The Secret of Chabad: Inside the World's Most Successful Jewish Movement Hardcover – August 17, 2015

This is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. Pacey writing. Fascinating history. Great life lessons. Useful in conversations. Highly recommend. No doubt, the book is biased toward Chabad. If I were so inclined, I could find lots of books and articles critical of the movement. That said, I’d rather take away key life-enhancing lessons and messages. My favorite chapters are “Gabie and Rivkie” recounting terrorist attacks on the Chabad house in Mumbai, “The Menorah Wars” discussing Chabad’s interaction with American Jews in the 2nd half of the 20th century, “Dancing with the KGB” which discusses Chabad’s role in the USSR, and “Every Shliach Is an Entrepreneur”.I was hooked by the end of chapter 1. The author, a Chabad insider working in California, tells the story of the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbai’s Chabad House. The writing is journalistic and compelling, introducing readers to the characters who become Chabad shluchim, the Chabad global family turning out for a tragic funeral, and Chabad’s global influence/organization as the “Chabad Command Center” often had better information that US, Indian, or Israeli authorities attempting to rescues hostages.What is Chabad? We think of Chabad today as a worldwide Jewish movement enabling travellers to get a Kosher meal and maintaining Jewish communities around the world. It has been, and remains spectacularly successful in bring Jews to Judiasm. The book documents in far more detail the ideological elements of the movement. I like the characterization attributed to Moshe Feller (Minnesota in 1952) “In Torah Vodaath [more traditional] it was ‘us’ and ‘them’. The small yeshiva world was ‘us’ and the rest of the community was ‘them’. In Chabad Lubavich, all Jews were ‘us’. … but first you must attend a farbrengen” (page 98). The fabrengen is a free-flowing combination of song, learning, and inspiration hosted by Chabad Rabbis and leaders.Philosophically, I take away (i) consistency of message, (ii) a focus on individual Jewish souls, and (iii) spiritual pursuits rather than purely academic. … “the Rebbe told young people ‘you can change the world…you can do something that has cosmic implications’” (119). “When a young man goes off to a classical style Lithuanian-style yeshiva in Israel or the US, he will be told … that his greatest inspiration is to become a great Torah scholar. … In Chabad yeshivas, this attitude is frowned upon. The purpose of learning is to become closer to G-d by studying torah. Aspiring to be great could be driven by ego.” (273)The lessons of this book go far beyond Jewish thought. The Rebbes are business geniuses with scalable lessons across commercial enterprises. The 7th Rebbe taught the value of thinking BIG, developing a vision that drove Chabad to the ends of the Earth. He didn’t micro-manage, rather leaving his delegates to identify and address local problems within the context of broader goals and approaches. He embraced the free market, forcing the shluchim to program within their own budgets and fund-raise largely independently. Ultimately, the fact that the organization remains so strong without a living Rebbe is a testament to its staying power. For what its worth, Chabad also does pretty well on real estate, moving into neighborhoods, making them more attractive places to live, and therefore owning relatively valuable property.Within American Jewry, Chabad has certainly faced its challenges. I was shocked to learn that the giant menoras that we see today in city centers and even on top of minivans only date back to the 1980’s. The book details Chabad’s challenges from both left and right. The left primarily feared loss of funding among finite resources from the likes of Jewish Federation and Birthright Israel. In the early days Chabad camps and schools, for example, received far less funding per child than other groups. In addition, the left feared mingling of religion/state (like menorahs in public squares) for fear that public schools would use this to justify becoming increasingly Christian in practice. The right also had concerns. They feared Chabad was making it “too easy” to participate. “Celebrating a bar or bat mitzvah in synagogue should require preparation and serious training” (174). There was also a financial motive with other traditional synagogues afraid of losing paying members.Chabad also has profound global influence. Benjamin Netanyahu quoted the Rebbe at the UN in 2011 (252). George W Bush credited Chabad for amazing work after Hurricane Katrina. When Golda Meir and Mossad wanted better access to Russia and better understanding of Russian Jews trapped behind the iron curtain, they found “a clandestine Jewish network already in place, directed by the Rebbe in Brooklyn.” (189) The book spends a lot of pages as well on the detailed history of Chabad in Russia, escaping in the early 1900’s and setting up in Brooklyn. Personally, there was a bit too much detail to keep me interested but the core message is powerful: “Shaped by years of battle against the Soviets, Chabad policy was not to retreat when faced with pressure” (139).The shlochim are fascinating in themselves. They move as young married couples far from family in exchange for the opportunity to change the world one Jew at a time. They often struggle to find funding, schools for their children and Kosher meat for their tables. Yet, the (almost always) persevere and succeed. Sometimes, they get creative (internet learning for the kids). Sometimes they get lucky (finding an unlikely patron). In any case, the numbers speak for themselves. From zero after WWII, there were 1242 shluchim couples in the world by 1994. By 2004, it was 2,097 with demand for placements far outstripping viable communities.Bottom-line: Read this book.

I couldn’t wait to get my copy of Rabbi Eliezrie’s book “The Secret of Chabad.” The book starts off with a gripping retelling of a tragic event in modern Jewish history. The details of this event along with Rabbi Eliezrie’s story telling abilities brought me to tears. Unlike many other works of non-fiction retelling a historic event, Rabbi Eliezrie carefully cites his facts in the endnotes; making this not only an example of the very real lives of the dedicated men and women serving Jewish communities around the globe, but also a documented piece of modern Jewish history.Through his deep knowledge and long-term engagement within the Chabad organization, Rabbi Eleizrie introduces the reader to the inner world of orthodox Jewish life in America, and its historical pedigree from Europe to 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. In the opening chapters, Rabbi Eleizrie again demonstrates his literary skills as he documents a series of historic events in such a way that a lay-reader can understand. At all times taking a few moments to explain terminology, to set the proper location and timeframe of significant events, and to introduce key individuals within the Chabad movement. All valuable background information.I found the chapter entitled “Every Shliach Is an Entrepreneur” particularly interesting. It shows how Chabad, through its open-door directive from the Rebbe has become the most effective Jewish organization in the world. Chabad has accomplished this, not by requiring heavy membership dues as a pre-requisite to spiritual engagement, but by the Rabbis and Rebbetzins engagement with the communities they serve. A community which is not merely “a job”, but a community to which they are committed to for life. Rather than simply collecting more Shul Members to pay annual membership dues, the Chabad model, as Rabbi Yosef Loschak of Santa Barbara, California is quoted as saying, “[W]hen you need money, you reach out to more and more people, which in turn connects more Jews to Judaism”. This “connection” is not accomplished by dialing-for-dollars, but by reaching out to the Jewish community, embracing Jews of all levels of observance, by not being judgmental, and by connecting with members of the community at a spiritual level. Once that “connection” is made, financial support inevitably follows. First its spiritual engagement, then its financial support…the way it should be.I strongly recommend this book. As the subtitle states, it truly is a look inside the world’s most successful Jewish movement.