acronym formed by the initial letters of the Heb. words chessed, gevurah and tiferes, which are (respectively) the fourth, fifth and sixth of the Ten *Sefiros, or divine emanations. They represent (i) the first three of the seven divine middos, the emotive (rather than the intellectual) attributes, and (ii) the corresponding attributes in the soul of a Jew. Chagas hence signifies those branches of the chassidic movement which are rooted in an emotive approach to the service of G-d (cf. *Chabad)