Quad City Times
Rabbi Shneur Cadaner lights a menorah as his wife Chana and infant son look on. The Orthodox Jewish family moved to the Quad-Cities six months ago as part of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Rabbi Shneur Cadaner dresses in a traditional Orthodox Jewish manner and seems not to notice any extra attention he receives while moving about the Quad-Cities. He is a man on a mission.

The rabbi, his wife Chana and their infant son moved to a north Davenport home six months ago as part of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement. “Our outreach is to enrich the Jewish lifestyle,” he said, noting that the couple has sponsored several events and has “Chanukah on Ice” planned for Dec. 27 at the Quad-City Sports Center in Davenport.

“We give Jews reasons to explore Judaism,” Chana Cadaner said, noting that a good deal of reaction has come from older persons who remember the more traditional practices the couple supports.

Hasidics put down roots in Q-C

Quad City Times
Rabbi Shneur Cadaner lights a menorah as his wife Chana and infant son look on. The Orthodox Jewish family moved to the Quad-Cities six months ago as part of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Rabbi Shneur Cadaner dresses in a traditional Orthodox Jewish manner and seems not to notice any extra attention he receives while moving about the Quad-Cities. He is a man on a mission.

The rabbi, his wife Chana and their infant son moved to a north Davenport home six months ago as part of the Lubavitch Hasidic movement. “Our outreach is to enrich the Jewish lifestyle,” he said, noting that the couple has sponsored several events and has “Chanukah on Ice” planned for Dec. 27 at the Quad-City Sports Center in Davenport.

“We give Jews reasons to explore Judaism,” Chana Cadaner said, noting that a good deal of reaction has come from older persons who remember the more traditional practices the couple supports.

“When a person feels obligated at what they do, that’s one thing. But when they enjoy what they do, that’s what we’re all about,” Rabbi Cadaner said of Jewish religious practices.

“It doesn’t have to be a chore,” his wife agreed.

Chabad Lubavitch is a branch of Hasidism, according to the Web site www.chabadquadcities.org. The word “chabad” is a Hebrew acronym for “wisdom,” “comprehension” and “knowledge.” Lubavitch is a Russian town where it was founded.

The Cadaners are among 4,000 full-time emissary families working in 70 countries. They “apply 250-year-old principles and philosophy … dedicated to the welfare of the Jewish people worldwide,” the Web site states.

Chabad emissaries such as the Cadaners are “couples who radiate kindness and devotion,” according to a newspaper account headlined, “Chabad, a success story,” which was published in Haaretz of Tel Aviv, Israel. They begin their mission with financial help from the organizational headquarters in Brooklyn, N.Y., but gradually grow autonomous. Haaretz reports that many are sustained by donations from Jews who want their contributions to fund what they believe is an authentic form of the religion.

Rabbi Cadaner is a Brooklyn native and his wife is from St. Paul, Minn.

Jews were among the first residents in what is know the Quad-City area during the 19th century and had established five synagogues at one point. Today, there are two: Temple Emanuel in Davenport and the Tri-City Jewish Center in Rock Island.

The last fully Orthodox synagogue closed about 40 years ago in Rock Island, said Chuck Rubovits, a former lay leader at the Tri-City Jewish Center. Some area Jews consider themselves very traditional, or Orthodox, in their beliefs, he added.

Chabad Lubavitch practitioners such as the Cadaners do not necessarily start synagogues, but undertake activities such as operating schools, running drug rehabilitation clinics, sponsoring Passover seders and visiting Jewish prison inmates. In this region, Chabad centers also have been established in Iowa City and Peoria, Ill.

9 Comments

  • just wondering

    nice picture but when was that picture taken they just left on shlichus shavous time

  • Shmuli

    its just a picture of the fasmily, who sais its on shlichus. It was probably taken last year in Crown Heights.

  • Just Wondering II

    I’m not Jewish but I think I have an idea of what Chabad Lubavitch is, a kind of internal Jewish missionary program it seems. What I’m wondering is where do the funds come from to support all these "emissary families"?

  • other guy

    Just Wondering II:
    no sorry you got it wrong. chabad is NOT a missinary group. we do OUTREACH, meaning we do not convert anybody. we only try to teach jews who have never had a chance to learn about thier own religon.

    chabad shluchim do thier own fundraising, the community that they are reaching out to give donations.

    btw, how did you find this site?!?

  • Just Wondering II

    I see,thank you for the clarification.

    How did a find this site? It started with a blog of a person I know casually and a few links later I ended here.

    One more question then I’m on myway. I assume Other Guy you are familiar with and very learned in Jewish Law. I see these days the celebrity Jewish lawyer Alan Dershowitz via various media is encouraging the torture of prisoners in American custody. Does or does not articles in Jewish Law ban actual and even encouragement of such barbaric practices such as torture?

  • other guy

    a. sorry about the confusion but i am not a rabbi.
    b. i’m afraid i’m not familiar with the comments of alan dershowitz to be able to comment on them. however,
    c. no, judaism does not encourage or allow torture. the torah is the original source for the "innocent till proven guilty" and right to a fair trial theories.

    having said that, i am not 1. a rabbi to decide jewish law in any given case. 2. familiar with the current comments under disscusion.

    i hope that helped :-)

  • Just Wondering II

    Other Guy you have good information even though you are not a rabbi so thanks for telling what you know on the subjects.

    FYI ifyou are interested here is one of Mr Dershowitz’s many recent public dissertations on his opinions concerning the practice of torture.

    http://news.scotsman.com/in

    To me such advocacy is a disgrace to all civilized people regardless of race, creed or national origin but I guess he’s got his reasons for his views.

    One last thing good luck to the Cadaner family in their mission to The Quad Cities.