Mitzvah tank

Last updated

A Mitzvah tank is a vehicle used by the Orthodox Jewish practitioners of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidism as a portable "educational and outreach center" and "mini-synagogue" (or "minagogue") to reach out to non-observant and alienated Jews. Mitzvah tanks have been commonplace on the streets of New York City since 1974. [1] [2] Today they are found all over the globe in countries where Chabad is active.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Terminology

Chabad Lubavitch Mitzvah tank in Golders Green, London Mitzvah tank - Golders Green - 2008.jpg
Chabad Lubavitch Mitzvah tank in Golders Green, London

The word Mitzvah means a "commandment" of the Torah in Judaism, but also carries with it the connotation of a good deed. Lubavitchers use these vehicles to spread the teachings of Judaism to the Jewish masses in "military fashion" in which "campaigns" and battles are fought, hence naming the vans and trucks "tanks". [3]

The strategy behind the Mitzvah tank "campaigns" was designed and encouraged by the seventh rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson . [4]

Appearance and description

A Mitzvah Tank at the entrance of the Moscow Jewish community center - Chabad Lubavitch, June 2013 Mitzva Tank in Moscow.jpg
A Mitzvah Tank at the entrance of the Moscow Jewish community center – Chabad Lubavitch, June 2013

Mitzvah tanks can be vans, travel trailers, recreational vehicles, campervan or pickup trucks. [5] On Sukkot, vehicles may be fitted with a portable Sukkah (the Sukkah-mobile). Mitzvah tanks are put into operation on the eve of major Jewish holidays and Fridays prior to Shabbat. The vehicles often have large banners or logos on them, extolling some aspect of Judaism or displaying images of Rabbi Schneerson and about Moshiach's imminent arrival. Some Mitzvah Tanks have external speakers attached which are used to play klezmer-style music. [6] The tanks, usually manned by young male Lubavitch students in the Yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim, park in areas with heavy people-traffic and seek Jews to perform Mitzvahs by asking passers-by: "Are you Jewish?"

Purpose

The Mitzvah Tank, Manhattan The Mitzvah Tank, Manhattan.jpg
The Mitzvah Tank, Manhattan

Lubavitchers manning the tank will usually hand out brochures or cards with information about performing mitzvot and about the coming of Moshiach. They encourage passersby to perform mitzvot with an emphasis on those part of the Chabad mitzvah campaigns, and assist those who are willing to perform religious rituals, such as the putting on of Tefillin (phylacteries) with men and boys over Bar Mitzvah, and hand out candles and candle-lighting information to women and girls to light in honor of the Shabbat. In addition, during the holiday of Chanukah many Menorahs with candles are given out allowing people to bring the light of Chanukah into their own home, all in bringing the ultimate Moshiach closer. Some Mitzvah Tanks have traditional foods, like doughnuts, on board during that holiday as well.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menachem Mendel Schneerson</span> Orthodox rabbi (1902–1994)

Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was a Russian-American Orthodox rabbi and the most recent Rebbe of the Lubavitch Hasidic dynasty. He is considered one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad</span> Hasidic Jewish movement

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn</span> Sixth Chabad Rebbe (1880–1950)

Yosef YitzchakSchneersohn was an Orthodox rabbi and the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement. He is also known as the Frierdiker Rebbe, the Rebbe RaYYaTz, or the Rebbe Rayatz. After many years of fighting to keep Orthodox Judaism alive from within the Soviet Union, he was forced to leave; he continued to conduct the struggle from Latvia, and then Poland, and eventually the United States, where he spent the last ten years of his life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaya Mushka Schneerson</span> Wife of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1901–1988)

Chaya Mushka (Moussia) Schneerson, referred to by Lubavitchers as The Rebbetzin, was the wife of Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh and last rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch branch of Hasidic Judaism. She was the second of three daughters of the sixth Lubavitcher rebbe, Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn. She was named after the wife of the third Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneersohn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Levi Yitzchak Schneerson</span> 19th Century Rabbi

Levi Yitzchak Schneerson was a Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic rabbi in Yekatrinoslav, Ukraine. He was the father of the seventh Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menachem Shmuel David Raichik</span>

Rabbi Menachem Shmuel David Raichik was an Orthodox rabbi of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, and the pioneer of Chabad's activities in Los Angeles, California. Raichik served as a shaliach for the sixth and seventh Lubavitcher Rebbes.

