Chabad Lubavitch of Brazil
Chabad-Lubavitch in Brazil: Beit Chabad do Brasil, founded by the emissary Shabsi Alpern, who arrived in 1961, with its headquarters at Rua Melo Alves 580, São Paulo
| Chabad Lubavitch of Brazil
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Jewish religious organisation (Chabad-Lubavitch) |
| Founded | 1961 |
| Headquarters | São Paulo |
| Location | Rua Melo Alves 580, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP 01417-010 |
| Area served | Brazil |
| Key people | Shabsi Alpern (founding emissary), Yossi Alpern |
| Website | https://www.beitchabad.org.br |
Chabad Lubavitch of Brazil (Beit Chabad do Brasil) is the Chabad-Lubavitch network in Brazil. It was founded by Rabbi Shabsi Alpern, who arrived in Rio de Janeiro as an emissary of Menachem Mendel Schneerson in 1961 and later moved to São Paulo, where its headquarters are at Rua Melo Alves 580.[1][2] Chabad's world headquarters lists 52 Chabad institutions in Brazil, about half of them in the city of São Paulo.[3][4] Its rabbis have met successive Brazilian presidents and candidates, including Jair Bolsonaro and Geraldo Alckmin.[5][6]
History
According to an interview published in 2019 by the Chabad magazine A Chassidisher Derher, Shabsi Alpern and his wife Esther arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1961 (7 Av 5721). He became principal of a small Jewish school there and rabbi of the synagogue on its premises; two and a half years later Schneerson told him to move to São Paulo, where he worked at the city's largest religious day school and within a few years became its principal. He said their salary was $250 a month.[1] In a 2018 account Alpern dated the move to "the first two years" in Rio and said that he opened a Chabad House in São Paulo, with a building paid for by donors, in 1973.[7] A Chassidisher Derher says Alpern left the school about ten years after moving to São Paulo to open the Beit Chabad, and it captions a photograph of the inauguration of the São Paulo Beit Chabad as 5739 (1979). The magazine also shows Alpern being honoured at São Paulo city hall in 1977.[1]
The Confederação Israelita do Brasil (Conib) published an interview with his son, Rabbi Yossi Alpern of Beit Chabad Central, marking 40 years of Beit Chabad in Brazil. In it he described his father as the founder of the movement in Brazil and said that there were "almost 30 centres and more than 80 rabbis" from Amazonas to Rio Grande do Sul.[8]
In February 2020 COLlive reported that the square where Rabbi Yehoshua Binyomin Goldman had opened Rio de Janeiro's first Chabad centre some 30 years earlier was named "Rebbe of Lubavitch Square" by the city authorities after Goldman approached people close to the mayor.[9]
Organisation and key people
Chabad's world headquarters lists the national headquarters, Beit Chabad do Brasil – Hdqts., at Rua Melo Alves 580, São Paulo, with Rabbi Shabsi Alpern and Rabbi Yossi Alpern at the head of its list of rabbis.[2] Other large centres listed include:[4]
- Beit Chabad Itaim, Avenida Europa 913, São Paulo, run by Rabbi Yosef Schildkraut.
- Beit Chabad Morumbi, Avenida Amarilis 216, Cidade Jardim, São Paulo, run by Rabbi Y. Dovid Weitman.
- Beit Lubavitch Chabad Rio de Janeiro, Rua General Venâncio Flores 221, Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, run by Rabbi Yehoshua Binyomin Goldman.
According to Folha de S.Paulo, the central Beit Chabad synagogue that Alckmin visited in 2018 is named after Adelia and Joseph Nigri, parents of the businessman Meyer Nigri, founder of the construction company Tecnisa, who donated it.[6]
Institutions
Chabad's world headquarters lists centres in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belém, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Campinas, Cotia (Granja Viana), Curitiba, Manaus, Morro de São Paulo, Niterói, Petrópolis, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Santo André and São José dos Campos.[4] Institutions listed include:[4]
- Mossad Oholei Yossef Yitschok Lubavitch, a school network, Rua Talmud Torá 296, Bom Retiro, São Paulo.
- Yeshiva Tomchei Tmimim Lubavitch Ohel Menachem, Rua dos Bandeirantes 376, São Paulo.
- Yeshiva Colegial Machane Israel, Rua Duarte da Silveira 1246, Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro state. Yossi Alpern described the Petrópolis and São Paulo yeshivas as making Brazil "a centre for training rabbis".[8]
- Central Tiferet Lubavitch, Rua Alagoas 726, São Paulo.
- Congregação Tsemach Tsedec, Rua Coronel Melo de Oliveira 792, São Paulo.
- Chabad for Israelis – São Paulo, Rua Guararapes 228, São Paulo.
- Leoded Hospital Visitation, a hospital visiting service in São Paulo.
- Neighbourhood centres in São Paulo, including Vila Mariana (Rua São Samuel 69), Perdizes/Sumaré, Santana, Jardim Paulista, Vila Nova Conceição, Alto de Pinheiros (Sinagoga Beit Menachem) and Barra Funda.
- Centres in Rio de Janeiro at Copacabana (Rua Maracanaú 11) and Barra da Tijuca (Centro Aron Birmann, Avenida Ministro Afrânio Costa 223), plus Chabad on Campus, Chabad Young Professionals and CTeen Rio at the Leblon centre.
- State centres, including Beit Chabad de Belo Horizonte (Rua Timbiras 535), Beit Chabad Curitiba (Rua Angelo Sampaio 370), Beit Lubavitch de Porto Alegre (Rua Francisco Ferrer 170), Beit Chabad Recife (Rua Jorge Couceiro da Costa Eiras 603), Beit Chabad of Belém (Avenida Serzedelo Correa 276), Chabad Salvador (Rua Engenheiro Milton Oliveira 47) and Beit Chabad Manaus.
