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Shneur Zalman of Liadi (or Reb Schneur Zalman or Baal HaTanya or Alter Rebbe ("Old Rebbe" in Yiddish) or The Rav), (Liadi was a small town in imperial Russia), (1745-1812), was an Orthodox rabbi and was the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch, a branch part of Hasidic Judaism.

Biography

Shneur Zalman of Liadi was a descendant of the mystic and philosopher Rabbi Judah Loew (known as the "Maharal of Prague"). He was a prominent disciple of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the "Great Maggid" who was in turn a major disciple of the founder of Hasidism Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer known as the Baal Shem Tov ("Master Good Name"). After the death of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, his sudents dispersed over Europe. Rabbi Shneur Zalman became the leader of Hasidism in Lithuania, and is accepted as one of the great Hasidic leaders.

The movement he founded was moved to the town of Lubavitch in present-day Belarus by his son and successor Rabbi Dovber Schneersohn. In 1940 the Chabad Lubavitch movement moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, New York in the United States with branches all over the world staffed by its own Lubavitch-trained, and ordained, rabbis with their wives and children.

He involved himself in opposing Napoleon's advance on Russia and supporting the Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire. 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 on the Hebrew calendar, 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."

Descendants of Rabbi Shneur 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.

Works

Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi is 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 refer to Shneur Zalman as the Baal HaTanya.

Rabbi Shneur 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.

Rebbes of Lubavitch

• Chabad Lubavitch:

1. Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812)
2. Dovber Schneersohn (1773-1827)
3. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789-1866)
4. Shmuel Schneersohn (1834-1882)
5. Sholom Dovber Schneersohn (1860-1920)
6. Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (1880-1950)
7. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994)

Time-line of Lubavitcher rebbes

External links

References

• Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, Adin Steinsaltz
• Rabbi Shneiur Zalman of Ladi (1746-1812), Prof. Eliezer Segal
• Shneor Zalman Ben Baruch, jewishencyclopedia.com

Resources

• Shulchan Aruch HaRav Fulltext (Hebrew), chabadlibrary.org
• Tanya Fulltext (Hebrew), chabadlibrary.org
• Lessons in Tanya, chabad.org

• 1745 births
• 1812 deaths
• Rebbes of Lubavitch