| 770 Eastern Parkway Agudas Chasidei Chabad | |
|---|---|
Yiddish:770 איסטערן פארקוויי | |
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Hasidic Judaism |
| Rite | Nusach Ari |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | |
| Ownership | |
| Year consecrated | 1940 (5700) |
| Status | Active |
| Location | |
| Location | 770Eastern Parkway,Crown Heights,Brooklyn,New York City,New York |
| Country | United States |
  Location inNew York City | |
| Coordinates | 40°40′08″N73°56′34″W / 40.669021°N 73.942870°W /40.669021; -73.942870 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Edwin Kline |
| Type | Residence and synagogue |
| Style | CollegiateGothic Revival |
| Founder | The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe - Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn |
| Completed | 1920 |
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770 Eastern Parkway (Yiddish:770 איסטערן פארקוויי), also known as "770" ("Seven Seventy"), is the street address of the World Headquarters of theChabad-LubavitchHasidic movement, located onEastern Parkway in theCrown Heights neighborhood ofBrooklyn,New York. The building is the center of the Chabad-Lubavitch world movement and considered by many to be an iconic site in Judaism.[1]
The house, inCollegiateGothic Revival style, was built in 1920, designed by Edwin Kline, and originally served as a medical office.[2] In 1940, with the assistance ofJacob Rutstein and his son Nathan Rothstein, the building was purchased byAgudas Chasidei Chabad on behalf of the Chabad Lubavitch movement and as a home for RabbiYosef Yitzchak Schneersohn when he arrived in the United States in 1940.[3] Because Rabbi Schneersohn used a wheelchair, a building with an elevator needed to be purchased for his use as both a home and as asynagogue.[4]
The building, which soon became known as 770,[5] became the hub and central location for Chabad during the 1940s.[6] It served as the main Chabad synagogue, a yeshiva, and offices for theMerkos L'Inyonei Chinuch. Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn lived in an apartment on the second floor.[4] When RabbiMenachem Mendel Schneerson arrived fromVichy France to New York in 1941, his father-in-law appointed him as chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch. The younger Rabbi Schneerson's office was located on the first floor of 770, near the synagogue.
After Yosef Yitzchok's passing in January 1950, his son-in-law and successor, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, continued to use his own office on the main floor to lead the movement, while maintaining his personal residence on President Street, several blocks away.[7] Yosef Yitzchok's wife remained resident in her apartment on the second floor until her death. Her two daughters would often visit her in her apartment, and during her lifetime the newRebbe would conduct semi-private meals there for the family and selected visitors on festive occasions. Today, the previous Rebbe's apartment and office are closed to the public. Since 1994, Rabbi Menachem Mendel's office on the first floor is used onShabbat andJewish holidays as an additional prayer room open to the public during prayer times.
From its inception the synagogue has served three parallel purposes. It is a place of daily prayer services, a study hall for advanced students, and an assembly hall for Chabad gatherings, known asFarbrengens. Here the Lubavitcher Rebbe or elderChassidim would address Chassidim and other visitors aboutTorah observance andChassidic philosophy and practice.[8]
As the Lubavitch movement grew in the United States, the original synagogue became too small to house the chasidim and students who came to pray and study there. The synagogue was expanded in several stages. The first annex was added in 1960, with subsequent expansions taking place in the late 1960s and again in the mid-1970s. The synagogue then reached its current size. The original synagogue remains as a small study hall used by rabbinical students during the week. In 1988, Rabbi Schneerson laid the cornerstone for an ongoing renovation project.[9]
In 1991, the neighborhood around the Chabad headquarters was the site of theCrown Heights riot between Orthodox Jewish residents and African American residents. Black residents outraged by a boy's death in a crash involving the motorcade of RebbeMenachem Mendel Schneerson attacked Jews, homes and businesses for three days.[10]
On December 9, 2014, an individual with a documented history of mental health issues entered a synagogue and assaulted a student with a knife. Another student present reported that the assailant yelled threats during the incident. A police officer at the scene engaged with the assailant in an effort to detain him. The confrontation resulted in the officer fatally shooting the assailant.[11][1][12]
770 has attracted visits from a wide range of prominent figures, including political leaders, diplomats, and heads of state. During Schneerson's lifetime, many came to seek his counsel or pay their respects, among themRobert F. Kennedy, Israeli Prime MinisterMenachem Begin and future prime ministersYitzhak Rabin, andBenjamin Netanyahu, Israeli PresidentZalman Shazar and future Israeli PresidentShimon Peres, as well as New York City mayorsJohn Lindsay,Ed Koch,David Dinkins, and future MayorRudy Giuliani. Since his death, visits have continued from dignitaries such as MayorBill de Blasio, MayorEric Adams, Israeli ministersYoav Gallant andNir Barkat, and Argentinian PresidentJavier Milei.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]
In 2025, Israeli far-right MinisterItamar Ben-Gvir visited 770,drawing protests in response to his racist anti-Arab views and fierce opposition to a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.[24][25][26][27]
The original building is part of a larger block maintained by theAgudas Chasidei Chabad. This block includes the larger synagogue, aKollel (Kollel Tiferes Zekeinim), and the community's library. It also houses the offices of the secretariat of the Lubavitch Movement and other offices.
