Chabad-Lubavitch: Encyclopedia II - Chabad-Lubavitch - Origin of name

Chabad-Lubavitch - Origin of name

Chabad-Lubavitch - Chabad

The names Chabad and Lubavitch each have a history. Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for Chochma ("wisdom"), Bina ("understanding"), and Da'as ("knowledge"), that was chosen early on by its founder, the first Rebbe, Shneur Zalman of Liadi. The name Chabad reflects the intellectual accessibility of the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. In the seminal Hasidic work, Tanya, Rabbi Shneur Zalman defines "Chabad Hasidism" as "מוח שולט על הלב" (the mind rules over the emotions). This is distinguished with other forms of Hasidism sometimes referred to as "Chagat" for the emotional attributes of Chesed ("kindness"), Gevurah ("power"), and Tifereth ("beauty").

Chabad is sometimes written as Habad in English, and in all the phonetic equivalents of the name in all the countries they operate in. Thus, as an example, Jabad is the Spanish form, particularly important to the Jews of Latin America, most notably Argentina, which has the largest concentration of Spanish speaking Jews anywhere in the world and therefore has a large Lubavitch presence as well.

Chabad-Lubavitch - Lubavitch

Lubavitch is the name of a small town in Russia meaning "town of love". It was Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi who founded the movement, but his son established court in Lubavitch, and the name stuck. In Hasidic Judaism, a dynasty normally takes its name from the town in Eastern Europe where it was born and originated. The followers of Lubavitch place great emphasis on the value and meaning of their group name and town of origin. They say that this evokes, symbolizes and embodies who they are.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Origin of name", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki