Chabad and the Essence of Socialism
Drawing on the specific intimations of the term "essence" as it is explained in Chabad thought—namely, as the singular point that holds opposites together—we can find several points of connection between Chabad teachings on social questions and the socialist ideology espoused by Karl Marx: 1) Concern for the pain and plight of one's fellow human being, 2) the desire to change things for the better, 3) the identification of the problem of alienation and the search for an antidote.
| Topics: | Chabad-Lubavitch, Community and Individuality, Socialism |
Dr. Tali Loewenthal is Lecturer in Jewish Spirituality at University College London, director of the Chabad Research Unit, author of Communicating the Infinite: The Emergence of the Habad School and of Hasidism Beyond Modernity: Studies in Habad Thought and History (Littmann Library, 2020), and a frequent contributor to the Chabad.org weekly Torah reading section.
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