Lubavitcher Rebbe

Ashley Paneth

Professor Himmelstein

Jewish History

9 May 2017

The Lubavitch movement otherwise known as the Chabad movement was founded in 1775 by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi. The hebrew word Chabad is an acronym for Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and Da’at (Knowledge).These words are pillars of the movement. The name “Lubavitch” is the Yiddish name for the Belorussian village Lyubavichi, in Russia, where the movement’s leaders lived.

Now a days, Chabad is the world’s most commonly known Hasidic movement. One of the main things that Chabad is known for is the outreach programs. They have a network of more than three thousand six hundred institutions that provide religious, social and humanitarian needs in over a thousand cities, spanning more than eighty countries and all fifty states. Chabad institutions provide outreach to unaffiliated Jews and humanitarian aid, as well as religious, cultural and educational activities at CHabad-run community centers, camps, schools, shuls (synagogues), and soup kitchens.

In 1951, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson became the seventh Rabbi of the Chabad movement. He was the son in law of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, and the great grandson of the third Rebbe of the Lubavitch movement. He took over the position of the Rebbe a year after his father in law passed away. He was the Rebbe who really grew Chabad’s global network. He established hundreds of Chabad centers around the world.

Chabad has a lot of different programs all year round. These programs include: Education, outreach activities, mitzvah campaigns, Shluchim (Emissaries), Mitzvah Tank, Campus Outreach, Publishing, Internet, Summer Camps, Political Activities, and Messianism.

Chabad runs a number of educational programs. Most of these programs are Jewish Day Schools, but they have other educational programs that offer secondary and adult education. Chabad runs about three hundred day schools and supplementary schools in the United States. Chabad’s most popular secondary education programs are Tomchei Tmimim for young men, and Bais Rivka for young women. Chabad’s adult education programs include those organized by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, and the Jewish Learning Network.

Most of what Chabad does is outreach activities. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson encouraged his followers to reach out to all the other Jews. Most of their outreach work is promoting the mitzvot. The idea of Shluchim (Emissaries) came about in 1950-1951. A shaliach move all over the world with a mission to encourage non-observant Jews to adopt Orthodox practices. They want people to learn about their Jewish heritage.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson