Chabadpedia
Chabadpedia is a Chabad-ran encyclopedia for English and Hebrew speakers on the Internet, featuring thousands of articles. Its main purpose is to disseminate and make accessible the teachings of Chabad Hasidism to the general public.
Chabadpedia operates through wiki software for online encyclopedias, also used by large encyclopedias like Wikipedia, with a version tailored to the observant Jewish community such as WikiYeshiva and others. It presents to the reader all available knowledge about Chabad Hasidism, its leaders, and its teachings, with an emphasis on matters of redemption and Messiah. Chabadpedia also covers other topics related to Chabad Hasidism and Judaism in general.
History
Significant importance was given by the Rebbe to the editing of compilations and key Torah books, as well as to projects such as the Talmudic Encyclopedia and the Chabad Encyclopedia project. The Rebbe also encouraged the publication of books that collect the names and pictures of students of yeshivas and supporters of Chabad around the world, such as the book "Levavitch and its Soldiers" and later "The Tzaddikim Book". Similarly, the album "The Shluchim Book" received special attention, featuring pictures of the Rebbe's emissaries and their families, as well as from Chabad institutions worldwide. The Rebbe's view on the importance of harnessing technology for holiness and spreading the springs is well known. As the Rebbe said during the 'Chanukah Live' event in 1992, broadcast via satellite worldwide: "Since 'all that God created in His world, He created only for His honor' (Avot 6:11), it is understood, as it applies also to all scientific discoveries that have been renewed and are being revealed in recent years, 'their purpose and goal' is to add to the honor of God, by exploiting them for purposes of holiness, Torah, and its commandments." With the rise of collaborative encyclopedias on the Internet in the early 2000s, students at Tomchei Temimim Central Yeshiva 770 initiated, with the support of the Chabad Info website, the establishment of a collaborative Chabad encyclopedia on the Internet. Chabadpedia was founded on the 24th of Sivan, 5767 (2007), with 1000 articles. Its first name was 'Infopedia', named after the Chabad Info website, which sponsored it.
Since its founding, Chabadpedia has been written, improved, and operated by volunteers from Chabad Hasidim, including rabbis, students of Chabad yeshivas, and emissaries of the Rebbe from around the world. Volunteers write articles, create the graphics that adorn the encyclopedia, and assist in editing and monitoring the content against corruption. With the establishment of the Chabad in Israel website in 2010 by the administrators of the Association of Chabad Hasidim in Israel, it also provided sponsorship.
Activities
Chabadpedia is the fastest growing Internet encyclopedia, apart from Wikipedia itself, in Israel, which focuses on Chabad Hasidism. As of now, Chabadpedia has 29 articles, with 446 edits made to them. It includes 45 registered users, including 4 active users and Template:NUMBEROFSYSOPS system operators responsible for managing the site. Articles from Chabadpedia are often used as sources in various wiki sites and in print media.
Structure
Chabadpedia's goal is to consolidate all information on Chabad Hasidism in simple language that is understandable even to those not familiar with the world of Chabad Hasidism, in concepts, history, and personalities. Chabadpedia deals primarily with articles dealing with the teachings of Hasidism, given that the revelation of the King Messiah to the Baal Shem Tov depends on the spread of Torah springs to the other side. In addition, due to the words of the Rebbe that "the straight path to bring redemption is to study matters of redemption and Messiah", values on these topics are central and central to Chabadpedia.
Projects
Periodically, Chabadpedia editors initiate projects aimed at creating or enhancing articles within the Chabad-centric encyclopedia. These projects focus on various topics in Judaism and Hasidism, or on the creation and enrichment of a defined number of articles. Projects also include initiatives related to significant dates in the Chabad calendar. Often, these projects are publicized on Chabad news websites during their execution and upon completion.
Site Administration
As a collaborative site, Chabadpedia has no centralized administration, allowing anyone to edit and improve its articles. There are users granted Template:Chabadpedia privileges, enabling them to delete pages and more.
The site's founder and initial editor is Rabbi Template:א. The site is managed by Chabad Info, which sponsors and funds it, overseen by Rabbi Shraga Crombie.
Spiritual Committee
Chabadpedia operates under a Spiritual Committee, which navigates the site's direction. The committee's role is to determine the content and style of Chabadpedia and to decide in cases of disagreement, although its members do not review the content of the articles continuously updated by users.
As of 5784, the Spiritual Committee of the site includes rabbis Shlomo Zalman Levkivker and Yosef Avraham Pizem, who collaborate with the Chabad Law Institute.
Former committee members include Rabbi Shalom Yaakov Chazan, Rabbi Shneur Zalman Hertzel, and Rabbi Shmuel Kaslman.