Chabad

Chabad
חב״ד
	Group picture of Chabad Shluchim (emissaries) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Formation	1775
Founder	Schneur Zalman of Liadi
Founded at	Liozno, Russian Empire
Type	Jewish religious movement; Religious organization;
Purpose	educational, philanthropic, religious studies, spirituality
Headquarters	770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Region served	Worldwide
Membership (2018)	90,000–95,000
Key people	Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Secessions	Strashelye, Kopust, Liadi, Niezhin, Avrutch, Malachim
Affiliations	Hasidic Judaism
Website	chabad.org; lubavitch.com;

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch^[2] (US: /xəˈbɑːd luˈbɑːvɪtʃ/; Hebrew: חב״ד לובביץּ׳; Yiddish: חב״ד ליובאוויטש), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups^[3] as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.

Founded in 1775^[4] by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the name "Chabad" (חב״ד) is an acronym formed from three Hebrew words—Chokhmah, Binah, Da'at, the first three sefirot of the kabbalistic Tree of Life: חכמה, בינה, דעת, "Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge"—which represent the intellectual and kabbalistic underpinnings of the movement.^[5]^[6] The name Lubavitch derives from the town in which the now-dominant line of leaders resided from 1813 to 1915.^[7]^[8] Other, 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 the United States.

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.^[9] Chabad institutions provide 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, with his own position on the matter debated among scholars. 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 global population of Chabad has been estimated to be 90,000–95,000 adherents, accounting for 13% of the global Hasidic population.^[1] However, up to one million Jews are estimated to attend Chabad services at least once a year.^[10]^[11] In a 2020 study, the Pew Research Center found that 16% of American Jews participated in Chabad services or activities at least semi-regularly.^[12]

^ ^a ^b Marcin Wodziński, Historical Atlas of Hasidism, Princeton University Press, 2018. pp. 192–196.
^ Additional spellings include Lubawitz, and Jabad (in Spanish speaking countries)
^ "Hasidism". jewishvirtuallibrary.org.
^ Cite error: The named reference Barry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Dara Horn, June 13, 2014 "Rebbe of Rebbe's" Archived October 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal
^ "About Chabad-Lubavitch on". Chabad.org. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
^ "Swastikas daubed on Russian Chabad center in cradle of Lubavitch Hasidic movement". August 21, 2018.
^ Green, David B. (March 21, 2013). "This Day in Jewish History, 1920 Lubavitcher Rabbi Who Met with Freud Dies". Haaretz.
^ "Uganda is 100th outpost for Chabad-Lubavitch". 2017-11-20 – via Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
^ Heilman, Samuel (December 15, 2005). "The Chabad Lubavitch Movement: Filling the Jewish Vacuum Worldwide". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
^ Slater, Elinor and Robert, Great Jewish Men, Jonathan David Publishers 1996 (ISBN 08246 03818). p. 279.
^ "Jewish Americans in 2020" (PDF). Pew Research Center.

[marcinw-1] Marcin Wodziński, Historical Atlas of Hasidism, Princeton University Press, 2018. pp. 192–196.

[2] Additional spellings include Lubawitz, and Jabad (in Spanish speaking countries)

[3] "Hasidism". jewishvirtuallibrary.org.

[Barry-4] Cite error: The named reference Barry was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Dara Horn, June 13, 2014 "Rebbe of Rebbe's" Archived October 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine The Wall Street Journal

[6] "About Chabad-Lubavitch on". Chabad.org. Retrieved 2010-05-12.

[jta1808-7] "Swastikas daubed on Russian Chabad center in cradle of Lubavitch Hasidic movement". August 21, 2018.

[haaretz1920-8] Green, David B. (March 21, 2013). "This Day in Jewish History, 1920 Lubavitcher Rabbi Who Met with Freud Dies". Haaretz.

[ch100-9] "Uganda is 100th outpost for Chabad-Lubavitch". 2017-11-20 – via Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

[SamH-10] Heilman, Samuel (December 15, 2005). "The Chabad Lubavitch Movement: Filling the Jewish Vacuum Worldwide". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved January 13, 2015.

[Slater_Page_279-11] Slater, Elinor and Robert, Great Jewish Men, Jonathan David Publishers 1996 (ISBN 08246 03818). p. 279.

[12] "Jewish Americans in 2020" (PDF). Pew Research Center.

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