Shmuel Schneersohn Explained

Lubavitcher Rebbe
Began:17 March 1866
Ended:14 September 1882 OS
Birth Name:Shmuel Schneersohn
Main Work:Likutei Torah - Toras Shmuel
Predecessor:Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Successor:Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
Spouse:Sterna (daughter of his brother Chaim Shneur Zalman), Rivkah (granddaughter of Dovber Schneuri)
Issue2:Shneur Zalman Aharon
Sholom Dovber Schneersohn
Avrohom Sender
Menachem Mendel
Devorah Leah Ginsburg
Chaya Mushka Horenstein
Dynasty:Chabad Lubavitch
Father:Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Mother:Chaya Mushka (daughter of Dovber Schneuri)
Birth Date:29 April 1834 OS
Birth Place:Lyubavichi, Russian Empire
Death Date:14 September 1882 OS
Death Place:Lyubavichi, Russian Empire
Place Of Burial:Lyubavichi

Shmuel Schneersohn (or Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch or The Rebbe Maharash) (29 April 1834 – 14 September 1882 OS) was an Orthodox rabbi and the fourth Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Chasidic movement.

Biography

Shmuel Schneersohn was born in Lyubavichi, on 2 Iyar 5594 (1834), the seventh son of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. He faced competition from three of his brothers, primarily from Yehuda Leib Schneersohn who established a dynasty in Kapust upon their father's death. Other brothers also established dynasties in Lyady, Nizhyn, and Ovruch.[1]

In 1848, Schneersohn was married to the daughter of his brother, Chaim Shneur Zalman Schneersohn. After several months she died, and he then married Rivkah, a granddaughter of his own grandfather Dovber Schneuri. He had three sons, Zalman Aharon, Shalom Dovber, and Menachem Mendel, as well as one daughter, Devorah Leah.

Schneersohn was said to have had chariots on call for the evacuation of books in time of fire.[2]

Besides his communal activism, he had wide intellectual interests. He spoke several languages, including Latin.[3] He wrote widely on a range of religious and secular topics, and much of his writing has never been published and remains in manuscript form alone.[3] His discourses began to be published for the first time under the title Likkutei Torat Shmuel in 1945 by Kehot, and 12 volumes have so far been printed.[3]

He died in Lyubavichi, on 13 Tishrei 5643 (1882), leaving three sons and two daughters, and was succeeded by his son Sholom Dovber.[3]

Schneersohn urged the study of Kabbalah as a prerequisite for one's humanity:

A person who is capable of comprehending the seder hishtalshelus (kabbalistic secrets concerning the coming-into-being of all existence every moment) - and fails to do so - cannot be considered a human being. At every moment and time one must know where his soul stands. It is a mitzvah (commandment) and an obligation to know the seder hishtalshelus.[4]

Works

Aphorisms

"The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, Lechatchilah Ariber--'At the outset, one should climb over.'"[5]
"You cannot fool God; ultimately, you cannot fool others either. The only one you can fool is yourself. And to fool a fool is no great achievement."[6]
"because better is better, is good not good? rather good is good, and better is better!"[7]
"Why are you demanding of me?[8] Demand of yourself! If you toil and fill your mind with Torah there won't be any space for foreign thoughts! break your desires and you will feel great pleasure in prayer!"[9]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Sefer HaToldot Rav Shmuel, Admor Maharash, Glitzenstein, A. H.
  2. The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present, M. Avrum Ehrlich, ch.16 note.12, KTAV Publishing,
  3. Encyclopedia of Hasidism, entry: Schneersohn, Shmuel. Naftali Lowenthal. Aronson, London 1996.
  4. http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sefer-hatoldos-admur-maharash/09.htm Sefer HaToldos Admur Maharash
  5. See footnote number "[58]", of Web site: The Blessings Of The Lubavitcher Rebbe Shlita / After Minchah Erev Yom Kippur, 5752 . [As the Rebbe Maharash himself explained, this approach runs contrary to the approach of the world at large. "The world says, 'If you can't crawl under, climb over.' But I say, LeChatchilah Ariber, 'At the outset, one should climb over.' "] . . https://web.archive.org/web/20020327024023/http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/50/08.htm . March 27, 2002 . dead.
  6. http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/through-the-eyes-of-a-woman/59.htm The Nechama Greisman Anthology
  7. Web site: אגרות קודש אדמו"ר מוהריי"צ ד - שניאורסון, יוסף יצחק, 1880-1950 (Page 205 of 623).
  8. To rid you of evil thoughts
  9. Web site: אגרות קודש אדמו"ר מוהריי"צ ד - שניאורסון, יוסף יצחק, 1880-1950 (Page 111 of 623).