770 is an iconic site considered holy by members of the Chabad movement. It attracts thousands of visitors from around the world every year.[1][28] The building is recognized as an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, which is open to all people, with a men's section on the ground floor and a women's section on the floor above it. OnShabbat and holidays, smaller prayer groups can be found congregating throughout the building, including the lobby and office used by the Rebbe within the original 770 building.
The synagogue's official name is "Congregation Lubavitch of Agudas Chasidei Chabad".
Since at least the 2000s, the synagogue, located under 784 and 788 Eastern Parkway, has been subject to a dispute between theAgudas Chasidei Chabad (the umbrella organization for the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement) and theGabbaim, who areMessianics and control day-to-day operations of the main synagogue.[29] Though a court ruling in 2006 decided that full ownership of 770 belongs to Agudas Chasidei Chabad, ongoing legal disputes have prevented either party from altering the structure.[29]
In December 2023, an unauthorized underground digging was discovered connecting the main synagogue to a nearby unusedmikveh.[30][31]The New York Times reported that the tunnel was part of an attempted expansion of 770.[5] In response, Chabad leadership closed the women's balcony on the floor above until the tunnel could be filled in[31] and called in construction crews to flood the expansion with concrete.[32] When workers tried to fill the tunnel on January 8, 2024,clashes broke out between Chabad messianists, who tried to prevent the tunnel from being filled,[33] and theNew York City Police Department (NYPD).[33] The NYPD arrested nine people,[34][35] and the building was temporarily closed pending a structural safety review.[36] Footage of the January 8 incident and tunnel went viral on social media.[37]
Acar repeatedly drove into an entrance of the building during the evening of January 28, 2026, causing damage to the building. The driver was arrested by police, and the building was evacuated.[38][39] The suspect was charged with attempted assault with a hate crime enhancement and other crimes. Police said the suspect had been to the synagogue and other synagogues before. The attack happened during a Chabad holiday, with thousands of people attending the event.[40]
The building contains a stairway that leads to the main synagogue. The synagogue is underground, and is considered part of 770, although it technically is mostly under 784 and 788.
The building contains a Yeshiva with approximately 1,000 students. The Yeshiva is a part of a group of Yeshivot calledTomchei Tmimim, started by the 5th Chabad RebbeSholom Dovber Schneersohn of Lubavitch.
Lubavitch Chassidim attach great significance to everything that played a role in the Rebbe's life; therefore, Lubavitch Chassidim all over the world have built replicas or near-replicas of the building.[41] These include replicas inRamat Shlomo inJerusalem andKfar Chabad inIsrael.[42] Other replicas includeUCLA Chabad House at UCLALos Angeles, California; Moshiach Center In Fort Lauderdale Fl, Chabad House atRutgers University inNew Brunswick, New Jersey; Congregation Ahavat Shalom inOcean City, Maryland; inLos Angeles, California; inSt Kilda East, Victoria, a suburb ofMelbourne,Australia; inMilan,Italy; inBrazil; inArgentina; inChile, inKamianske,Ukraine; inCamp Gan Israel inMontreal, Quebec and most recently inBaltimore,Maryland.[citation needed]The Forward wrote in 2021 that there were an estimated 35 replicas of 770, most of which were Chabad Houses.[41]
Tzedakah boxes andmezuzah cases have been decorated with pictures of the building. Joseph Zakon Wineries inNew York City makes a wine called "Seven-seventy". In the early 1990s, Chabad bar-mitzvah boys began usingtefillin bags with an embroidered picture of seven-seventy.[43]
Media related to770 Eastern Parkway at Wikimedia Commons
