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Chabad

Chabad, or Chabad Lubavitch, is a movement within ORTHODOX JUDAISM that adheres to the practices of HASIDISMbut emphasizes outreach to the non-Hasidic Jewish world.

Until the death of the last rebbe (spiritual leader), Rabbi Menachem SCHNEERSON(1902–94), the group was led by a succession of leaders descended from its founder, Rebbe Shneur Zal-man of Liadi (1745–1812). Since the last rebbe’s death Chabad has been led by the spirit of previ-ous teachings; individual rabbis provide leader-ship within the internal organizational structure.

The name Chabad, a HEBREW acronym for chochma (wisdom), bina (understanding), and da’at (knowledge), was chosen by Shneur Zalman to reflect the group’s emphasis on studying KABBALAH

or mystical teachings (the words represent aspects of the divine in Kabbalistic teaching). Lubavitch is a small town in RUSSIAwhere the movement first took root—Hasidic dynasties of rebbes are typically named after the town the founders lived in. The fol-lowers of Lubavitch (“town of love” in Russian) believe their name accurately represents their inclusive attitude toward all Jews.

It was Schneerson who initiated the move-ment’s proactive missionary work within world Jewry. Today Chabad sends rabbinic leaders throughout the world to assist Jews in need and to teach them to embrace their heritage through traditional Judaism. Chabad helped to create the

BAAL TESHUVAHmovement, the goal of which is to bring non-Orthodox Jews into the spiritual, ide-ological, and theological camp of Orthodoxy.

Some followers of Lubavitch believe that the last rebbe was the Messiah, a position that has been sharply criticized by others both within and out-side the movement.

Chabad houses can be found on many college campuses and in many cities throughout the United States. Chabad Lubavitch runs 3,300

insti-tutions around the world, employing tens of thou-sands of people in their cause to bring secular Jews back to Judaism. The worldwide headquar-ters of the Chabad movement is 770 Eastern Park-way in Brooklyn.

Further reading: Sue Fishkoff, The Rebbe’s Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch (New York: Schocken Books, 2003); Zalman I. Posner, Think Jewish: A Con-temporary View of Judaism, A Jewish View of Today’s World (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch, 2002);

Menachem M. Schneerson, The Unbreakable Soul: A Dis-course by Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson of Chabad-Lubavitch (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Kehot Publication Society, 2003); Web site URL: http://www.chabad.org, accessed on June 27, 2004.

Chafetz Chaim

Rabbi Yisroel Meir HaKohen is considered one of the great rabbis of modern times. He was known for his brilliant scholarship, but more important, he is revered as an extraordinarily righteous individ-ual. He is called the Chafetz Chaim after the title of his most popular book about the importance of avoiding gossip. The phrase Chafetz Chaim literally translates as “he who wants to live.”

The Chafetz Chaim was born in Zhetl, POLAND, on February 6, 1838. Even after he was recognized as a leading rabbinic figure, he refused to accept a salaried rabbinic position. Instead, he chose to support himself through a small grocery run by his wife in the town of Radin, Poland. This business allowed him the time to pursue his study and teaching of TORAH. In fact, his home soon became a popular place to study Torah, eventually becoming known as the Radin YESHIVA. In addi-tion to teaching those who appeared on his doorstep, the Chafetz Chaim traveled extensively, spreading his love of Torah and his desire to increase the observance of mitzvot (seeMITZVAH) among the Jews of Europe. He traveled even into his 90s, and died at the age of 95.

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The Chafetz Chaim’s most notable teaching was how to avoid the sin of LASHON HARA, or evil lan-guage. It was the subject of his first book in 1873;

the title Chafetz Chaim was derived from the 34th Psalm: “Who is the man who desires life (chafetz chaim)? . . . keep your tongue from evil.” He later published two more books on the subject and, as was the custom with many great rabbis, he became known by the name of his most famous book.

The Chafetz Chaim eventually wrote on many other subjects in more than 20 books. His most important scholarly work is considered to be the Mishneh Berurah, a six-volume commentary deal-ing with the laws of daily life and holidays.

Further reading: Hayim Halevy Donin, To Be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life (New

York: Basic Books, 1972); Israel Meir, Chafetz Chaim, and Charles Wengrov, Concise Book of Mitzvoth: The Com-mandments Which Can Be Observed Today (Nanuet, N.Y.:

Feldheim Publications, 1990); Moses M. Yoshor, Chafetz Chaim, The Life Works of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications, 1986).

