A Chabad House is a Jewish community center in the truest sense of the term — the nerve center of all the educational and outreach activities of the Chabad-Lubavitch lamplighter, serving the needs of the entire Jewish community, from the youngsters to the elderly, and everyone in-between. The Rebbe called for the expansion of activities in existing Chabad Houses, and the establishment of new Chabad-Lubavitch centers wherever Jews live, in the cities, in the suburbs, on college campuses throughout the nation and around the world. And his representatives are responded and are still responding to the Rebbe’s call.
In 1972, in a letter written on the occasion of the opening of a new Chabad House, the Rebbe extended his prayerful wish that the new institution should serve as a key to open the hearts of all who will visit it, and all who will come under its sphere of influence — open their hearts to the very core of their Jewishness. Of this innermost core, it has been said that it is always “awake” and responsive, regardless of the outer layers encrusting it. And when the inner core of the heart is touched, it reveals the very essence of the Jew, permeating him with the Torah, Torat Chaim, and the mitzvot whereby Jews live, so that he becomes an inspiration to others.
In the Chabad Houses, and in all their activities, the shluchim are Abraham’s heirs, all their doors are open.
They have inherited his kindness and compassion, his selfless commitment to the cause of making G‑d known in the world, and revealing G‑dliness every place on earth. They will not rest until the wellsprings of Torah have spread forth everywhere, “…to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the South.”