Kehot Publication Society
Publishing house of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, founded in New York in 1941 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe and directed by Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch; publisher of the Rebbes' works and of Chabad outreach literature
| Kehot Publication Society
| |
|---|---|
| Logo |  770 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, where Kehot had its main office in 2003 |
| Type | Unincorporated publishing division, directed by Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch |
| Founded | 1941 (Kehot's date; some Chabad sources give 1942) |
| Founder(s) | Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York |
| Services | Publication of Chabad Hasidic texts, prayer books, halachic works, histories and children's books |
| Key people | Menachem Mendel Schneerson (head from the 1940s); Yehuda Krinsky (director of Kehot and Merkos after 1994); Yosef Friedman (head, as reported in 2003) |
| Remarks | Name is an acronym of Karnei Hod Torah; trademark litigation with Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos (2001–2016) |
Kehot Publication Society is the main publishing house of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. Its name is an acronym of Karnei Hod Torah ("Majestic Rays of Torah").[1] It was founded in New York by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, soon after he arrived in 1940. It is an unincorporated body, and since 1942 it has been directed by the movement's educational arm, Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch.[2] His son-in-law and successor, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ran it from the 1940s and used it to shape what the movement published.[3] Kehot describes itself, together with its sister imprint Merkos Publications, as "the world's largest publisher of Jewish literature".[4] (Chabad-side claim.)
History
According to Kehot's own account, "Kehot Publication Society and Merkos Publications, the publishing divisions of the Lubavitch movement, were established in 1941 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn." Its first publication, Sefer HaShana, appeared on 11 Tishrei 1941. The first Chabad Hasidic work it printed, Kuntres HaTfillah by Shalom Dovber Schneersohn, followed on 20 Cheshvan 1941.[4] (Chabad-side.)
The Eastern District of New York found that, after moving to Crown Heights, the Rebbe "founded the Kehot Publication Society ('Kehot')". "A year later, he established Merkos". The court continued: "At its first meeting, in 1942, Merkos's board of directors resolved to take over direction of Kehot, an unincorporated entity."[2] (Court record.)
Menachem Mendel Schneerson arrived in New York in 1941. Fishkoff writes that he then headed "three new Chabad institutions: Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, Chabad's educational arm; Machne Israel, the movement's social service division; and the Kehot Publication Society".[5] Ehrlich notes that "Ha-Yom Yom was Schneerson's first publication in 1943 in his capacity as head of Kehot and Merkaz". He adds that these organisations "essentially existed in name only when handed to Schneerson; he built them into the administrative and organizational forces they were to become".[6] When the sixth Rebbe died in 1950, Ehrlich writes, "His activities with Kehot, the Habad publishing arm, placed him well" to publish his father-in-law's works, and gave him "an intimate familiarity not only with the works of Yosef Yitzhak, but also with the Habad archives".[7]
- Editor's note: Kehot's website gives 1941 as the founding year and dates its first publications to Tishrei and Cheshvan 1941. The Lubavitch World Headquarters profile, which uses otherwise identical wording, says "established in 1942".[8] The 2016 court opinion has Kehot founded first and Merkos "A year later", with Merkos taking it over in 1942. That sequence fits a 1941 date for Kehot.
Structure and ownership
Kehot is not a separate corporation. In the court's words it is "an unincorporated entity" whose direction was taken over by Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch in 1942.[2] In its 2013 decision the same court upheld the registration of the Kehot logo as a trademark owned by Merkos, and in 2016 it reaffirmed "that Merkos is the owner of the Kehot logo, which is indeed a trademark".[9][2] After the Rebbe's death in 1994, the court records, "Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky took over direction of Kehot and Merkos, but no one acceded to the position of Rebbe."[2]
Merkos in turn sits within the movement's central structure. Fishkoff describes policy and budget decisions after 1994 being made by the executive boards of Merkos, Machne Israel "and Agudas Chassidei Chabad (the umbrella organization for the other two)".[10] See Agudas Chasidei Chabad. In 2003 Fishkoff reported that "the main office of Chabad's Kehot Publication Society" was on the second floor of 770 Eastern Parkway, and she named "Kehot head Rabbi Yosef Friedman".[11]
- Editor's note: Because Kehot is not separately incorporated, no separate accounts or tax filings for it were found. Its finances, if reported, would fall within those of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, and these have not been researched for this page. How Kehot's sales income is split between publishing costs and the wider Merkos budget is not known.
