The Chai Hebrew School

The story of the rabbi, his family and the legendary rise of Chabad-style Chassidism in the San Francisco Bay Area

Chabad-Lubavitch is a philosophy, a movement, and an organization. It is considered to be the most dynamic force in Jewish life today, with over 5,000 institutions!

From musicians to charm vendors, mimes to multi-lingual tourists, S. Franciscans are accustomed to seeing almost anything on their streets. Yet the sight of a Chassidic rabbi on a motorcycle, long beard and yarmulke flying in the breeze, rarely fails to turn their heads. Often there’s someone else on the bike with him. Perhaps it’s a local businessman who needs a ride to morning prayers or it may be a Jewish child having the time of his life. The bike, a symbol of Rabbi Yosef Langer’s innovative outreach style, scampers around the Financial District, putting smiles on people’s faces and breaking down their stereotypes of Chassidic Jews.

The story of that rabbi, his family and the legendary rise of Chabad-style Chassidism in the S. Francisco Bay Area, dates back to the early ‘70s, when young Jews on college campuses were searching for greater meaning in their lives. The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson MH”M, leader of the Chabad movement since 1950, sensed that these young people were ready for a Jewish renaissance, and he systematically set about to make it happen.

מתוך chabadsf.org