What is Chabad?
by Rabbi Mendy Hecht
http://www.askmoses.com/article.html?h=447&o=110
A. Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for Chachmah, Bina and Da’at, which means wisdom, understanding and knowledge, respectively. In plain English, these words translate to three core mental functions in the process of what is commonly known as thought: that first flash of insight (Chachmah), the cogitation and rumination that follows (Binah), and thirdly, the ability to internalize and unite with an idea; thus emotionally processing it so that it is not just an abstract theory but something that becomes part of your heart and soul (Da’at).
B. Chabad is a philosophy founded by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (a city in Belarus) about 200 years ago. He was a student of the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Chassidic movement. This philosophy ascribes great importance to understanding the mystical; understanding the nature of G-d, His relationship with Creation, the Torah, the Mitzvot, and last but not least -- the Jewish soul. Rigorous study and intense meditation is required in order to attain this knowledge and internalize these concepts. Chabad is also known as Lubavitch, the name of the Belarus city that housed the Chabad movement until the early 1900's.
Every new Lubavitch branch opening anywhere has called itself Chabad of... the first Lubavitch presence on the Red Planet will be called Chabad of Mars
C. Chabad is also the name for the international network of Lubavitch outreach centers, the world’s largest Jewish outreach and social-services organization. The Lubavitch movement was into outreach from the beginning of its American saga in 1940. In 1971, theLubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneersohn, instructed that all existing and future Lubavitch synagogues and Jewish community centers be entitled Chabad Houses. Since then, every new Lubavitch branch opening anywhere has called itself Chabad of Name-of-City-or-Area-Here: the first Lubavitch presence on the Red Planet will be called Chabad of Mars.
What does Chabad want from me?
Chabad is an organization of Chassidic Jews, adherents of the Chabad philosophy, who just want to get other Jews to do Mitzvot and/or study Torah, and nothing more. That’s why they’ve got this website--and more than 3500 full-time rabbis reaching out to people just like you in more than 2200 locations worldwide, from America and Africa to Asia and Australia. And more added, almost daily. Chabad is the world’s largest Jewish outreach and social services organization. No other grassroots organization has successfully attracted as many Jews as has Chabad. Stop by your nearest Chabad center, and you’ll likely find a fellow Jew who looks just like you.
Related Articles
Chabad Rabbi, wife among Mumbai terror deaths
Chabad official: Am Yisrael is not afraid