Chagall, Marc

Born with the family name Segal in Vitebsk, Byelorussia, in 1887, Marc Chagall was the eldest of nine children. Chagall’s family was Hasidic (see HASIDISM), and so he spent his childhood in a heder (children’s religious school). When he began attending a secular Russian school, he dis-covered his artistic talent. While Chagall’s father K 82 Chagall, Marc

Marc Chagall is one of the most renowned Jewish artists of the modern era. He is pictured here accepting an honorary doctorate at a ceremony held at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. (Moshe Milner, Government Press Office, The State of Israel)

was disappointed, his mother supported his efforts in the field of art. Yet the religious nature of Chagall’s family would come through in Chagall’s art; his familiarity with Jewish customs, stories, and way of life appear often in his work.

Chagall moved to St. Petersburg in 1907 to study art with Leon Bakst. He developed a dis-tinctive childlike style that reflected his exposure to contemporary Russian painting, and his art often centered on images of his childhood, using the Jewish quarter of Vitebsk, the city of his birth, as a common theme. From 1910 to 1914, Chagall received an allowance from a lawyer who admired his talent, and he was able to live in Paris to con-tinue developing his artistic style. During these years, Chagall produced some of his most famous paintings of the Jewish SHTETL, having studied cubism and realism, and adopting a semi-cubist quality in his work.

During World War I Chagall remained in RUS

-SIA, where in 1917 he endorsed the BOLSHEVIK

REVOLUTION. He was appointed commissar for fine arts in Vitebsk, and then director of the Free Acad-emy of Art. However, the Bolshevik authorities soon came to disapprove of Chagall’s artistic style as too modern, and in 1922 Chagall left Russia for FRANCE. He stayed in France permanently, leaving only during World War II, when he was given safe harbor in the UNITEDSTATES. Chagall was horrified by the Nazi’s rise to power and their evil acts. His works during this time period expressed the plight of the Jewish martyrs.

Chagall’s work blends fantasy and religion, using strong, bright colors and a dreamlike repre-sentation of the world; his works were replete with animals, workmen, lovers, and musicians.

He actually created nostalgia; SHOLOMALEICHEM’s

“Fiddler on the Roof” as a recurring motif recalled Jewish life in eastern Europe. Chagall worked in multiple mediums, using oils, watercolors, ceram-ics, mosaceram-ics, and stained glass. Chagall was often inspired by themes from the Bible (see TORAH). He created more than 100 works illustrating Bible stories, many of which incorporated elements from Jewish folklore and his own religious

child-hood. Some of Chagall’s most famous works can be found on the ceiling of the Paris Opera House, the murals at the New York Metropolitan Opera, a glass window at the UNITEDNATIONS, and decora-tions at the Vatican. Chagall also endowed ISRAEL

with many of his works; the most famous on dis-play are the 12 stained glass windows at HADASSAH

Hospital and his wall decorations at the KNESSET. Further reading: Marc Chagall, My Life (Cambridge, Mass.: Da Capo Press, 1994); Jean-Michel Foray and Jakov Bruk, Marc Chagall (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2003); Guggenheim Museum Web site URL: http://www.

guggenheimcollection.org, accessed June 30, 2004.

chai

The Hebrew word chai means “life.” Since each Hebrew letter has a numerical value, and the let-ters of chai total 18 (8 for chet, the first letter in the word, and 10 for yud, the second and last), the number 18 has acquired symbolic meaning in Judaism.

The system of assigning numerical values to letters led to the creation of an entire discipline of Jewish mysticism known as GEMATRIA, devoted to finding hidden meanings in the numerical values of words. The number 18 has consequently become very popular among Jews. In modern times, it has become a common tradition to make monetary donations to charity in multiples of 18 to invoke chai and its meaning, life. The com-monly used phrase “L’chaim” also shares its root with the Hebrew word chai.

Further reading: Harold S. Kushner, To Life: A Celebra-tion of Jewish Being and Thinking (New York: Warner Books, 1994).

chametz

The TORAHprohibits Jews from eating or possess-ing chametz (leaven or leavened food products including derivatives of wheat, barley, rye, oats, or spelt) on PASSOVER(Ex 12:39). Jews are obligated chametz 83 J

to eat MATZAH, unleavened bread, at their Passover

SEDERSas a reminder of the Jews’ quick flight from PHARAOH’s EGYPT. The ISRAELITES fled so quickly they did not even have time for the bread to rise.

In memory of this, Jews do not eat leavened bread during the holiday of Passover.

