Chabad.org is the flagship

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...

of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It was one of the first Jewish

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

sites and the first and largest virtual congregation.

History

In 1988, Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad rabbi, began creating a Chabad-Lubavitch presence in cyberspace. With the advent of computer communication technology, Kazen recognized its potential for reaching an almost limitless audience, unlimited by geographic and other constraints. Kazen digitized thousands of documents into what became the world's first virtual Jewish library, and enabling thousands of people to learn about Judaism for the first time. Chabad.org served as a model for other Jewish organizations that created their own educational websites.

Jewish knowledge base

Chabad.org has a Jewish knowledge base which includes over 100,000 articles of information ranging from basic

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

to Hasidic philosophy taught from the Chabad point of view. The major categories are the human being, God and man, concepts and ideas, the

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, the physical world, the

Jewish calendar The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. ...

, science and technology, people and events. There are sections on Shabbat, Kosher,

Tefillin Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews durin ...

Mezuzah A ''mezuzah'' ( he, מְזוּזָה "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment, known as a '' klaf'', contained in a decorative case and inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah ( and ). These verses consist of the ...

, the Jewish way in death and mourning and a synagogue companion.

Ask the Rabbi

Chabad.org was the pioneer of “ Ask the rabbi” sites. Kazen reached out to thousands of people on Fidonet, an online discussion network, as far back as 1988. In 1994, Kazen launched the first version of Chabad's “Ask the Rabbi” website. Today's version, in which 40 rabbis and educators field questions via e-mail, answered more than 500,000 questions between 2001 and 2006, averaging about 270 a day. Many people take advantage of the Web's anonymity to impart experiences and ask for advice from chabad.org. Chabad.org also operates TheJewishWoman.org's “Dear Rachel”, a similar service which is run by women for women. Questions and answers have been posted online.

Features

Chabad.org provides daily, date-specific information relevant to each day from

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

, daily Torah study, candle-lighting times, and forthcoming

Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...

s. Chabad.org maintains a number of sub-sites, including *Weekly Magazine email on Torah and contemporary life. *A search feature that enables the user to quickly find a

Chabad House A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating traditional Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad houses are run by a Chabad Shaliach (emissary), and Shalucha (fem. for emissary) and their family. They are located in cities and on or near college ...

in any part of the world. *An online Jewish library that contains some 100,000 articles. *An "Ask the Rabbi" feature. *A multimedia portal, Jewish.tv, where users can stream Jewish audio and video. *A children's section. *A section featuring reports in the media on the activities of Chabad Lubavitch Shluchim ("emissaries"). Chabad.org and its affiliated sites claim over 43 million visitors per year, and over 365,000 email subscribers.Our Impact
Chabad.org

References

Sources