Winnipeg Free Press.</ref> | ||
[[Chassidus|Chabad Chassidus]] focuses on religious and spiritual concepts such as the creation of the world, the soul, and the meaning of Torah and mitzvos. The [[Zohar]] and the [[Kabbalah]] of the Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, form the basis for the teachings of Chabad Chassidus. | [[Chassidus|Chabad Chassidus]] focuses on religious and spiritual concepts such as the creation of the world, the soul, and the meaning of Torah and mitzvos. The [[Zohar]] and the [[Kabbalah]] of the Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, form the basis for the teachings of Chabad Chassidus. | ||