Chabad customs and holidays are the practices, rituals and holidays performed and celebrated by adherents of the
Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Judaism movement. The customs, or
and
Nusach Ari are based on
Isaac Luria.
[ Rabbi Isaac Luria. Chanad.org.] The holidays are celebrations of events in Chabad history. General Chabad customs, called
, distinguish the movement from other
Hasidic Judaism groups.
Customs
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Forms of dress – Chabad males, starting from Bar Mitzvah age, mostly wear black . This is in contrast to other Hasidic groups who wear , a type of fur hat. Chabad women, like other Orthodox Jews, wear clothing that conform to tzniut (Hebrew: צניעות, "modesty").
[ Modesty. Chabad.org.][ Shop helps Orthodox girls balance modesty and style. ChrownHeights.info.]
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Speech and language – Many Chabad Hasidim in English speaking countries speak both English and Yiddish.
[ Yiddish still spoken here. Lubavitch.com.]
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Dialects – Many American Chabad Hasidim pronounce Hebrew according to the Lithuanian Jews dialect.
[ Jochnowitz, George. “Bilingualism and dialect mixture among Lubavitcher Hasidic children.” American Speech 43, no. 3 (1968): 182-200.] However, many native but also France Chabad Hasidim pronounce Hebrew according to the Hebrew language dialect.
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Linguistic features – English speaking adherents are thought to use a cluster of linguistic features including a “/t/ release” at the end of some words, borrowed Hebrew terms, and “chanting intonation contours”. This linguistic cluster forms a unique "learned, Orthodox style” used by male adherents, and to a lesser extent, by female adherents.
[Benor,]
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Code-switching – In Chabad, code-switching, or the alternating between two or more languages in speech occurs among English speaking members of the movement. Chabad adherents switch between standard English and a "Jewish English" which is a Jewish variety of English with influences from Yiddish, textual Hebrew and modern Hebrew.
[Hefer, Gila. "The Use of Code Switching as a Communicative Strategy by the Lubavicher Emissaries Working with Jewish American Students: The Interaction Between Lubavicher Emissaries and their American Students." Studia Edukacyjne 37. Adam Mickiewicz University Press. (2015). Pages 349-361.]
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Song and music – Like many other Hasidic groups, Chabad attaches importance to singing Chabad Hasidic (melodies), usually without words, and following precise customs of their leaders.
[ Koskoff, Ellen. "The Language of the Heart: Music in Lubavitcher Life. New World Hasidim: Ethnographic Studies of Hasidic Jews in America. Edited by Janet S. Belcove-Shalin. SUNY Press. (1995): pp. 91.] Chabad followers also compose songs using lyrics and contemporary styles.[ A transcript of a contemporary Chabad song][ Chabad Songs. Kesser.org]
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Daily study – Among the customs of the Chabad movement are schedules of daily study of Jewish religious works. These study schedules were often encouraged by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. They include:
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Pregnancy – Chabad Hasidim refrain from publicizing a pregnancy until the woman has entered the fifth month.
[ Conduct During Pregnancy. Chabad.org]
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Bar Mitzvah – It is customary in Chabad communities for a child celebrating his Bar Mitzvah to recite the Chassidic discourse titled Isa b'Midrash Tehillim.
[ "Customs Related to a Bar Mitzvah". Chabad.org.]
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Tefillin – The custom of Chabad males, starting from Bar Mitzvah age, is to don an additional pair of Tefillin, called "Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam".
[Sefer HaSichos 5749, Vol. 2 p. 632; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. II, p. 507. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXVI, p. 404][ Sefer Haminhagim: Bar Mitzva Sichos in English. sichosinenglish.org ][ Sefer Haminhagim: Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam Sichos in English. sichosinenglish.org ]
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The Ten Commandments – It is customary in Chabad for all family members, even infants, to attend the reading of the Ten Commandments on the holiday of Shavuot.
[ "The Ten Commandments". Chabad.org.][ "Tidbits on Torah A Treasure Beyond Compare". Chabad.org.]
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Passover – It is customary in Chabad communities, on passover, to limit contact of matzah (an unleavened bread eaten on passover) with water. This custom is called gebrokts (, lit. 'broken'). However, on the last day of passover, it is customary to intentionally have matzah come in contact with water.
[ Gebrokts: Wetted Matzah. Chabad.org.]
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Chanukah – It is the custom of Chabad Hasidim to place the Chanukah menorah against the room's doorpost (and not on the windowsill).
[ Chanukah. Sefer Haminhagim. SichosinEnglish.org.][Schneersohn, Shalom Dovber. Tanu Rabbanan: Ner Chanukah Sichos In English, N.Y., 1990.][ Laws and Customs of Chanukah. CrownHeights.info.]
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Synagogue readings — In some Lubavitcher congregations, the daily entry in the book Hayom Yom (a book of Hasidic sayings compiled by the seventh Chabad Rebbe) is read aloud after the morning service. This practice serves to provide words of guidance and inspiration as one prepares to leave the synagogue. This post-prayer reading seems to be a more common practice in Chabad communities in North and South America, and less common in Israel.
Holidays
There are a number of days marked by the Chabad movement as special days. Major holidays include the liberation dates of the leaders of the movement, the
of Chabad, others corresponded to the leaders' birthdays, anniversaries of death, and other life events. The leaders of the Chabad movement were, at times, subject to imprisonment by the Russian government. The days marking the leaders' release, are celebrated by the Chabad movement as "Days of Liberation" (
Hebrew: יום גאולה (
Yom Geulah)).
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Yud Tes Kislev - Chof Kislev (19-20 Kislev) – Known as the "Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism," marking the liberation of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi on 19 Kislev and his subsequence liberation from the inquisitive misnagdim on 20 Kislev, which also coincided with the publishing of the foundational Chassidic work, the Tanya. Also marks the yartzeit of Rabbi Dovber of Mezritch as well as the birth of Menucha Rochel Slonim.
[ Special Dates on the Chabad Chassidic Calendar. Chabad.org][ Chof Kislev Events. Chabad.org.]
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Yud Aleph Nissan (11 Nissan) – Birthday of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of Chabad.
[ Special Dates on the Chabad Chassidic Calendar. Chabad.org][ Dade Jews throw birthday party for New York Rabbi, David Hancock, Miami Herald , April 14, 1992][The Rabbi on the hill , David O'Reilly, The Philadelphia Inquirer'', April 28, 1984]
See also
