| Commitment to these laws contained in the written and oral Torah transcends time, place, or circumstance. The ever living God and Infinite Creator is both transcendent and immanent; He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. He hears prayer, and anyone may commune with Him directly without any intercessor. Man is free and not tainted with Original Sin. Judaism affirms life as good and seeks to endow it with spiritual and moral worth. The Jewish affirmation of faith that emphasizes God's unity is expressed in the Sh'ma: "Hear, O Israel, The Lord Our God, The Lord is One." Authoritative Jewish literature includes the Bible, the Talmud, the Responsa literature, and the Codes. Chabad is a combination of the initials of "Chochmah Binah," and "Daath," the highest virtues of the intellect. Daath (knowledge), Chochmah (wisdom) and Binah (intelligence) are three sephirot on the Kabbalistic tree. Faith and belief in God share an insistence on intellectual study and understanding of religious truth. The emphasis on truth has made education basic to the Lubavitch program. The love of one's fellow Jew (Ahavas Yisroel) is an emphasis of Lubavitch to an openness to the entire Jewish community, in contrast to most other Hasidim, who generally isolate themselves from their lax, non practicing brethren. PRACTICES AND BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS: Judaism is a religion of deed rather than creed. The deeds required of a Jew are both ritual and ethical, the former in relation to God and the latter in relation to one's fellow man. Ethics is inseparable from religion in Judaism, and the deepest concern of the Torah in its broadest sense is adhering to its precepts to God and fellow men. In addition to the Sabbath, religious holidays include the three biblical pilgrimage festivals Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, the New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). All holidays except the Day of Atonement are observed for two days. The first two and last two days of Passover and Tabernacles are days on which work is forbidden as well as the two days of Pentecost. All manner of work is forbidden on the Sabbath as well as on holidays. The preparation of food is prohibited only on the Sabbath and the Day of Atonement. Hanukkah and Purim are post Biblical holidays, and do not include a prohibition against work. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: The international Lubavitch community is guided from the headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, under the spiritual leadership of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Merkos L'Inyone Chinuch, the educational arm of the movement, Ezrat Pleitim Vesidurom, a relief agency, and the Merkos Publication Society are also located at the Brooklyn headquarters complex. ROLE OF MINISTERS: A rabbi is the appointed spiritual leader who guides the congregation. WORSHIP: What is distinctive about Jewish worship is its congregational or group character. There are fixed times for public worship, three times daily morning, afternoon, and evening. Congregational worship has certain prerequisites, such as the "minyan" or quorum of ten men who constitute the minimum number for public worship. When the minyan is not available, individuals must worship privately, offering thanks and praise to God. A Jew should approach God with clean hands and a pure heart, with prayers prompted by a sincere and devoted heart. Items for worship in dude the Torah or the Scroll of the Law and its accouterments, prayer books, Hebrew Bible, skull caps, prayer shawls, and tfilim (phylactories), which are to be worn by males at morning prayer (except on the Sabbath). (Male Jews are required to keep their heads covered.) Every synagogue contains the ark which houses the Torah and adequate storage space for worship equipment. In the event a synagogue is not available and some other building is used instead, non Jewish symbols should be absent from the facility, at least while it is being used for worship by Jews. DIETARY LAWS OR RESTRICTIONS: Dietary laws, beginning with Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, contain prohibitions against animals that do not have split hooves and do not chew their cud, sea food without fins and scales; cooking and/ or eating dairy and meat or fowl together, and certain fowl. These laws are amplified by the oral law to include the complete separation of milk and meat, including the use of separate utensils for each. All permissible fowl and cattle must be ritually slaughtered. FUNERAL AND BURIAL REQUIREMENTS: The purpose of Jewish funeral and burial requirements is both to honor the deceased and to provide comfort to the mourners. The requirements include ritual cleansing of the body, clothing the body in white shrouds and prayer shawl, male only, and the use of a simple wooden coffin. The funeral service is simple and prescribed by Jewish law. Following the burial, close relatives observe a mourning period (shiv a) which is seven days. Anyone in the presence of a dying person may guide him in the expression of Vidui (confession) and the affirmation of faith (the Sh'ma), but the presence of a rabbi is important both for guidance and consolation. Autopsy is not permitted except in very unusual circumstances (e.g., promoting justice), because of prohibition against mutilation of the body and disrespect for the dead. A rabbi should be consulted before autopsy. Cremation is prohibited; burial in the earth is required. MEDICAL TREATMENT: No restrictions. Jews consider physicians as instruments through whom God can effect a cure and an obligation to be healed. Medical treatment is viewed as one means to help achieve good health. OTHER: Throughout its venerable history, Judaism has come into contact with many peoples, religions, and creeds. It has both influenced and been influenced by these; yet it has ever retained its religious and cultural uniqueness and has remained true to the principles of monotheism. Judaism does not seek to supplant other religions, but rather to labor with them in honorable fellowship to bring about the universal peace and justice on earth, through the observance of the seven noahide universal laws, and the light of God to the GENERAL SOURCE BOOKS: Challenge: An Encounter with Lubavitch Chabad London: Lubavitch Foundation of Great Britain, 1970. 329pp. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lubavitch Chabad 770 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn,NY 11213 (718) 493-9250 |
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| Black Rose Spiritual Center, Inc : Belief Systems |
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| Lubavich Hasidism |
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| ADDRESS: 770 Eastern Pkwy. Brooklyn,NY 11213 OTHER NAMES BY WHICH KNOWN: Lubavitch Chabad. LEADERSHIP: The Lubavitch Rebbe. Rabbi Menachem Schneerson. MEMBERSHIP: Any Jewish man or woman. HISTORICAL ORIGIN: Lubavitch Hasidism began in 1773 in Lithuania under the leadership of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 1812), a child prodigy and student of Rabbi Dov Baer, an outstanding Hasidic scholar. Upon Dov Baer's death in 1772, Rabbi Zalman was sent to Lithuania to head the community. He spent the rest of his life in Lithuania and Russia, teaching and writing. His works include the Likutic Amanan better known as the Tanya the essential text of the Chabad as his teachings became known. Lubavitch work in North America began in the mid 1920s when Rabbi Schneersohn formed the Agudas Chassidas Chabad of the United States of America and Canada. He visited the United States in 1929, during which time he met with President Herbert Hoover. He had settled in Warsaw after World War L When his life was threatened by the Nazis, the Rebbe was finally persuaded to migrate to the United States. The arrival of Schneersohn in New York in 1940 signaled the rebirth of Hasidism in the New World. BASIC BELIEFS: Based on belief in one God, Creator of the universe, who revealed His divine pattern for life for all mankind through the Torah, given to Moses and the Jewish people at Mount Sinai. |
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