Lubavitch (Chabad)

B"H

Lubavitch (Lyubavichi) is the name of a village near Smolensk in Belarus. Here the Chassidut Chabad was actually founded.

The second Lubavitcher Rebbe Dov Ber moved to Lubavitch in 1813. Years later, in 1879, the "Tomhei Temimim" Yeshiva opened. With the end of the Russian Revolution, the Lubavitch history in the Lubavitch village came to an end but the name has remained famous until today.

In March 1940, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Yitzchak Schneersohn, moved to New York and founded the Lubavitch headquarter in Crown Heights / Brooklyn. A year later, his son – in – law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, arrived in Crown Heights. Rabbi Menachem Mendel became the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe after the death of Rabbi Joseph Yitzchak in 1950, and he turned the Lubavitch movement into the empire we know today. Actually the very first Lubavitcher in New York, Rabbi Israel Jacobson, had already arrived in 1925. He immigrated from Russia to the United States.

Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (died in June 1994)


Today we know Lubavitch through all it's Chabad branches, the famous "Chabad Houses", all over the world. Maybe even on the moon, as someone once sarcastically claimed. The Lubavitcher annual budget is more than 100 Million Dollar. The movement has about 100,000 followers and only the Chassidut Satmar is bigger than Chabad. Satmar is the biggest chassidic group in the world.

Chabad (Lubavitch) stresses the teaching that the Shechinah (G – d's presence) is everywhere on earth, and that there is a communication between the Creator and His Creation. The concept is based on the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov who saw G – d everywhere and in anything. Lubavitch is a system oft philosophical structure that teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator through wisdom (Chochmah), understanding (Bina), and knowledge (Da'at). The Hebrew initials of those three attributes make up the word "Chabad".

The movement is extremely busy doing outreach. Assimilated Jews should be brought back to their Jewish heritage, meaning the Jewish tradition. Isolated communities all over the world are provided with books, kosher food or Pessach Mazzot. Especially during the high holidays, Chabad is very active in almost any country you can imagine.

One of the main Chabad goals is to enable every single Jew doing at least one Mitzvah, as this, according to the last Luvabitcher Rebbe, would get him a place in the World to Come (Olam HaBah). This is why Chabad is concentrating so much on putting on Tefillin or handing out Shabbat candles to women. When secular Jews get to know about more about their Jewish identity and tradition, they may not intermarry. In countries like the US or England, unfortunately, intermarriage is a big issue and many Jews have been lost. Once a Jewish guy marries a Christian girl, this is it. His lineage is dead, as his children will be Gentiles and not Jewish anymore. A terrible disaster in today's Jewish world.

Left: Rabbi Joseph Yitzchak Schneersohn. Standing: His son - in - law Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
Photo: Shira Bat Devorah


The Lubavitcher editing company "Kehot Publication Society" is one of the largest Jewish editing companies. Let alone the Website CHABAD.ORG attracting many readers all over the world.

The house of the last Lubavitcher Rebbe contains one of the greatest libraries. The Rebbe was collecting rare books but, unfortunately, not everyone is allowed to go in today. The Meshichistim (those believing the last Rebbe is the Meshiach) rule over the house at 770 Eastern Parkway / Crown Heights and it is them deciding who can come in and who has to stay outside.

The sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe Joseph Yitzchak Schneersohn had no son but "only" two daughters:

Chaya Moushka married the seventh Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. They had no children !

The older daughter Chana married Rabbi Shemarya Gourary. The two had one son: Rabbi Shalom Ber Gourary called Barry.

There were always at least some people in the movement who saw Barry Gourary as the true heir of Rebbe Joseph Yitzchak but Barry was obviously more busy with his studies in physics.

In 1984, Barry Gourary stormed the library in 770, took out some valuable books and sold them. Later on, a court verdict said that he has to stop this and return the books.
Barry Gourary died on 3 March 2005. He didn't have his own children but two adopted ones. During his life time, Barry Gourary already had left Chabad. There are some of his publications in physics you can find on the Internet today. About Chabad he said that today the movement consists of charisma, blessings and dollars. Especially dollars.

It wasn't only Barry Gourary leaving Chabad. At the time of Rebbe Joseph Yitzchak, a whole split took place and a new small chassidic group cam into existence: the MALACHIM. However, I am going to write a separate article on the "Chabad rebel" Rabbi Chaim Avraham Dov Ber HaCohen Levine and his Malachim.

The Malachim exist until today and are located in Williamsburgh / Brooklyn. The group is not very famous though. Several times, Chabad had tried to missionize the rebels but without too much success. Some Malachim are still independent and others have joined the Chassidut Satmar.

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Sources:

"The Encyclopedia of Hasidism"

By Tzvi M. Rabinovicz

and

"Hasidic People"

By Jerome R. Mintz