Chabad's American Era: Modern People in Hasidic Garb?
The Rebbe turned Chabad into an international movement that transcended the narrower denominational interests of other orthodox Jewish groups in America. Wexler correctly centers our attention on the Rebbe's social vision, and its strong universalist component. This should not be confused with pluralism, nor misconstrued as imperialism, for it was shared with love rather than imposed with power. In addition to reviewing many aspects of the Rebbe's social activism, this talk also explores some ways that the Rebbe's positions and aspirations were supported and shared by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein.
| Audio: | Listen to Audio | Download this MP3 |
| Topics: | Chabad-Lubavitch, Lubavitcher Rebbe, Community and Individuality |
Chaim I. Waxman is Chair of the Behavioral Sciences Department at Hadassah Academic College in Jerusalem and Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Rutgers University. In 2013, he was Dorset Fellow, Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies. He is author and editor of more than 15 books, including America’s Jews in Transition (Temple University), American Aliya: Portrait of an Innovative Migration Movement (Wayne State University), Jewish Baby Boomers: A Communal Perspective (State University of NY), and Social Change and Halakhic Evolution in American Orthodoxy (Littman Library).
© Copyright, all rights reserved. If you enjoyed this article, we encourage you to distribute it further, provided that you comply with Chabad.org's copyright policy.
Start a Discussion