The Rebbe's Army

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“Excuse me, are you Jewish?” With this question, the cheerful emissaries of Chabad-Lubavitch engage strangers worldwide, aiming to encourage Jewish observance. Award-winning journalist Sue Fishkoff offers a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on this Brooklyn-based group and their relentless outreach efforts. They are present in cities, towns, and suburbs across the U.S. and in sixty-one countries, lighting Chanukah menorahs in public squares, operating “Chabad houses” on college campuses, conducting Bible classes in Washington, D.C., and running a nonsectarian drug treatment center in Los Angeles. They even sponsor the largest Passover Seder in Nepal and establish synagogues and schools in areas often indifferent or hostile to their mission. This billion-dollar international organization boasts its own news service, publishing house, and numerous websites. Fishkoff explores who these individuals are, their success in increasing Jewish observance, and the lasting influence of their late Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who was regarded by some as the Messiah. After a year of interviews with Lubavitch emissaries from Anchorage to Miami, she presents an engaging and balanced account of a Hasidic group whose motives and methods spark ongoing debate.