<i>The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference</i> Book by David Berger

The Rebbe the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference is a book by Rabbi Dr. David Berger on the topic of Chabad messianism and the mainstream orthodox Jewish reaction to that trend. Rabbi Berger addresses the Chabad-Messianic question, regarding a dead Messiah, from a halachic perspective. The book is written as a historical narrative of Berger's encounter with Chabad messianism from the time of the death of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1994 through the book's publication in 2001. The narrative is interlaced with Dr. Berger's published articles, written correspondences, and transcribed public lectures, in which he passionately appeals to both the leadership of the Orthodox and Chabad communities for an appropriate response to Chabad-Lubavitch messianism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad messianism</span> Belief that Menachem Mendel Schneerson is the Jewish messiah

Messianism in Chabad refers to the contested beliefs among some members of the Chabad-Lubavitch community—a group within Hasidic Judaism—regarding the Jewish messiah. Many members of the Chabad community know and trust that Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is still alive and that he is the Messiah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shmuel Butman</span>

Rabbi Shmuel Menachem Butman is a Chabad rabbi in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. He is the director of Lubavitch Youth Organization. He has served for many years as the director of the L'Chaim weekly magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leib Groner</span> American rabbi

Yehuda Leib "Leibel" Groner was an American Hasidic Jewish teacher, scholar, and author. He is best known for having served as the personal secretary to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, for 40 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad house</span> Religious outreach centres operated by the Chabad movement of Hasidic Judaism

A Chabad house is a centre for disseminating Hasidic Judaism by the Chabad movement. Chabad houses are run by a Chabad shaliach (emissary) and shalucha ; the two are often married. They are located in cities and on or near college campuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad mitzvah campaigns</span> Chabad mitzvah campaign

Chabad mitzvah campaigns, or Mivtzo'im refer to several campaigns launched by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson. From 1967 to 1976, Schneerson said all Jews should observe ten basic "beginner's mitzvot" (commandments) . In the years that followed there were campaigns for additional mitzvot as well.

<i>Likkutei Sichos</i> Chabad book

Likkutei Sichos, literally, "Collected Talks" contains both the scope and the core of the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and is the most authoritative source-text for Schneerson's way of explaining Judaism and the world writ large.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Shemtov</span> American rabbi

Abraham Shemtov is a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi and a shaliach ("emissary") of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public menorah</span> Public display during Hanukkah

A public menorah is a large menorah displayed publicly during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. It is done to celebrate the holiday and publicize the miracle of Hanukkah, and is typically accompanied by a public event during one of the nights of Hanukkah attended by invited dignitaries who are honored with lighting the menorah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Machneh Israel (Chabad)</span> Social service organization of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement

Machne Israel is the social service organization of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad philosophy</span> Teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in Judaism

Chabad philosophy comprises the teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement. Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad customs and holidays</span>

Chabad customs and holidays are the practices, rituals and holidays performed and celebrated by adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. The customs, or minhagim and prayer services are based on Lurianic kabbalah. The holidays are celebrations of events in Chabad history. General Chabad customs, called minhagim, distinguish the movement from other Hasidic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dirah betachtonim</span> Chabad philosophy

Dirah betachtonim (Hebrew: דירה בתחתונים, romanized: dirā bəṯaḥtonim, lit. 'a dwelling in the lowly realms' is a significant theological concept in Chabad philosophy describing the ultimate desire of God as relating to the manifestation of the divine presence within the material world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yisroel Jacobson</span>

Yisroel Jacobson (1895-1975) was a Chabad Hasidic rabbi and the representative of the sixth Chabad rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, to the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. He was one of the first Lubavitcher activists to arrive in to the United States. He was born in Russia and migrated to the United States in 1925.

References

  1. Schultz, Ray (10 November 1974). "The Lubavitchers believe it takes only a little stoking to ignite the spark religion in every Jew". New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  2. "1974: The Mitzvah Tank on". Chabad.org. Retrieved 2011-04-13.
  3. Gonzalez, David (24 March 1994). "For Lubavitch Hasidim, Caravan of 'Mitzvah Tanks' Honors Rebbe". New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. "Mitzvah Tanks Roll Again". New York Times. 27 April 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. Chivvis, Dana (26 March 2010). "Mitzvah Tanks Take Manhattan". AOL News.
  6. Mitchell, Alison (13 April 1992). "Convoy of 'Mitzvah Tanks' Celebrates Birthday of Rebbe". New York Times. Retrieved 25 April 2017.