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Revision as of 22:53, 30 October 2004
Shneur Zalman of Liadi, (1745-1812), was the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, a sect of Hasidic Judaism. Zalman was a descendant of the Prague rabbi and philosopher Judah Loew
Zalman was a prominent student of Dovber of Mezeritch, the "Great Maggid". After the death of their teacher, his sudents dispersed. Rabbi Zalman became the leader of Hasidism in Lithuania, and is accepted as one of the great Hasidic leaders. He involved himself in opposing Napoleon's advance on Russia and supporting the Jewish settlements in Israel. He was imprisoned by the Czar on charges of supporting the Ottoman Empire, since he advocated sending charity to the Ottoman territory of Palestine. The day of his acquittal and release, the 19th of Kislev, is celebrated as the "Hasidic New Year" by Lubavitch Hasidim, who have a festive meal and communal pledges to learn the whole of the Talmud known as "Chalukat Ha'Shas."
Zalman is most well known for his systematic exposition of Hasidic Jewish philosophy, entitled Likkutei Amarim, and more popularly known as the Tanya, first published in 1797. (The fuller and more authoritative version of this work dates from 1814.) Due to the popularity of this book, Hasidic Jews often to Zalman as the Baal HaTanya.
Zalman is also well known for his work Shulchan Aruch HaRav, his version of the classic Shulkhan Arukh, an authoritative code of Jewish law and custom. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav is used by Lubavitch Hasidism. However, citations to this work are sometimes found in non-Lubavitch sources such as the Mishnah Berurah and the Ben Ish Chai.
Descendents of Rabbi Zalman adopted the names Schneersohn or Schneerson to accommodate Napoleonic edicts that required all subjects to take permanent surnames. (Prior to Napoleon's conquests and the winds of Enlightenment he brought in his wake, Jews only had their traditional names such as Shneur ben (son of) Boruch.) The last two Rebbes of Chabad Lubavitch, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (1880-1950) and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), adhered strictly to their family surnames.
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