The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Lubavitch Women’s Organization began soon after the founding of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh in 1942 and 1943. Throughout its existence, it has been known by various names, including the Ladies Division of the Pittsburgh Yeshiva, the Ladies Auxiliary of Yeshiva Achei Tmimim, the Yeshiva Women’s Council, and N’shei Ubnos Chabad.
Although it appears to have initially been independent, it eventually evolved into the Pittsburgh chapter of the international Lubavitch Women’s organization created by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn in the early 1950s. The Pittsburgh chapter hosted the international Lubavitch Women’s Organization convention in 1972, 1992, and 2014.
Early on, the Lubavitch Women’s Organization performed traditional auxiliary functions such as fundraising. With its association with the international organization, it increasingly served an educational and spiritual role for local Jewish women, such as hosting classes for women and girls and organizing recitations of Psalms for those who are ill.
