Op-Ed: Learning from Chabad
The following editorial, on what world Jewry an learn from the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, appeared in the Washington Jewish Week.
The Chabad-Lubavitch movement occupies a unique position in contemporary Jewish life. Strictly Orthodox in belief, it focuses on outreach to the non-Orthodox Jewish world, from where it also attracts its biggest donors.
How did this chasidic movement achieve its rock star status? And does the growth and rising prominence of the Chabad movement contain a lesson for other Jewish organizations – our synagogues and community agencies – that are struggling to flourish in changing times?
In an article on eJewishPhilanthropy.com, Steven Windmueller, an emeritus professor of Jewish communal service, purports to distill Chabad’s success into 10 “core elements.” Consideration of those core elements will likely stimulate conversation, as various segments of the Jewish world consider how contemporary Jewish life can be improved, and try to determine the parts of the Chabad formula that are replicable for that purpose.
Here are some of Professor Windmueller’s observations:
Chabad isn’t the only stream of Judaism with a past, but it has been highly successful in seeming to own the past. Chabad’s apparent connection with pre-modern, “Old Country” Judaism, and its willingness to share that connection freely with all who are willing to listen, lends the movement religious authority and an authenticity among Jews who are otherwise modern in their outlook.
On top of that, Chabad knows the power of branding. Think of Chabad and what comes to mind? The rebbe. Public menorah lightings. Mitzvah mobiles. Wrapping tefillin. The Brooklyn headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway. Even the active, vocal promotion of the Messiah. These are all Chabad symbols that have taken on a meaning independent of the people, places and actions they represent.
But, perhaps most importantly, the mass organization known as Chabad understands the value of the individual, and the importance of single-minded commitment. This is played out daily by Chabad representatives, who reach out to one Jew at a time; in the remarkable commitment of its representative rabbis and their wives to the building of Chabad communities in far-flung places with little Jewish presence; and to the representatives’ willingness to work for years at great personal sacrifice in order to promote the success of their mission.
Most Jewish organizations would love to achieve a fraction of Chabad’s success. By paying close attention to Chabad’s building blocks for success, other Jewish organizations just might be able to do so.
