Kfar Chabad
Kfar Chabad (Hebrew: כְּפַר חַבָּ"ד, lit. "Chabad Village") is a Chabad-Lubavitch village in central Israel. Located between Beit Dagan and Lod, it falls under the jurisdiction of Sdot Dan Regional Council.[2] In 2018 it had a population of 6,421.[1]
Kfar Chabad | |
---|---|
Hebrew transcription(s) | |
• official | Kfar Habad, Kefar Habad |
Full-scale replica of "770" in Kfar Chabad | |
Kfar Chabad | |
Coordinates: 31°59′19.32″N 34°51′7.19″E | |
Country | Israel |
District | Central |
Council | Sdot Dan |
Affiliation | Chabad |
Founded | 1949 |
Population (2018)[1] | 6,421 |
History
Kfar Chabad was established in 1949 by Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.[3] The site had previously been the depopulated Palestinian village of al-Safiriyya (known to the Byzantines and Crusaders as Sapharea or Saphyria),[4] and as late as 1957 it was referred to in Hebrew as Tzafrir or Shafrir.[5]
The first inhabitants were mostly recent immigrants from the Soviet Union, survivors of World War II and Stalinist oppression. Regarding their aliyah, the Jewish Observer reported: “There were several noteworthy aspect of this Aliyah. The Chabad members refused all offers of help from religious and political organizations; they insisted on going on the land. Adapting themselves to modern agricultural methods ... To them it was a point of honor to live as they were taught. This meant subsisting only on what they earned by their own toil".[6]
Kfar Chabad, which is located just outside Lod and about 8 km southeast of Tel Aviv, includes agricultural lands as well as numerous educational institutions. It serves as the headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement in Israel. Kfar Chabad is a Lubavitch community.[7]
Replica of "770"
The village features a full-scale replica of "770", the Chabad headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway, Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York. The building, which serves as a synagogue, includes the exact number of bricks as on the original structure; the brickwork was produced by Teracotta Ofakim Clay Industries in Ofakim. The Lubavitcher Rebbe covered the $700,000 building cost.[8]
Terror attack at the synagogue
On 11 April 1956, fedayeens entered the synagogue during evening prayers and started shooting indiscriminately. Five children and one teacher were killed, another ten injured.[9][10]
Education
Kfar Chabad provides vocational training in printing, mechanics, carpentry, and agriculture for male students, and education for female students. The programs are combined with religious education.[11] Most students, who come from outside the village, are not Hasidic.[12]
Political leadership
Previous mayors include Shlomo Meidanchik and Menachem Lehrer. The current mayor is Nachmen Richman.[13]
Religious leadership
The village rabbi was Mordechai Shmuel Ashkenazi from 1983 until his death in 2015. The previous rabbi was Shneur Zalman Gorelik, from the town's founding until his death.[14]
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kfar Chabad. |
- Kfar Habad Railway Station
- Diamante citron
References
- "Population in the Localities 2018" (XLS). Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. 25 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
- "Course on Holocaust to begin April 27 in Mtn. Lakes". Archived from the original on October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- Chabad.org Calendar
- Khalidi, Walid (1992). All That Remains:The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948. Washington D.C.: Institute for Palestine Studies. p. 253. ISBN 0-88728-224-5.
- "Course on Jewish leaders offered in Vail Valley". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- Jewish Observer and Middle East Review, 3 July 1959
- "Course in Madison will examine leadership of Talmudic heroes". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- Rubenstein, Rayle. "The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Replicas around the world". Binah Pesach supplement, 2015, p. 27.
- The Rebbe who saved a village Yediot Acharonot, 5 May 1957
- Bar-On, Mordechai (2012). Moshe Dayan: Israel's Controversial Hero. Yale University Press.
- "Course explores avenues to emerge from times of uncertainty". Retrieved October 1, 2014.
- Despite All Odds: The Story of Lubavitch, Edward Hoffman (New York, 1991, Simon and Schuster), pp. 154–5
- "Six-week course in Madison to study leadership of Talmud heroes". Retrieved 1 October 2014.
- "Class gives portraits of leadership". Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.