The origins of modern Chabad-Lubavitch organization in the United States are traced to the early 1940’s when the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), appointed his son-in-law and later successor, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1902-1994), to head the newly-founded educational and social service arms of the movement. As of 2007 there were over 3300 Chabad linked institutions around the world. Chabad is an acronym of three words: Chochmah (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), and Da’at (knowledge). Lubavitch is the name of the small town in the county of Mohilev (Imperial Russia) that served as the center of the Chabad Chassidism for four generations. Chabad is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism.

Chabad Lubavitch of Buffalo, known as Chabad of Buffalo, was established in 1971 by Rabbi Nosson Gurary and his wife Miriam starting from an apartment at Amherst Manor Drive. Since then it has grown into a two-center organization with buildings near the North and South Campuses of the University at Buffalo. The first student house, on Main Street, was located between Englewood and University, at 3293 Main, and expanded into a second building immediately adjacent to it. In suburban Amherst/Getzville, the Chabad House is located near the Ellicott Creek footbridge, opposite the Wilkeson and Spaulding dorms at 2501 North Forest Road, and close to the Jewish Community Center.

Chabad of Buffalo is currently run by Rabbi Avrohom and Rabbi Moshe Gurary, both of whom are sons of the original founders. Chabad House runs a range of programming for college students including Shabbat hosting, as well as a range of educational events and programs, including a summer camp for children, ‘Gan Israel”. During the 1980s and 1990s, Chabad, along with other Jewish organizations in Buffalo, was involved in aiding Soviet Jewish immigrants. From 1972 for the following twenty years, Chabad of Buffalo also offered classes on the campuses of the University at Buffalo in Jewish philosophy, traditions, practices and language. Chabad of Buffalo has at various points hosted local radio and television shows, a newspaper, Chabad Chronicle, annual festival events, adult bar mitzvah ceremonies, and provided counseling services including those at the Attica Correctional Facility. It has ongoing summer programming at the Chautauqua Institution. Before 2008, Torah Temimah Day School of Buffalo (which was founded during the 1970s by Chabad of Buffalo), ran intermittent full day schools at various locations around Buffalo. It merged with Jewish Heritage Day School (JHDS) in 2008 to form Ohr Temimim. While the original JHDS was initially affiliated with the Torah U’Mesorah Jewish Day School network, Ohr Temimim is now affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.

Chabad of Buffalo holds an annual (giant) Chanukah Menorah lighting event and invites a range of individuals to light the first flame each year.