The Chabad-Lubavitch organization is the glue holding the Jewish people together.
Years ago, I read the story of a Jew who lived in occupied Holland. He noted that the only Jews who made any effort to show that they were Jewish were Chabad chasids. Everyone else tried to hide their Jewishness, but not Chabad. After the war, when he made his way to New York, he decided to join Chabad and became close to its late leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, OBM.
When Rabbi Schneerson passed away in 1994, one might have thought the movement would have withered and died. It was he and his father-in-law who sent "shluchim" or representatives to the far corners of the world to bring the light of Judaism wherever they set up shop. A while back, I read that a new Chabad center or facility opens on average every three days. And Chabad is everywhere. One can go to Vietnam or Nepal and find a Chabad house. The same is true in countries big and small, cities and towns throughout the world. When we took a couple of days at Lake Tahoe, I called a rabbi who had just arrived. In Vegas, the Summerlin Chabad House was our second home.
I am quite partial to Chabad, as I became religiously observant through the Chabad House in Madison, Wisconsin. For me, it was an opportunity to find meaning in Judaism. I was brought up, like most young American Jews, with a little bit of Judaism—enough for a bar mitzvah but not enough to interfere with a promising career. In one generation, my family went from Ellis Island to Harvard University. For me, Chabad gave my Judaism a new purpose. For friends and family, my transformation was either strange or unfortunate. Our oldest grandson just lit his first Chanukah candles. Without Chabad, I doubt that I would have grandchildren, and if I did, they would more likely turn on their iPhones rather than light the lights that Jews have been lighting for over 2,100 years.
It is not surprising that many of those killed and wounded in recent years during antisemitic attacks are associated with Chabad. They are the tip of the spear for the Jewish people. Just as one is not surprised to hear that the Marines during World War II had high levels of casualties, so too with Chabad. Besides dressing as orthodox Jews, they are out in the world. Their mandate from the rabbis was to bring Judaism to Jews, wherever they may be. I twice drove with the Madison Chabad rabbi to prisons, once to visit hard-core convicts on a Jewish holiday, the other time to pick up a convicted judge who was given a few days to spend with his family on the outside.
If one looks at the event in Sydney, it was a classic Chabad activity. It was said that over a thousand people were on Bondi Beach for a traditional Chanukah candle lighting and party. Chabad does not try to force Judaism down one's throat; rather, it offers it to anyone who wishes to partake. I remember the rabbi in Madison telling me that he never brings a charity box to public events, so that people wouldn't assume that they had to pay for books and other materials he had out for their taking. In many places, the Chabad rabbi is the de facto local religious leader and authority. The father-in-law of the rabbi killed on the beach (with his wife and daughter wounded) is also the Chief Rabbi of Sydney. While we do not have the Hollywood tools to perform an "It's a Wonderful Life" test of this world without Chabad, it seems fair to say that there would be a lot less Jewish practice in the world without their efforts to bring light and joy to Jews throughout the world. The event on the beach was in keeping with that spirit. Many there were no doubt not religious, but they didn't feel threatened by Chabad and looked forward to being part of a community event. Think about the killers who put their scope on a 10-year-old girl and shot her in the head. If your choice is Chabad or Islamic lunatics, I hope that you'll vote for the former.
Because many Chabad representatives live in very small Jewish communities, their lives are not easy. Driving hours to buy meat or take a child to a larger community for schooling is common. Sending children to bigger Chabad centers in places like New York, Los Angeles, or Paris is also not uncommon. Children of Chabad rabbis oftentimes themselves become local rabbis. The movement is growing, and virtually all Jews find themselves at some time using Chabad services, eating at Chabad-supervised kosher restaurants, or joining a Chabad-organized event, like the many public candlelightings that occur throughout the world. I remember watching the candlelighting in the Kremlin shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A decade earlier, a person would not have thought that such a thing could ever happen.
While Chabad rabbis and associates are often the subject of antisemitic attacks, they are not alone. Next come orthodox Jews in general. Think about a Jew hater, whatever his background. The guy over at the end of the subway car with a shaved head and an earring is Jewish, but the antisemite can't figure that out at first glance. The guy at the other end of the car with the black fedora and beard is definitely Jewish. So, he attacks the latter—as happened recently to some young fellows returning from a Chabad candlelighting in Manhattan. Two black men accosted and threatened them. One of them choked one of the yeshiva students. In New York. In America. 2025. Nobody on the train did a thing, as has become the local custom.
Jews make for easy targets, whether the attackers are Islamic extremists, disgruntled blacks, or hateful lefties. For two years, Jews and Jewish establishments have been attacked from LA to New York.
I was happy to see the annual White House Chanukah party. There were many amazing people there, and the latkes (traditional Chanukah potato pancakes) looked pretty tasty. We always say that the quality of a party is according to the guests. At the White House event, the tone of the party was set by the president. President Trump has always been a good friend of the Jewish people and the state of Israel. The party's atmosphere was reflective of a president who cares about Jewish Americans and wants them to be safe and prosperous in the United States. All recent U.S. presidents have shown some level of concern for Jews and Israel. That said, President Trump is in a class by himself (like his ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee), in his open affection and deep concern for the Jewish people. It came out recently that the Biden administration hid information from Israel on the location of Hamas terrorists and Israeli hostages. That was shameless. I hope to one day have the opportunity to shake the president's hand and thank him for his support of Jews and Israel, especially during the dark times after October 7, 2023.
When my father lived by himself during the last years of his life, the local Chabad rabbis made sure to visit him, especially during the holidays. They would relate to me how he would cry when seeing the Chanukah menorah or hearing the Rosh Hashanah shofar blast. The rabbi from the synagogue where my parents had been members for years never visited after they stopped coming. As a friend related of a holiday Chabad poster, "There are those who say they care, and then there are those who show they care."