Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org The Hasidic movement’s “capital city” near Tel Aviv is home to 6,000 Chabadniks — and a replica of the 770 brownstone KFAR CHABAD, Israel (JTA) — In an otherwise deserted field at the center of this rural Israeli village a Brooklyn brownstone presents an incongruous sight If it looks like it would fit perfectly in Crown Heights The three-story apartment house topped by three gables is a brick-for-brick reconstruction of 770 Eastern Parkway the storied headquarters of the late Lubavitcher rebbe The address is etched next to the doorway of the Israeli replica 6,000 miles from Brooklyn and about 11 miles from Tel Aviv “The building is an alternative to whoever can’t go to him in the United States,” said Rabbi Menachem Latar if you were with the rebbe and had a meeting with the rebbe you imagine everything that was in the presence of the rebbe.” The out-of-place brownstone symbolizes the mission of this community of 6,000 Chabadniks who call their village the “capital city” of the Chabad movement Its warehouses organize and distribute ritual and educational materials for the Hasidic outreach movement’s global network of emissaries and it acts as a home base for Chabad Hasidim across Israel A brick-for-brick replica of Chabad’s headquarters in Brooklyn stands at the center of Kfar Chabad a rural Israeli village founded by Lubavitcher Hasidim in 1949 But Kfar Chabad also exists in tension with Chabad’s ethos of outreach. Schneerson sent his followers to far-flung cities from Colombia to the Congo setting up outposts to greet and engage Jews wherever they may be Chabad emissaries sometimes are the only observant Jews in their city Kfar Chabad is the only place in the world where every resident is a Chabadnik his Chabad [allegiance] could cool down,” said Nochum Lurie who grows etrogs in one of the village’s orchards READ: How the Chabad rebbe helped create food stamps, and other Jewish Medal of Freedom stories One of the main functions of the village is to act as a wholesaler of Chabad ritual objects Lurie maintains his trees for the fall festival of Sukkot when crates of his etrogs are sent to Chabad Hasidim worldwide children and adults at a local factory begin baking matzah to be sent to Lubavitch emissaries all over the world A large children’s bookstore sells serials for Chabad boys and girls A leather bookbinder puts out identical sets of Chabad texts Many children are raised by their grandparents because their parents are serving abroad and that’s no less important,” said Bracha Tvardovich a Kfar Chabad resident with children serving as emissaries in Israel “There are institutions that serve Chabad nationwide.” Kfar Chabad also has attracted some of the more extreme elements of Chabad ideology the vast majority of Kfar Chabad voters chose parties with far-right Kahanist candidates – hewing to Schneerson’s prohibition against Israel ceding land The Torah ark in Kfar Chabad’s 770 replica refers to Schneerson as “the king messiah” and uses an acronym after his name that translates to “May he merit a long and good life READ: How the world’s longest-running Chabad house survives in Morocco The Israeli version of the 770 headquarters features a replica of Schneerson’s study this is where Schneerson would greet and hold private meetings with visitors from across the globe a perpetually empty chair sits opposite the door and Chabad Hasidim often use the room to pray privately recite Psalms or feel close to their leader A man baking matzah in a brick oven in Kfar Chabad a village that provides ritual materials to Chabad emissaries across Israel instructed 74 Chabad families who had survived the Holocaust to found the village in 1949 Schneersohn wanted to help settle the land while ensuring that his followers retained their ideology during a time of upheaval chickens and goats while also growing oranges Kfar Chabad has lost most of its agriculture and gained a train station without a stoplight and with one small supermarket dominating a tranquil Lampposts featuring pictures of and quotes by Schneerson line suburban-style residential neighborhoods Say a name and a passer-by will simply direct you to the house the village is similar to several other haredi Orthodox towns across Israel half of the residents are children and the village’s median age is 17 Three-quarters of men 15 and older have studied in a yeshiva “We say we need to be integrated in society and not live all together but we’re in a village,” said Kfar Chabad resident Sara Zilbershtrom director of Israel’s Women and Girls of Chabad It’s like the backbone that makes it possible to leave.” JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent I accept the Privacy Policy.