Chabad is a branch of Hassidim that focuses heavily on Chassidus as an intellectual pursuit, and on outreach to nonobservant Jews.
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1answer
163 views
If One Considers Chabad to be Avodah Zarah What Kosher Products Should He Avoid?
If one were to consider Chabad to be a religion of Avodah Zarah because of their practices regarding the Rebbe as Mashiach, what otherwise marked "kosher" products should one avoid that are Chabad-...
1
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0answers
49 views
“Maaneh Loshn” - מענה לשון
Maaneh Loshn is a profoundly beautiful tefila once said by many people, now mostly said by Lubavitcher Chasidim at their Ohel.
1) Does anyone else say Maaneh Loshn today besides Chabad?
2) The ...
3
votes
1answer
118 views
Chaba''d doesn't follow minhag hamakom?
My shul davens "standard" Nusach Sfard. During Shabbat mincha, the sha''tz was a Chaba''d chasid. While we were returning the Torah, the sha''tz started saying Kaddish. (Nusach Chaba''d/Ari only says ...
0
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0answers
29 views
Are there specific laws or stringencies regarding a “Chabad mikve” [duplicate]
I have been informed of an ongoing fundraising effort for a "Chabad mikve". Are there specific halachic stringencies (chumrot) regarding such a mikve according to Chabad? Would Chabad women not be ...
-1
votes
1answer
139 views
Is claiming that the Rebbe is moshiach considered heretical? [duplicate]
I was recently referred to a popular Chabad Rabbi and towards the end of the lecture he just totally shocked me. He started claiming that the Rebbe is moshiach, potentially never died, could get ...
0
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0answers
54 views
Stripe Pattern on CHABAD Tallit Gadol
According to the story posted on BEN'S TALLIT SHOP: http://tzitzit.tallit-shop.com/ :
"The History of the Chabad Tallit
During a visit to Eretz Yisrael, the previous Chabad Rebbe came across a ...
3
votes
1answer
85 views
Four Pairs of Tefillin: Why only the Shel Rosh?
Although not a normative custom, there is a rare custom practiced by lofty individuals to put on four pairs of tefillin (Rashi, Rabbeinu Tam, Shimusha Rabba and Raavad).
In Hayom Yom, the ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
Russian original of Baad Kodesh?
I would like to find the Russian original of one of the presumably very few chasidic works written in that language. The work in question is בד קדש, addressed by the Miteler Rebbe, Rav Dovber of ...
0
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1answer
71 views
Was the original Yiddish lost in the Hebrew sichos?
The sichos (speeches) of the Lubavicher Rebbe were alternately published: some in the original Yiddish and some translated into Hebrew. Therefore some sichos are published only in translated form (...
2
votes
1answer
176 views
Why would the Belzer Rebbe usually shake hands with a towel wrapped around his hand?
Jewish Educational Media publishes a series of videos about the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The series is called Living Torah.
Disc 34, Program 135, contains an interview with Rabbi Chatzkel Besser,
[about ...
3
votes
1answer
96 views
How does the Siddur Torah Ohr differ from the Siddur Tehilas Hashem?
The most common Chabad siddur is obviously the Siddur Tehilas Hashem (TH), which was first published in Rostov, Russia in 1918. It is used by over 300,000 Chabad families worldwide. However, it's not ...
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0answers
82 views
Dayanus taught at the 770 Central Yeshiva
Does anyone know what the Dayanus curriculum is taught at the 770 central Yeshiva today?
0
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1answer
132 views
Explanation of Alter Rebbe's proof of G-d?
I heard recently from a Rabbi's speech (a.k.a., I don't know the actual source) that when the Alter Rebbe was in prison in Russia one of the Russians there asked him to prove the existence of G-d.
So ...
2
votes
1answer
38 views
Who wrote Piskei Hasiddur?
I've seen people write that the Alter Rebbe wrote Piskei Hasiddur, and I've also seen people write that Rav Chayim Naeh wrote it. They did not overlap in their lives...so who wrote it?
2
votes
1answer
114 views
Difference between Chabad mikvaos and other mikvaos?
I've heard from some rabbonim and educated laymen that there are some differences between Chabad mikvaos and the more standard ones. This makes it so Lubavitch women can't use any other mikva. Is ...
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votes
2answers
114 views
Chabad kuntres “Toras Ashkenaz”
What is the Chabad pamphlet Toras Ashkenaz: Frankfurt, Germania ?
Background: A Chabad friend of mine noticed this pamphlet at the Chabad Ohel in Queens. While the title would imply that it is of ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Doing Rambam using audio shiur?