The prohibition of chametz serves two pur-poses: first, it highlights the importance of matzah; in addition, tradition teaches that chametz is a metaphor for the human being’s evil inclination, which can easily rise like leaven. One must be careful to resist this inclination and instead emphasize the inclination to do good.

Prior to Passover, homes are meticulously cleaned, and all chametz is removed or destroyed.

Many Jewish communities use this as an opportu-nity to engage in “spring cleaning.” One makes a ritual announcement after the final search, the night before Passover: “All chametz, leaven and leavened bread, that is in my possession which I have not seen, removed or is unknown to me, should be annulled and considered ownerless like the dust of the earth.”

The final search, as in ancient times, is con-ducted by the light of a candle. There is a custom to place 10 pieces of chametz in the room so that they can be found as a reminder of the TENPLAGUES. Further reading: Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Liv-ing the Holidays (New York and London: Simon and Schuster, 1988); Passover Haggadah, Deluxe Edition (Northfield, Ill.: Kraft General Foods, 1994); Tanakh:

The Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia and Jerusalem: The Jewish Publication Society, 1985).

Chanukah

Chanukah is the Jewish holiday that celebrates the victory of the MACCABEESearly in the second cen-tury B.C.E. The word Chanukah means “dedica-tion”; it refers to the rededication of the TEMPLEin JERUSALEMafter it was recaptured from the Seleucid Greeks, who allegedly profaned it through idolatry.

The holiday lasts for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev, which usually

falls in December. Jews celebrate by lighting an eight-candle Chanukah lamp or MENORAH, called a

HANUKKIYAH, adding one candle each successive night. It is also customary to give money (gelt) or gifts, to eat oily foods, especially potato pancakes and doughnuts, and to play the game of DREIDEL.

According to the book of Maccabees in the APOCRYPHA, the era was filled with political tur-moil in Judea. When ANTIOCHUSIV first ascended to the throne of the Seleucid monarchy (one of the successor states to the empire of Alexander the Great), a conflict arose over whom he should K 84 Chanukah

This kindergartener is lighting a hanukkiyah, the special eight-branched candelabra used to commemorate the holiday of Chanukah. The hanukkiyah is often called a menorah, but a menorah has only seven branches and is not connected to a Jewish holiday. (Ya’acov Sa’ar, Gov-ernment Press Office, The State of Israel)

appoint as HIGH PRIESTof ISRAEL, one of his territo-ries. Civil war erupted between the pietists, who supported the rightful hereditary high priest, and the Jewish leaders who had assimilated into Hel-lenistic culture (see HELLENISM). Antiochus IV backed the Hellenized Jews and issued edicts pro-hibiting Jewish practices and mandating sacrifices to Zeus in the Temple.

Many pietists died as martyrs under Seleucid persecution, but others, led by the Maccabees, revolted and won independence. At the end of the revolt, which lasted from 167–164 B.C.E., the Jews purified and rededicated the Temple on the 25th of Kislev, inaugurating the first festival of Chanukah.

Chanukah is marked by prayers that thank God for miracles, but the exact miracle being cel-ebrated is unclear. Some maintain that the miracle was that the small Maccabean army defeated the larger Seleucid army, but the TALMUD recounts another miracle. When the Temple was rededi-cated, the priests could find only one small cruse of sanctified oil, with enough oil to keep the ETER

-NALLIGHTlit for one night. Miraculously, the oil lasted eight nights, just enough time to obtain more oil. Eating fried food commemorates this miracle of the oil.

The rabbis gave an additional explanation for the eight-day duration of Chanukah. The Jews had been unable to celebrate their harvest festival SUKKOT (which lasts for eight days) in the defiled Temple. Once the Temple was rededicated, they decided to hold a late Sukkot on the eight days beginning on 25 Kislev, and they continued the tra-dition of an eight-day midwinter holiday ever since.

Although it is a post-biblical holiday, Chanukah has gained in importance both inside and outside the land of Israel. In Israel, the struggle of the Mac-cabees is honored as a model for the country’s own battle for independence in 1948. In the UNITED

STATES, Chanukah has gained prominence because it falls during the Christmas season, and Jewish communities have taken the opportunity to teach and gather together. In this way emphasis on a pre-viously minor holiday has enhanced the Jewish

lives of many American Jews. Some criticize that the holiday has become commercialized as gift giv-ing has become central to Chanukah, as it is to Christmas.

