Shneur Zalman of Liadi

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Shneur Zalman of Liadi
The Alter Rebbe
TitleLiozner Maggid
Personal
ReligionJudaism
Parents
  • Boruch (father)
  • Rivkah (mother)
Jewish leader
PredecessorDovber of Mezeritch
SuccessorDovber Schneuri
DynastyChabad Lubavitch

Shneur Zalman of Liadi ‏שניאור זלמן מליאדי‎ (1745-09-04 - 1812-12-15 OS), was an Orthodox Rabbi, and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of Hasidic Judaism, then based in Liadi, Imperial Russia. He was the author of many works, and is best known for Shulchan Aruch HaRav, Tanya and his Siddur compiled according to the Arizal. He is also known as Shneur Zalman Baruchovitch, Reb Schneur Zalman, RaZaSh, Baal HaTanya vehaShulchan Aruch, the Alter Rebbe ("Old Rebbe" in Yiddish), or The Rav.

Biography

Rabbi Shneur Zalman was born in 1745 in the small town of Liozno, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (White Russia). He was a descendent of the mystic and philosopher Rabbi Judah Loew, the "Maharal of Prague". He was a prominent and youngest disciple of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch, the "Great Maggid" who was in turn the successor of the founder of Hasidism, Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer known as the Baal Shem Tov ("Master [of the] Good Name").

Until the age of twelve, he studied under Rabbi Issachar Ber, in Lyubavichi (Lubavitch); he distinguished himself as a Talmudist, such that his teacher sent him back home, informing his father that the boy could continue his studies without the aid of a teacher. At age fifteen he married Sterna Segal, the daughter of Yehuda Leib Segal, a wealthy resident of Vitebsk - and he was then able to devote himself entirely to study. During these years, Shneur Zalman was introduced to mathematics, geometry and astronomy by two learned brothers, refugees from Bohemia, who had settled in Liozna. One of them was also a scholar of the Kabbalah. Thus, besides mastering Rabbinic literature, he also acquired a fair knowledge of the sciences, philosophy, and Kabbalah.

He became an adept in Isaac Luria's system of Kabbalah - and it is thought that this is when he became an admirer of Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch. For twelve years he lived in Rabbi Dovber's house, and took an active part in the propagation of Hasidism. During the latter portion of Rabbi Dovber’s life, his students dispersed over Europe, and after Rabbi Dovber's passing, Rabbi Shneur Zalman became the leader of Hasidism in Lithuania.[citation needed]

At the time Lithuania was the center of the misnagdim (opponents of Hasidism), and Shneur Zalman faced much opposition. In 1772, together with Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, he attempted to create a dialogue with the Vilna Gaon who led the Misnagdim and had launched a ban ("Cherem") against the Hasidim - this unfortunately failed. See Vilna Gaon: Antagonism to Hasidism; Hasidim and Mitnagdim. Undaunted by this antagonism, he succeeded in creating a powerful network of Hasidic centers. He also involved himself in opposing Napoleon's advance on Russia by recruiting his dispiples to the Czar's army, and canvassing financial support for the Jewish settlements in the Land of Israel, then under the control of the Ottoman Empire.[citation needed]

In 1797 following the death of the Vilna Gaon, leaders of the Vilna community falsely accused the Hasidim of subversive activities - on charges of supporting the Ottoman Empire, since he advocated sending charity to the Ottoman territory of Palestine.[citation needed] He was then imprisoned in St. Petersburg. For three months he remained imprisoned in a fortress and was then subjected to an examination by a secret commission. Ultimately he was released by order of Paul I of Russia in 1798. The day of his acquittal and release, 19 Kislev, 5559 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." Two years later he was again imprisoned based on false denunciation. He was released immediately after the accession of Alexander I of Russia, and he was then “given full liberty to proclaim his religious teachings” by the Russian government.[citation needed]

It was after this that he moved his base to Liadi, Imperial Russia: rather than returning to Liozna, he took up his residence in the town of Liadi at the invitation of Prince Stanisław Lubomirski, Voivod of the town. In Liadi, his movement grew immensely - and he is still associated with Liadi to this day. Rabbi Shneur Zalman has since been accepted as one of the greatest Hasidic leaders inasmuch as the books that he authored studied and respected by all Hasidic groups. In 1812, fleeing the French Invasion, he left Mogilev, intending to go to Poltava, but died on the way in the small village of Pyen, near Kursk.

He was succeeded as Rebbe by his oldest son, Dovber. According to David Assaf, his youngest son, Moshe, converted to Catholicism.[1]

Philosophy

See Hasidic philosophy

As a Talmudist, Rabbi Shneur Zalman endeavored to place Kabbalah and Hasidism on a rational basis. In his seminal work, Tanya, he defines his approach as "מוח שולט על הלב" ("mind ruling over the heart/emotions"). He chose the name Chabad for this philosophy - the Hebrew acronym for the Sefirot Chochma ("wisdom"), Bina ("understanding"), and Da'at ("knowledge”).

Both in his works and in his sermons he “indicated an intelligent and not a blind faith”, and assumed an intellectual accessibility of the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. This intellectual basis differentiates Chabad from other forms of Hasidism. Chabad refers to these as "Chagat" – being the emotional attributes (Sefirot) of Chesed ("kindness"), Gevurah ("power"), and Tifereth ("beauty").

Subsequent history of Chabad

See Chabad-Lubavitch: History of the movement

After he passed away, his son and successor, Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, moved the movement to the town of Lubavitch (Lyubavichi) in present-day Belarus. In 1940, under the leadership of the previous Rebbe, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneersohn, the Chabad Lubavitch movement moved its headquarters to Brooklyn, New York in the United States. Under the leadership of, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Chabad established branches all over the world staffed by its own Lubavitch-trained, and ordained, rabbis with their wives and children.

Another follower of his, Rabbi Aharon HaLevi Horowitz, established a rival Chabad school in Strashelye

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 was a prolific writer; but only a few of his works have been published. He produced works of both mysticism and law, reflecting his intellectual stance on Hasidism; to this day his works form the cornerstone of Chabad-Lubavitch. His ability to explain even the most complex issues of Torah made his writings popular with Torah scholars everywhere.

He is probably best 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. The Tanya deals with Jewish spirituality and psychology, from a Kabbalistic point of view, and expounds on such profound themes as the Oneness of God, Tzimtzum, the Sefirot, and many other mystical concepts.

He is equally well known for the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, his version of the classic Shulkhan Arukh, an authoritative code of Jewish law and custom commissioned by Rabbi Dovber of Mezeritch. The work states the decided halakha, as well as the underlying reasoning. The Shulchan Aruch HaRav is considered authoritative by other Hasidim, and citations to this work are many times found in non-Hasidic sources such as the Mishnah Berurah used by Lithuanian Jews and the Ben Ish Chai used by Sephardic Jews. Rabbi Shneur Zalman is one of three authorities on whom Shlomo Ganzfried based his Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh.

He also edited the first Chabad siddur - Siddur Torah Or. It was based on the Ari Siddur of the famous kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (Arizal) of Safed - altered for general use, and correcting textual errors. Today's Siddur Tehillat HaShem is based on Shneur Zalman's Siddur Torah Or.

Rabbi Shneur Zalman's other works include:

Preceded by Rebbe of Lubavitch
gradual—1812 		Succeeded by

Timeline

AcharonimRishonimGeonimSavoraimAmoraimTanaimZugot

References

External links

  1. ^ New Book Reveals darker chapters in Hasidic history, The Forward
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