Regarding the institution of the last Lubavitcher Rebbe to learn the Rambam, either 3 chapters a day or 1 chapter a day, does anyone know if one is yotzei by listening to and understanding a audio ...
1
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0answers
134 views
Source for Lubavitch Siddur Legend
If you take a look in the old print of the Siddur Tehilas Hashem on page 13, you will notice a strange looking vav in the word "yetzur" (as in "yetzur nivra" from the tefillah of Adon Olam).
I have ...
5
votes
3answers
136 views
Learning Chabad Sichos
My 13-year-old son wants to start learning Chabad Sichos. I'm looking for advice.
How do we decide which sichos to learn?
Do Lubavitchers generally learn the sicha of the current parsha, but ...
5
votes
1answer
180 views
Tehillim “Ohel Yosef Yitzchok”
I have heard many Lubavitchers (generally from the older generation) speak about the importance of the Tehillim "Ohel Yosef Yitzchok" (OYY), the Tehillim printed by Kehot, the central Lubavitch ...
1
vote
3answers
161 views
Is the Baal Hatanya being too harsh with his definition of Rasha?
Is it just his opinion? Cause it is kinda depressing.
From "Lessons in Tanya":
As true definitive terms, tzaddik and rasha describe the quality of the good or evil in one’s soul. Viewed in this ...
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0answers
146 views
Tying the Gartel
The way I have seen the gartel tied is as follows (and this has been in Chabad):
The wearer straightens the gartel in front of him. Then he brings his hands to his sides and wraps the gartel around ...
4
votes
0answers
82 views
Are there other Chasidim who omit “Tzur Yisroel” besides Chabad?
This is a follow-up to this question I asked earlier on this site.
All Nusach Sfard siddurim I have ever seen, with exception to the Chabad siddur, include the line of Tzur Yisroel, in accordance ...
3
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0answers
148 views
What is the significance of 770 for Chaba"d?
Wikipedia explains the significance of the number 770 for Chaba"d. What isn't clear is if the rebbe made this comment after the purchase of the home or if Agudat Anshei Chaba"d specifically sought (or ...
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0answers
76 views
Tefillin - Source for the Chabad Kesher
Ashkenazim wrap inwards, so both the yud kesher and the loop the strap goes through are near the body of the wearer. Sephardim wrap outwards, so their kesher places the yud near the body and loop on ...
2
votes
1answer
112 views
Tefillin - Are there any others who wear 4 x 4 battim besides Chabad?
Lubavitch minhag calls for the tefillin battim to be 4 x 4 cm based on the Baal HaTanya's ruling in the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, 32:63. Are there any other communities who have the minhag to use Chabad-...
4
votes
1answer
148 views
Why does the Chabad nusach omit “Tzur Yisroel” before Shemoneh Esrei?
In the bracha right before the Amidah during Shacharis, Nusach Ashkenaz and many variations of Nusach Sefard have:
שִׁירָה חֲדָשָׁה שִׁבְּחוּ גְאוּלִים לְשִׁמְךָ עַל שפַת הַיָּם. יַחַד כֻּלָּם ...
5
votes
1answer
124 views
According to the Tanya, is one never permitted to be sad at all?
In Iggeret Hakodesh chapter 11, the Baal Hatanya says :
In truth, however, “No evil descends from above,” and everything is good,
though it is not apprehended [as such] because of its immense and ...
2
votes
1answer
78 views
“HaRachaman hu yevarech es avi mori…” - Questions
There is a part in the third bracha in bentching which goes like this:
הרחמן הוא יברך את אבי מורי בעל הבית הזה ואת אמי מורתי בעלת הבית הזה אותם
ואת ביתם ואת זרעם ואת כל אשר להם אותנו ואת כל אשר ...
4
votes
1answer
133 views
Why are the holes diagonal on a Chabad tallis katan?
So I understand the reasoning for having two holes on the tallis katan (so that the tzitzis will hang on one side of the corner and won't move around), but why do Chabad tallis katans have the holes ...
3
votes
0answers
129 views
Keeping the tallis katan straight underneath the shirt
I wear my tallis katan under my shirt, and I usually tuck my shirt into my pants and pull the tzitzis up to wear they come out the top of my pants and hang down at my beltline, like this.
The only ...
4
votes
1answer
481 views
Why does Chabad not “do” conversions?
Lubavitch institutions do not conduct conversions. I read somewhere that it is because of some agreement between the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.
Why does Chabad not "do" conversions?...
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0answers
100 views
What minhag is this tefillin wrapping in this video?
