Chabad - Nomenclature

Nomenclature

In Tanya, Shneur Zalman of Liadi defines "Chabad Hasidism" as "מוח שליט על הלב" ("mind ruling over the heart/emotions"). Chabad Chasidism considers this emphasis to fundamentally distinguish it from other forms of Hasidism, which are often collectively referred to as "Chagas"; this acronym refers to the emotional attributes of Chesed ("kindness"), Gevurah ("power"), and Tifereth ("beauty"), and implies that relatively speaking other Chasidic groups place a lesser emphasis on intellectual comprehension of Chasidic philosophy than that found in Chabad teaching.

Chabad is sometimes written as Habad in English and in all the phonetic equivalents of the name in all the countries they operate in. Thus, as an example, Jabad is the Spanish form.

In Hasidic Judaism, a dynasty normally takes its name from the town in Eastern Europe where it was based. Lyubavichi (called לובאוויטש Lyubavitsh in Yiddish, which is usually rendered Lubavitch in English) is a small town now in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, (then Imperial Russia). The movement was founded in Liozna, and then moved to Liadi, but it moved to Lubavitch after the Napoleonic War, and was based there for 102 years.

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