Chabad now reaches out to all Jews

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2008-01-01T00:00:00

The Mitzvah Mobiles made them famous—Ryder vans with blaring klezmer music and posters like Mitzvah on the Spot for People on the Go. “Are you Jewish?” bearded men inside asked passersby. “How about wrapping Tefillin or learning to light Shabbat candles?”

To Chabad Lubavitch emissaries, every mitzvah counts, and every level of observance brings rewards. Today, 4,000 emissary families, or shluchim, direct more than 3,300 institutions worldwide, according to chabad.org.

“Chabad House is exactly what a house is to a person,” says Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm, Chabad’s emissary to Portland since 1984. “You feel safe, warm and comfortable. Chabad House is a home for everybody in the community.”

The Chabad Lubavitch strand of Hassidic Judaism began with Schneur Zalman (1745-1812) of White Russia. Chabad is an acronym of three Hebrew words: chachmah (wisdom), binah (comprehension), and da’at, (knowledge). Lubavitch is the White Russian town where four of the leaders, or rebbes lived.

Chabad always stressed the ideal of Ahavat Yisrael or “love of all Jews,” but the last Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), made outreach a priority.

In her book, “The Rebbe’s Army,” Sue Fishkoff describes occasional hostility toward Chabad. It stems, she said, from the belief that Chabad wants to convert all Jews to their Hassidic way of life.

Many familiar with the movement say nothing could be further from the truth. According to Fishkoff, each Chabad Center is self-sustaining and most contributions come from non-orthodox and non-affiliated Jews. To Chabad, she said, every religious act brings you closer to G-d even if you attend a seder and eat pork the rest of the year.

"Some denominations see themselves as G-d’s policemen," a Lubavitcher leader explained in her book. ‘’We see ourselves as G-d’s salesmen.’’