Chabad library
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| Type | Research library in Brooklyn, NY, owned by Agudas Chasidei Chabad |
|---|---|
| Established | 1940 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | books, letters, e-books, music, cds, periodicals, maps, genealogical archives, business directories, local history, |
| Size | 250,000 books |
| Criteria for collection | Jewish literature, history, |
| Website | Chabad Library Website |
The Library Of Agudas Chassidei Chabad (also Chabad Library or Lubavitch library) is a research library owned by Agudas Chasidei Chabad. Its content had been collected by the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbes. The library is housed next to the Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY, and is utilized by Chabad and general Judaic scholars. It is viewed by thousands of visitors each year.
The library is home to 250,000 books, mostly in Hebrew and Yiddish. Many are rare and unique to the library. In addition, the library contains:
The library also contains more than 100,000 letters, artifacts and pictures belonging to, written by and for the rebbes of Chabad and their Hasidim complete the collection. Notable among the collection is the siddur of the Baal Shem Tov, which is kept in a locked safe and is only handled by the head librarian.
Following a court case regarding ownership of the library in 1987, it greatly expanded. In 1992 it opened its reading room, and exhibition hall in 1994.
Throughout the history of the Chabad movement, a central collection of books and manuscripts was in the possession of the Rebbe of every generation. In earlier generations—end of 18th century and early 19th century—this collection was relatively small. Little remains of the original collections, for almost all books and manuscripts were either destroyed in the frequent fires plaguing small towns in those days or were lost in various other upheavals and crisis situations over the generations. The bulk of the existing collection began to form in the third generation of Chabad—during the mid-19th century—and progressively expanded over time to become one of the world’s most prominent Judaic libraries. Most of the collections of the first and second Chabad Rebbe's was lost or destroyed. During Chabad’s third generation, under Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789–1866) known for his major Talmudic-Halachik work, Tzemach Tzedek, a more substantial collection took form. It became the nucleus of the central Chabad collection, which continued to grow during following generations.
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