Further reading: Shaye J. D. Cohen, From the Maccabees to the Mishnah (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1987);

Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (New York: Touchstone, 1988); Moses Hadas, ed. and trans., The Third and Fourth Books of Maccabees (New York: Ktav Publishing House, [1976] c1953); Martin Schoenberg, The First and Second Books of Maccabees (Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1966).

chavurah

A chavurah is a small group that meets for prayers and religious activities. It is less organized than a

SYNAGOGUEin that prayers are usually run by the members of the chavurah rather than by a RABBIor

CANTOR. Also, the services generally take place in a home instead of an official synagogue, and so there is usually no official membership or dues structure. Originating in the 1960s, in an era of antiestablishment sentiments, chavurahs sought to provide a larger role to the participant in seek-ing spirituality by emphasizseek-ing the participation of its members in the absence of clergy.

The word chavurah derives from the HEBREW

word for “friend,” and the groups tend to have an informal character, while the services tend to be more spiritual or emotional than in more routine synagogues. In 1970, Rabbi Harold SCHULWEIS

brought the idea of the chavurah into the syna-gogue. In this way, smaller groups formed within a larger institution based on commonalities among members. The goal is to create bonds and meaning in Jewish life.

Further reading: Riv-Ellen Prell, Prayer and Commu-nity: The Havurah in American Judaism (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989); Bernard Reisman, The Chavurah: Contemporary Jewish Experience (New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, c1977); Chava Weissler, Making Judaism Meaningful:

chavurah 85 J

Ambivalence and Tradition in a Havurah Community (New York: AMS Press, 1989).

cherubim

The term cherubim (chruvim in Hebrew), refers to various spirits or beings mentioned in the TANAKH, the Hebrew Bible that live in God’s presence or perform divine tasks.

The word itself may come from the ASSYRIAN

term kirubu, meaning “to be near,” a reference to those who are near to God in the heavenly court, busy praising and worshipping God’s holiness.

References to cherubim occur throughout sacred literature. They are first mentioned in Gen-esis (3:24). Later, in accordance with God’s instructions, images of cherubim were placed on the cover of the ARKof the Covenant in the HOLY OF HOLIES, representing nearness to God’s pres-ence. In the TALMUD, cherubim are associated with the “order of wheels” (ophanim). In the Middle Ages, they were thought to be the guardians of the heavens.

Further reading: Robert Critney, and Robert Critney, Jr.

The Cherubim of the Ark (New York: Morris Publishing, 2002); Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia and Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society, 1985).

China

Since the ninth century there have been Jews liv-ing in China. Historians believe that the early Chi-nese Jews arrived in caravans from PERSIA, searching for a new place to settle. The best-known Chinese Jewish community started in the 10th century in Kaifeng and participated in the silk trade. This community, however, assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture and completely disappeared by the 19th century.

In the late 19th century a new Jewish commu-nity appeared in China, SEPHARDIMfrom Baghdad, Bombay, and Hong Kong who settled in Shanghai, Harbin, and Tianjin. Notable Jewish families such as the Sassoons, the Hardoons, and the Kadoories

had significant success in import and export trade, assisted by their close connections in British-occupied territories throughout the world. The Sassoons and the Kadoories settled in Hong Kong in the mid-1800s. The Shanghai community built a synagogue, a school, and a hospital, but they were Westernized people and did not become integrated into Chinese culture.

The 1917 BOLSHEVIK REVOLUTION pushed another group of Jews to seek haven in China. This group of Russian Jews did not have the same inter-national business connections as the Sephardic community. They came with little money, opened small businesses, and eventually entered the mid-K 86 cherubim

Note the Asian influence in the architecture of this synagogue in Hong Kong. Today almost all Jews who live in China reside in Hong Kong. (Courtesy J. Gordon Melton)

dle class. Unlike the Sephardic Jews, this group became more involved in the social life of Harbin, the city they had adopted.

World War II brought a great number of Jewish refugees to Shanghai and China. The wealthy Sephardic community provided financial support, as did American Jewish organizations such as the AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE. During the war the Jewish population swelled to between 25,000 and 35,000. Thousands arrived in Shanghai through the aid of Dr. Feng Shan Ho, the Chinese consul general to Austria from 1937–41.

World War II brought a great number of Jewish refugees to Shanghai and China. The wealthy Sephardic community provided financial support, as did American Jewish organizations such as the AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE. During the war the Jewish population swelled to between 25,000 and 35,000. Thousands arrived in Shanghai through the aid of Dr. Feng Shan Ho, the Chinese consul general to Austria from 1937–41.