"Chabad" is a Hebrew acronym for "Wisdom, Understanding and Knowledge" Lubavitch is the town in White Russia where the movement was based. The Russian word "Lubavitch" means "brotherly love," emblematic of the love and dedication that Chabad- and its emissaries worldwide.
The work of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who assumed leadership of Chabad-Lubavitch in 1950, is unique. Motivated by a profound love for G-D and humanity, launched an unprecedented range of Jewish institutions, outreach programs and social services. Today more than 2700 Jewish Institutions worldwide.
We are expanding the Rebbe's mission to create a world of goodness, kindness and G-dliness, constantly innovating new approaches in educational, social and community services.
The Rebbe developed a series of practical mitzvah campaigns as a tangible way for people of all backgrounds, to experience a Jewish connection. Before the Rebbe's "mitzvah campaign," the mitzvah was a private deed, performed by the "religious" Jew at home or in the synagogue. So it was only natural that the Rebbe's mitzvah campaign, initiated in the late 60s and early 70s, raised many questions: "Tefillin on a hippie?" "What's the point of doing one mitzvah on the way to lunch in a non-kosher restaurant?" Mitzvot were then seen as the details that made up a religious Jew's lifestyle The Rebbe saw a deeper dimension.
A Mitzvah is a connection between man and G-d, it is a bridge between Creator and creation, it is a deed of cosmic significance, a deed of infinite value unto itself. Citing Maimonides, the Rebbe repeated in many occasions :" a single mitzvah performed by a single person, could be the deed that tips the scales and brings redemption to the entire world and all of creation." So the Rebbe issued a call to every Jew: Even if you are not fully committed to a Torah life, do a Mitzvah. Begin with a mitzvah-any mitzvah; its value will not be diminished by the fact that there are others which you are not yet prepared to do. The Rebbe also suggested ten possible "beginner's" mitzvot-precepts which, because of their centrality to the Torah's guide to life, are ideally suited for a first experience of the mitzvah connection.