Registered entities
The Brazilian federal tax authority (Receita Federal) register was not searched directly. The details below come from BrasilAPI, which republishes the Receita Federal's open CNPJ data, and from the Mapa das Organizações da Sociedade Civil run by the government research institute IPEA.
- Associação Israelita de Beneficência Beit Chabad do Brasil (trading name Beit Chabad) – private association, CNPJ 60.622.073/0001-47. Activities began on 3 October 1967 and its status is active. Address: Rua Melo Alves 580, Cerqueira César, São Paulo, SP 01417-010. Main activity: social-rights associations; secondary activities include book publishing, social assistance and cultural associations. Its president since 6 January 2020 is listed as Kenneth David Basch. It was recorded as exempt from corporate income tax in 2018.[10][11]
- Associação Beneficente Cultural Beit Chabad Ohel Yossef de Vila Mariana – religious organisation, CNPJ 05.673.639/0001-51, founded 12 February 2003, Rua São Manuel 69, Vila Mariana, São Paulo; president Eddy Dave Khafif.[12]
Funding and state support
The Mapa das OSC records that Beit Chabad do Brasil held the federal CEBAS social-assistance charity certificate from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2017. It also lists cultural projects the association registered between 2012 and 2017. These include a free cultural space and workshops in São Lourenço da Serra; the second phase of that project (2015–17) had a total value of R$685,997, of which R$700 is recorded as received.[11] According to Folha de S.Paulo, the businessman Meyer Nigri donated the central synagogue.[6] In a 2018 account Shabsi Alpern said that donors came forward to build the São Paulo Chabad House.[7]
Security incidents
In November 2023 the Federal Police arrested Lucas Passos Lima in Operation Trapiche, accusing him of acting for Hezbollah and planning attacks on Jewish targets in Brazil.[13][14] According to O Dia, the court case was based partly on material found on his phone, including images of the Beit Chabad synagogue in Brasília, another synagogue in the Federal District, and internet searches about a rabbi and the Israeli embassy.[14] In September 2024 he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.[15] On appeal the regional federal court (TRF-6) cut the sentence to six years and eight months by removing the charge of preparatory acts of terrorism. In September 2026 the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered it to reassess the sentence.[16]
Politics and Israel links
Conib published a photograph of Rabbis David Weitman and Yossi Schildkraut with the Conib leader Jack Terpins, the Israeli president Shimon Peres and President Lula in 2009.[8] In September 2018, during the presidential campaign, the PSDB candidate Geraldo Alckmin attended Rosh Hashanah prayers at the Beit Chabad synagogue in São Paulo. There Shabsi Alpern received him privately, urged him towards "moderation and dialogue" and gave him the Priestly Blessing on a plaque. Folha noted that the synagogue's donor, Meyer Nigri, was an ally of Jair Bolsonaro and a key figure in his campaign.[6]
In February 2019 Rabbi Yosef Schildkraut and his son Rabbi Shmuel Schildkraut attended a breakfast for the Jewish community at the Albert Einstein Jewish hospital in São Paulo. According to the Chabad news site COL, Meyer Nigri and his son Zeev Nigri were also there, and the four met the new president, Jair Bolsonaro, who received the emissaries' blessing.[5]
The world headquarters directory lists a Chabad centre for Israelis in São Paulo.[4]
See also
- Chabad-Lubavitch movement
- Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Brazil
- Chabad Lubavitch of Argentina
- Chabad Lubavitch of Uruguay
- Chabad Lubavitch of Paraguay
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Building a Country: Exclusive Interview with Rabbi Shabsi Alpern", A Chassidisher Derher, issue 85, Elul 5779 (2019), accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Beit Chabad do Brasil – Hdqts.", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "South America – Centers", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 "Brazil – Centers", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters, accessed 25 October 2026, with the linked city and centre pages.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "שלוחי חב"ד בס. פאולו נפגשו עם נשיא ברזיל" ("Chabad emissaries in São Paulo met the president of Brazil"), COL, 27 February 2019, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Alckmin tem apoio da comunidade judaica maior que Bolsonaro, diz líder", Folha de S.Paulo, 11 September 2018, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Rabbi Shabsi Alpern, "Here's My Story: Long-Range Blessings", CrownHeights.info, 19 July 2018, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Em entrevista exclusiva, rabino Yossi Alpern fala sobre as conquistas do Beit Chabad em 40 anos no Brasil", Confederação Israelita do Brasil, undated, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "Square in Rio de Janeiro Named For the Rebbe", COLlive, 19 February 2020, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "CNPJ 60.622.073/0001-47", BrasilAPI (republishing Receita Federal open CNPJ data), accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Associação Israelita de Beneficência Beit Chabad do Brasil", Mapa das Organizações da Sociedade Civil, IPEA, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "CNPJ 05.673.639/0001-51", BrasilAPI (republishing Receita Federal open CNPJ data), accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Fernando Zuba and Leonardo Milagres, "Presos por ligação com o Hezbollah monitoravam judeus brasileiros para possíveis ataques, diz investigação", g1, 6 December 2023, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Quem é Lucas Passos Lima, acusado de ser terrorista do Hezbollah", O Dia, 21 March 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ "Brasileiro acusado de elo com Hezbollah é condenado por planejar ataques contra alvos judaicos", Folha de S.Paulo, 5 September 2024, accessed 25 October 2026.
- ↑ Larissa Cavalcante and Daniel Haidar, "STJ manda TRF recalcular pena de acusado de monitorar alvos judaicos para o Hezbollah em MG", g1, 18 September 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.