Output and editorial line
Kehot says that "More than 100,000,000 volumes have been disseminated to date" in twelve languages, from Hebrew, Yiddish and English to Farsi and Arabic. Its list includes Hasidic discourses, halachic texts, histories, biographies and children's books.[4] Its timeline lists the first Tanya printed in America (1953), the first volume of Likutei Sichot (1962), the first bilingual Tanya (1973) and the first bilingual siddur (1978).[4] (Chabad-side.) Fishkoff notes that "Kehot serves Lubavitchers, but the bulk of its materials is destined for the movement's outreach work". She adds that "One-third of the company's English-language books have been printed since 1994", in a push "to find and publish all of the Rebbe's letters and speeches".[11]
As the movement's official publisher, Kehot follows the line of the Chabad leadership. Ehrlich, a scholar of the movement, writes that Schneerson "was able to control the publication output of Habad through his influence over the Kehot publishing house".[3] Since 1994 the house style has followed the leadership's position on the Rebbe's death. The 2016 court opinion records that Merkos's publications add the appellation "of blessed memory" after the Rebbe's name. Merkos objected when the messianist publisher Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos used the Kehot logo while leaving the appellation out.[2]
Trademark litigation
The Kehot name and logo were the subject of a long dispute between Merkos and Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos, a publisher that from 1967 issued the Rebbe's talks, with his approval, under the Kehot logo. In 1979 the Rebbe "put Vaad in charge of some of Kehot's printing operations".[2] The 2016 opinion opens: "A minority of the community, including counterclaim defendants Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos; Inc. ('Vaad') and Zalman Chanin, holds the belief that the Rebbe is the Messiah and still lives."[2] See Chabad messianism.
- 2010–2013. Merkos applied to register the Kehot logo, and Vaad opposed the application. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board dismissed the opposition in 2010. In 2013 the Eastern District of New York granted Merkos summary judgment on Vaad's appeal, finding that the board's conclusion that Merkos owned the logo was supported by substantial evidence.[9][2]
- 2016. After a four-day bench trial, the court dismissed Merkos's infringement counterclaims against Vaad. It held that "since Merkos has not carried its burden of demonstrating that there is a likelihood of confusion, it has failed to prove its claim for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act". It added that even had Merkos shown confusion, laches would bar an injunction. It also found that "numerous entities have published under the mark from the 1940s until today". The judge ended by hoping that the community could "let the Rebbe rest — even if only physically — in peace."[2]
Legal status: these were civil trademark proceedings. Merkos's ownership of the registered mark was upheld, but its claim that Vaad's use infringed it failed. No finding of wrongdoing was made against any individual. A related copyright case, Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos, Inc. v. Krinsky (E.D.N.Y. 2015), concerned the Rebbe's works. Its outcome has not been reviewed for this page.[2]
See also
- Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch
- Agudas Chasidei Chabad
- Chabad.org
- Chabad messianism
- Menachem Mendel Schneerson
- Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn
References
- ↑ M. Avrum Ehrlich, Leadership in the HaBaD Movement: A Critical Evaluation of HaBaD Leadership, History and Succession (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 2000), n. 544. Scholarly.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos, Inc. v. Kehot Publication Society, 156 F. Supp. 3d 363 (E.D.N.Y. 14 January 2016) (Block, J.), CourtListener. Court record.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ehrlich, The Messiah of Brooklyn (2004), p. 136, n. 1. Scholarly.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "About", Kehot Publication Society website, accessed 19 October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ Sue Fishkoff, The Rebbe's Army: Inside the World of Chabad-Lubavitch (New York: Schocken, 2003), p. 73. Journalistic; broadly sympathetic to Chabad.
- ↑ M. Avrum Ehrlich, The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidism Past and Present (Jersey City: KTAV, 2004), ISBN 0-88125-836-9, p. 42, nn. 23 and 25. Scholarly.
- ↑ Ehrlich, The Messiah of Brooklyn (2004), p. 45. Scholarly.
- ↑ "Kehot Publication Society", Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters (lubavitch.com), listed under Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, accessed 19 October 2026. Chabad-side.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos, Inc. v. Kehot Publication Society, 935 F. Supp. 2d 595 (E.D.N.Y. 29 March 2013) (Block, J.), CourtListener. Court record.
- ↑ Fishkoff, The Rebbe's Army (2003), pp. 261–262. Journalistic; broadly sympathetic to Chabad.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fishkoff, The Rebbe's Army (2003), pp. 279–280. Journalistic; broadly sympathetic to Chabad.