Chabad.org
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Chabad.org is the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement. It serves not just its own members but Jews worldwide in general[1]. It was one of the first Jewish internet sites[2] and the first and largest virtual congregation.[3]
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[edit] History
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kazen, a Chabad Rabbi, founded Chabad Lubavitch in Cyberspace.
In 1988, long before the Internet was popularized, Kazen reached out to thousands of people on FidoNet, an online discussion network that was distributed on several thousand nodes around the world. So primitive was the technology that it would sometimes take three days for messages to travel from one part of the world to the next.[citation needed]
With the advent of computer communication technology, Kazen recognized its potential for reaching an almost limitless audience, particularly people limited by geographic and other constraints. Kazen digitized thousands of documents into what became the world's first virtual Jewish library, and enabling thousands of people to learn about Judaism for the first time. Chabad.org served as a model for other Jewish organizations, who created their own educational Web sites[4].
After Kazan's untimely death in 1998, the site was rolled under the umbrella of the Chabad Lubavitch Media Center directed by Zalman Shmotkin. Today, Chabad Lubavitch Media Center, maintains some 700 websites, including the flagship Chabad.org, specialized holiday sites, and over 1500 customised sites for local Chabad houses.[citation needed]
[edit] Jewish Knowledge Base
Chabad.org has a comprehensive Jewish knowledge base which includes over 100,000 articles of information ranging from basic Judaism to philosophy. The major categories are The Human Being, G-d & Man, Concepts and Ideas, The Torah, The Physical World, The Jewish Calendar, Science & Technology, People and Events.
There are comprehensive sections on Shabbat, Kosher, Tefillin, Mezuzah, the Jewish way to Death and Mourning and a concise Synagogue companion.
[edit] Ask the Rabbi
Chabad.org was the pioneer of “Ask the Rabbi” sites. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kazen reached out to thousands of people on Fidonet, an online discussion network, as far back as 1988.[5]
In 1994, Kazen launched the first version of Chabad’s “Ask the Rabbi” Web site. Today’s version, in which 40 rabbis and educators field questions via e-mail, has answered more than 500,000 questions since 2001-2006, averaging about 270 a day.[6]
People from homeless people using the library to tourists trekking the world; the Talmudic scholar, the Israeli soldier, the curious gentile, take advantage of the Web’s anonymity to impart experiences and ask for advice from chabad.org.[7]
Chabad.org operates TheJewishWoman.org's “Dear Rachel” an area which is run by women for women. Chabad.org's goal is to have women feel comfortable, like a group of their peers.[8]
[edit] Features
Chabad.org maintains a number of sub-sites, including
- A Weekly Magazine on Torah, and contemporary life.
- A search feature that enables the user to quickly find a Chabad House in any part of the world.
- An online Jewish library that contains some 100,000 articles.
- An "Ask the Rabbi" feature.
- A multimedia portal, where user can stream Jewish audio and video downloads.
- A children's section.
- A section featuring reports in the media on the activities of Chabad Lubavitch Shluchim "emissaries").
- Parts of the site have been translated into many languages.
- An area for children, including some on-line videos of the "Itche Kadoozy Show", a puppet show starring amongst others a Lubavitch Rabbi, Rabbi Kadoozy.
[edit] Statistics
Chabad.org and its affiliated sites claim over 5.6 million visitors per month, and over 200,000 email subscribers.
[edit] Contributors
Yanki Tauber Tzvi Freeman Jay Litvin Dovid Zaklikowski Sarah Esther Crispe Chana Weisberg Naftali Silberberg
[edit] Sources
- JTA News article
- wired.com interviews Chabad.org direcor Rabbi Zalman Shmotkin
- Chabad launches Jewish women’s site
- Rabbi Schneerson’s life for a history-gathering project
- Let my people download! Passover texts available online
- ‘Ask the rabbi’ – online
- Yosef Kazen, Hasidic Rabbi And Web Pioneer, Dies at 44 The New York Times December 13, 1998.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ What is the secret, organizational and spiritual, of the Lubavitch movement's success? The New York Times January 22, 2000
- ^ Zaleski, Jeffrey P. (June 1997). The Soul of Cyberspace: How New Technology Is Changing Our Spiritual Lives. Harpercollins. ISBN 0062514512. Retrieved on 2007-04-07.
- ^ Rabbi Yosef Kazen, 44; Internet Visionary The Jewish Week 12/11/1998
- ^ Yosef Kazen, Hasidic Rabbi And Web Pioneer, Dies at 44 The New York Times December 13, 1998
- ^ The Soul of Cyberspace - Current Events
- ^ JTA - 'Ask a rabbi' — on the Web: Online rabbis offer answers
- ^ JTA - 'Ask a rabbi' — on the Web: Online rabbis offer answers
- ^ JTA - 'Ask a rabbi' — on the Web: Online rabbis offer answers
