Chabad: Difference between revisions

'''Chabad''', also known as '''Lubavitch''', '''Habad''' and '''Chabad-Lubavitch'''<ref>Additional spellings include Lubawitz, and Jabad (in Spanish speaking countries)</ref> is a [[Hasidic dynasty|dynasty]] in [[Hasidic Judaism]]. Belonging to the [[Haredi Judaism|Haredi]] (ultra-Orthodox) branch of [[Orthodox Judaism]], it is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements,<ref>"Hasidism" jewishvirtuallibrary.org.</ref> as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations. Unlike most Charedi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and caters to nonobservant Jews.

Founded in 1775<ref name="Barry" /> by Rabbi [[Shneur Zalman of Liadi]] (1745–1812) in the city of [[Liozna|Liozno]] in the [[Russian Empire]], the name "Chabad" ({{lang|he|חב״ד}}) is an acronym formed from the three Hebrew words—[[Chokmah]], [[Binah (Kabbalah)|Binah]], [[Da'at]]— for the first three [[sefirot]] of the [[Tree of life (Kabbalah)|kabbalistic Tree of Life]] after [[Keter]]: {{lang|he|חכמה, בינה, דעת}}, "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge"—which represent the [[Chabad philosophy|intellectual and kabbalistic underpinnings]] of the movement.<ref>Dara Horn, June 13, 2014. Book review. Rebbe by Joseph Telushkin and My Rebbe by Adin Steinsaltz. "Rebbe of Rebbe's". date=October 26, 2014}} ''The Wall Street Journal''</ref><ref>[ |url=chabad.org/article.asp?AID=36226 |title=About Chabad-Lubavitch on |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref> The name [[Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District, Smolensk Oblast|Lubavitch]] derives from the town in which the now-dominant line of leaders resided from 1813 to 1915.<ref name=jta1808>[|url=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>[|url=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, [[Chabad offshoot groups|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 at 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.<ref name=ch100>[|url=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 [[Orthodox Judaism outreach|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 in Judaism|Messiah]], with his own position on the matter debated among scholars. [[Chabad messianism|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.