The Lubavitch movement (Habad)

The Habad-Lubavitch movement is one of the major branches of Hasidism, founded in the late eighteenth century in present-day Belarus by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812). Its name, Habad, is an acronym of three intellectual faculties — Hokhma (wisdom), Bina (understanding), and Daat (knowledge) — underscoring its singularity within Hasidism: the central place accorded to study, contemplation, and the philosophical elaboration of spirituality, as opposed to purely emotional devotion. Its founding work, the Tanya of Shneur Zalman, constitutes a summa of mystical and ethical thought. The dynasty subsequently established itself in the town of Lubavitch, from which it takes its name, before settling in the United States. Under the leadership of its seventh and last Rabbi, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), the movement developed a vast network of emissaries (chlouhim) charged with reviving Jewish practice among non-observant Jews throughout the world. Present today in more than a hundred countries, it is distinguished by this intense inner outreach and by its considerable educational and charitable activity.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Jewish Virtual Library ↗