{"id":29,"date":"2015-05-03T08:26:30","date_gmt":"2015-05-03T08:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/?page_id=29"},"modified":"2015-05-04T07:48:59","modified_gmt":"2015-05-04T11:48:59","slug":"rachel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/reports\/rachel\/","title":{"rendered":"Rachel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Understanding Judaism through Chabad-Lubavitch and the Five College Community
\nMarch 3rd, 2015
\n<\/span>Rachel Eisenberg<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople fear what they don\u2019t understand,\u201d Andrew Smith says. As anti-semitic incidents are on the rise<\/a>, this report is to explore one facet of Jewish life, and hopefully the understanding will lessen the feeling of mystery that seems to surround Judaism<\/p>\n

Jewish life is the frequent target of scrutiny, with many non-Jews interested in the happenings of the Jewish community. One of the major Jewish movements today is the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, wherein Orthodox families provide outreach programs to fellow Jewish people as well as gentiles (non-Jews). There are two Chabad institutions that serve the Five College area that serve Five College students.<\/p>\n

The Chabad movement identifies itself with Orthodox Judaism, the most conservative modern Jewish tradition\u2014not conservative as in politically (Jews cover the range of political affiliations), but rather in their following of the Torah and Rabbinical Law.<\/a> Compared to the other modern Jewish movements, they are the strictest in their interpretation of Jewish traditions and rules. Yet the Orthodox families involved in Chabad are not interested in converting secular or less strict Jews to the Orthodox tradition. Why is that? Could it be one of the reasons Chabad is so popular? The answer lies in a common Chassidic phrase: \u201cA Jew is a Jew is a Jew.\u201d Chabad-affiliated Jews treat all Jews the same because \u201cevery Jew, regardless of affiliation or background, possesses a neshama<\/i>, a unique soul, a G-dly spark,\u201d according to the main website<\/a> of Chabad.<\/p>\n

As such, Chabad aims to help break down the borders that previously existed between the different Jewish factions. When asked why, according to Chabad tradition, a common quotation is used: \u201cBecause of what they already are<\/b>, not because of what they may become<\/b>; not so that he or she may one day become \u2018orthodox,\u2019 but because right now they are already Jewish.\u201d Chabad finds its roots in 1755, created by Rabbi Schneur Liadi, who was one of the seven Rebbes who lead the movement. \u201cChabad\u201d is an acronym of three Hebrew words: \u05d7\u05db\u05de\u05d4 , \u05d1\u05d9\u05e0, \u05d3\u05e2\u05ea, or Chochmah<\/i>, Binah<\/i>, and Da\u2019at. <\/i>The words mean \u201cWisdom, Understanding and Knowledge\u201d, which feature prominently in the movement\u2019s mission statement, which is to explore the \u201csystem of Jewish religious philosophy, the deepest dimension of G\u2011d\u2019s Torah, teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of creation, and the importance and unique mission of each creature.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second part of the name, Lubavitch, which is often omitted, is the Yiddish name for the village where the movement primarily resided for nearly a hundred years.<\/p>\n

The modern-day concept of Chabad began in 1951, with the seventh Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.<\/a> Living in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, he \u201cpioneered a system of of shluchim,<\/i> or emissaries, charged with going out into the world to open Chabad centers, spreading knowledge of the Torah and Judaism.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movement has since spread, becoming \u201ca leading power in the Jewish world today.\u201d Chabad boasts \u201c4,000 full-time emissary families apply 250-year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,300 institutions (and a workforce that numbers in the tens of thousands).\u201d These institutions can be found across the globe, though the majority are in America. There are \u201c980 Chabad centers in North America alone,\u201d according to a 2014 Haaretz article.<\/a><\/p>\n

One such center<\/a> can be found at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It serves not only the UMass community but the other Four Colleges as well, with students from Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Amherst welcome. The Chabad House offers many services, including classes about Judaism, Talmudic study, religious services, Shabbat, holiday meals, counseling (religious and otherwise), and any other needs the Jewish community may have.<\/p>\n

The Chabad House at UMass offers services that are specific to women, including a monthly \u201cGirls\u2019 Night Out\u201d that takes place on Rosh Hodesh, the first day of each new month in the Hebrew calendar. With two of the colleges they serve, Smith and Mount Holyoke, being women\u2019s college, Yocheved Adelman said it was \u201cimportant for us \u2026 [to] know that we\u2019re serving the needs of Jewish women in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rabbi Adelman and Yocheved Adelman aren\u2019t the only ones serving the Five College community in the name of Chabad. Rabbi Shmuel Kravitsky<\/a> and his wife, Ariel Kravitsky, who live in Amherst, also open up their home to Five College students.<\/p>\n

The Kravitskys run a site, Chabad Nation<\/a>, which they use to advertise their services. They offer Shabbat dinner every Friday, free mezuzahs for dorm rooms, holiday services, and deliver chicken soup to sick students, among other things. They are a beloved staple of the Five College Jewish community. As Maia Campbell, a Hampshire alum, says, \u201cThe Kravitskys, Rabbi Shmuel and Ariel, create a Jewish home away from home that your bubbe would be proud of. They offer \u2026 home cooked meals, holiday services, social programs, supplementary Judaic studies, one-on-one tutoring, and even a shoulder to cry on or a listening ear. No subject, and more importantly no person, is taboo at their table. For a welcoming, warming, and wholesome Jewish experience, look no further.\u201d The Kravitskys are not unique amongst the Chabad community in inviting all to their table, non-Jews included. As Campbell insinuates, they provide an understanding of Jewish life that can be hard to find in other spaces.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Kravitsky works in official capacity with some of the Five Colleges as well, offering classes on Judaism for Smith and UMass. He plans to offer a similar course to Mount Holyoke students in the future.<\/p>\n

The Chabad concepts of outreach and helpfulness guide both the Adelmans and the Kravitskys as they work to better the Jewish communities of the Five Colleges. By creating an atmosphere where everyone is welcome, observant or not, they provide a safe space for people to explore their Jewish identities.<\/p>\n

As many college students find themselves exploring their religion, Chabad offers them a safe place to connect to their Jewish roots. It is a cherished institution by many in the community, and as long as the Jewish community keeps visiting it, will remain so.<\/p>\n

With anti-semitism on the rise, it is the duty of non-Jews to try and understand the Jewish faith and life. Hopefully the understanding of one part of Jewish life will help clear the mystery from Judaism, and lead to a greater sense of community for everyone.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understanding Judaism through Chabad-Lubavitch and the Five College Community March 3rd, 2015 Rachel Eisenberg \u201cPeople fear what they don\u2019t understand,\u201d Andrew Smith says. As anti-semitic incidents are on the rise, this report is to explore one facet of Jewish life, and hopefully the understanding will lessen the feeling of mystery that seems to surround Judaism … Continue reading Rachel<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71,"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions\/71"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.mtholyoke.edu\/multiculturalmoho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}