This video on YouTube shows man showing a particular minhag for wrapping tefillin which he says is Nusach Arizal. It looks a lot like the Chabad method (such as making the shin on the bicep), but I ...
2
votes
2answers
135 views
What was the Lubavitcher Rebbe's approach to rebuke?
Did it differ from when he was giving to others and from when he was telling others to give it? There's always the stories of him being very loving and reaching out to every Jew and emphasizing ahavat ...
2
votes
1answer
121 views
Lubavitch Kinnos
Kehot does not sell a book of Kinnos for Tisha B'Av, and so this led me to assume there was no particular nusach that Lubavitchers use for kinnos. If that is so, what nusach is used? Nusach Ashkenaz? ...
2
votes
1answer
164 views
Wearing the tallit katan over the shirt in Chabad
Lubavitchers generally do not wear the tallit katan over the shirt like other Chasidim. Is this because there is some halacha about it, or kabbalistic preference, or is it simply because the Rebbe did ...
5
votes
0answers
202 views
Why does a Chabad tallit katan have silk corners?
All wool tallitot katanim I have ever seen have reinforced corners, usually made from a square of cotton cloth. This prevents the tzitziyot from tearing through the hole from daily "wear and tear" and ...
3
votes
2answers
95 views
Daily Rebbe Video
I'm looking for a place where I can sign up and receive a daily video of the Lubavitcher Rebbe through my e-mail. Could someone point me to a place where I can do this?
2
votes
1answer
105 views
sanctify the soul or sanctify the world?
I read a chabad sheet which claims (no source) that the main purpose of our religious service is to sanctify the world and not the soul and that this was the mistake of the spies who thought they ...
1
vote
1answer
219 views
Lighting yizkor and yahrzeit candles for rebbeim
I have heard of a custom in Chabad to light yahrzeit and yizkor candles for the rebbeim. But I literally don't know anything about it except that some in Chabad do it. Can anyone tell me:
How common ...
4
votes
2answers
432 views
What is the closing psalm at Chabad services about?
On the seventh day of Pesach I went to Chabad for morning services. I've only been there a couple times before (always on a chag), so I'm not very familiar with their customs. At the end of each of ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
Chabad Chazzanus Recordings
Is there a place online where I can find recordings of Chabad chazzanus (i.e. the tunes a Chabad chazzan would use for Hodu, Shemoneh Esrei, etc.)? The recordings should preferably be free online. ...
2
votes
1answer
166 views
Siddur Tehilas Hashem - Yiddish
Does anyone know where I might find the common Chabad siddur, Siddur Tehilas Hashem, with a Yiddish translation? A while back I had seen one for sale on Eichler's website, but the link has since been ...
4
votes
1answer
174 views
“El melech ne'eman” not in Chabad siddurim
There is a common custom amongst many to recite the words
אל מלך נאמן
before Kriyas Shema when there is no minyan. However, in all Chabad siddurim I have davened from, this phrase is not there. ...
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votes
2answers
452 views
Visualizing the Rebbe during marital relations
Rabbi Slifkin wrote in a recent post that:
... in some Chabad chosson/kallah classes, they are taught that
during climax, they should visualize the Rebbe.
Slifkin brings the writings of Rabbi ...
0
votes
3answers
304 views
Sending letters to the deceased
Some Chassidim have the custom to leave letters at the graves of deceased Rebbes. Is it mutar to send a letter to any deceased Rebbe (specifically the Lubavitcher Rebbe), or is this similar to Avodah ...
5
votes
2answers
358 views
Taking off shoes at the Ohel
When one wants to visit the Ohel, the Lubavitcher Rebbes' grave, one is asked to take off his shoes. Halachically, one does not take one's shoes when visiting many other holy sites, e.g. the Kotel. ...
5
votes
1answer
161 views
Shulchan Aruch HaRav and the Gra
I heard a story about how when the Vilna Gaon was shown Hilchos Talmud Torah from the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, the Gra kissed the volume and praised the author, not knowing the author was the ...
5
votes
1answer
475 views
Was the Lubavitcher Rebbe a descendant of Dovid HaMelech?
Some Chabad chassidim believe the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was and is the Moshiach. (This is a subject that has been addressed already on this SE.)
My question is, a ...
2
votes
1answer
233 views
What age is the kapoteh donned in Chabad circles?
The kapoteh is a long black frock coat worn by some Lithuanian Jews and Chabad Chassidim. It is very similar to a bekishe.
I was wondering what age do most Chabad Chassidim start wearing the kapoteh. ...
