‘What Is Chabad Exactly?’

“What is Chabad exactly?” That was the question posed by the podcaster Tucker Carlson this week. Mr. Carlson allows that the Hasidic group might include “super nice people, engaged in all kinds of charitable activities,” but claimed that it is also at the center of a global conspiracy fueling the war in Iran to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and replace it with the Third Temple, an aim he argued that “Chabad has been pushing in a pretty subtle way.”Mr. Carlson’s libel is no more defensible for its looniness. It echoes the accusations of another podcaster, Candace Owens, that the Talmud is a handbook for world domination. To drill home the point, Mr. Carlson spelled out the word “C-H-A-B-A-D” for his listeners. Like most conspiracy theorists, Mr. Carlson jumps off the deep end from a twig of truth — some members of the Israel Defense Forces wear a patch with an image of the Third Temple.A Chabad spokesman insists that the patches “did not come from Chabad.” The group’s focus is “on encouraging Mitzvos — good deeds — to bring more goodness into the world and hasten the coming of the Messiah, while living responsibly in the present.” Any implication that “Chabad is behind the war in Iran is a dangerous blood libel” and a “slanderous lie.” Chabad is engaged in a spiritual struggle to connect Jews to more deeply to their faith. Another Chabad spokesman, Rabbi Motti Seligson, expands on this mission to the Sun. He explains that Chabad “is dedicated to the flourishing of Jewish life and the spiritual and material well being of society at large. With 6,000 Chabad couples leading 3,500 religious, educational and social service institutions in more than 100 countries, Chabad enriches the lives of literally countless people from all walks of life.”Chabad was founded in 1775 and has been led by a distinguished line of grand rabbis — including the seventh and last, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known simply as the Rebbe. Schneerson, now gone alas, hit upon the idea of sending emissaries across the globe to bolster Jewish life. These young people, most dispatched from Crown Heights, founded “Chabad Houses.” There are now more than 5,000 of these embassies of Jewish joy.Chabad Houses, which stretch from Fairbanks, Alaska to Perth, Australia, are places where Jews can find a prayer, service, kosher meal, or just a place to connect. A Chabad in Thailand hosts the world’s largest Passover seder every year. Chabad is visible by design — its goal is to conduct outreach to Jews who may be distant from their traditions. From laying tefillin to lighting menorahs, Chabad participates in America’s promise of religious liberty.Chabad’s visibility often puts it at the front lines of antisemitic violence. The murder of 15 people at Bondi Beach occurred during a Chabad Hanukkah celebration. One of the victims was a rabbi affiliated with the movement. A terror attack in 2008 at a Chabad House at Mumbai claimed the lives of six people, including emissaries Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg and their unborn child. In 2019, a gunman attacked a Chabad at Poway. In true Chabad fashion the movement headquarters’s official X account on Friday implored “Remember to light Shabbat candles today before sunset! Check your local times.” From college campuses to Caribbean beaches to African side streets and Penn Station, Chabad will keep on doing what it always does — ask if passersbys are Jewish, and help them if they aren’t. Even Mr. Carlson, we’d hazard, would be invited for a bowl of chicken soup.

‘What Is Chabad Exactly?’

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