About Chabad Taiwan

After opening in the summer of 2011, Chabad Taiwan, which we named The Taipei Jewish Center, soon established itself as the hub of Jewish life in Taiwan.

Among Taiwan’s 24 million residents, there are roughly 1,000 Jews. Businessmen, students, teachers, and diplomats: our community is comprised of Jews from a variety of backgrounds and hail from several different countries, from the US to Israel, from Argentina to the Netherlands.

Shortly after opening the TJC, we began supplying the only authentic kosher food in Taiwan, and conducting synagogue services, for Jews based in Taiwan and travelers here on a shortterm visit.

Shabbat meals and services had, b”h, quickly become extremely popular with the local community, catering to students, businessmen, visitors, and their families.

Just two months later, with the help of one of our community members who volunteered the venue, a Sunday School was founded, with 19 children enrolling. The children study Hebrew, Jewish studies, and Jewish traditions, in a fun and enriching way.

Our mission is to serve as an active Jewish center, where both Jews living in Taiwan, and Jews visiting Taiwan, can enjoy a warm feeling of ‘Home away from home.’ We want to ensure that no Jew feels left behind.

Please contact us with any questions at info@jewish.tw

About Chabad-Lubavitch

The Philosophy

Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. It is considered to be the most dynamic force in Jewish life today. Lubavitch appropriately means the “city of brotherly love.” The word “Chabad” is a Hebrew acronym for the three intellectual faculties of chochmah—wisdom, binah—comprehension, and da’at—knowledge. The movement’s system of Jewish religious philosophy, the deepest dimension of G‑d’s Torah, teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of creation, and the importance and unique mission of each creature. This philosophy guides a person to refine and govern his or her every act and feeling through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge. The word “Lubavitch” is the name of the town in White Russia where the movement was based for more than a century. Appropriately, the word Lubavitch in Russian means the “city of brotherly love.” The name Lubavitch conveys the essence of the responsibility and love engendered by the Chabad philosophy toward every single Jew.

The Movement

Following its inception 250 years ago, the Chabad-Lubavitch movement—a branch of Hasidism—swept through Russia and spread in surrounding countries as well. It provided scholars with answers that eluded them, and simple farmers with a love that had been denied them. Eventually the philosophy of Chabad-Lubavitch and its adherents reached almost every corner of the world and affected almost every facet of Jewish life.

The Leadership

The movement is guided by the teachings of its seven leaders (“Rebbes”), beginning with Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi of righteous memory (1745–1812). These leaders expounded upon the most refined and delicate aspects of Jewish mysticism, creating a corpus of study thousands of books strong. They personified the age-old Biblical qualities of piety and leadership. And they concerned themselves not only with Chabad-Lubavitch, but with the totality of Jewish life, spiritual and physical. No person or detail was too small or insignificant for their love and dedication. In our generation, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of righteous memory (1902–1994), known simply as “the Rebbe,” guided post-holocaust Jewry to safety from the ravages of that devastation.

The Organization

The origins of today’s Chabad-Lubavitch organization can be traced to the early 1940s, when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of righteous memory (1880–1950), appointed his son-in-law and later successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, to head the newly founded educational and social service arms of the movement. Motivated by his profound love for every Jew and spurred by his boundless optimism and self-sacrifice, the Rebbe set into motion a dazzling array of programs, services and institutions to serve every Jew. Today over 5,000 full-time emissary families (2,000 in the United States) apply 250-year-old principles and philosophy to direct more than 3,500 institutions (and a workforce that numbers in the tens o