Editing Menachem Mendel Schneerson (section)

=== Illness and death ===

In 1977, during the ''[[hakafot]]'' ceremony on [[Shemini Atzeret]], Schneerson suffered a [[heart attack]]. At his request, rather than transporting him to a hospital, the doctors set up a mini-hospital at his office where he was treated for the next four weeks by doctors [[Bernard Lown]], Ira Weiss, and Larry Resnick.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/default.asp?searchword=weiss&LocalSearchImg.x=0&LocalSearchImg.y=0 |title=Living Torah Archive - Living Torah |publisher=Chabad.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013065528/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/livingtorah/default.asp?searchword=weiss&LocalSearchImg.x=0&LocalSearchImg.y=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
He made a full recovery from the heart attack with few, if any, noticeable lasting effects or changes to his work habits. 
Fifteen years later, Schneerson suffered a serious [[stroke]] while praying at the [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|grave of his father-in-law]]. The stroke left him unable to speak and paralyzed on the right side of his body. The hope that Schneerson could be revealed as the Messiah (Moshiach) became more widespread during this time.<ref name="wp06201999">''[[The Washington Post]]'', June 20, 1999. 5 Years After Death, Messiah Question Divides Lubavitchers. Leyden, Liz.</ref><ref name="Gonzalez">{{Cite web |last=Gonzalez |first=David |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0D6133EF93BA35752C1A962958260 |title=Lubavitchers Learn to Sustain Themselves Without the Rebbe |work=The New York Times |date=November 8, 1994 |access-date=May 12, 2010 |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240111075740/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/08/nyregion/lubavitchers-learn-to-sustain-themselves-without-the-rebbe.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
On the morning of June 12, 1994 ([[3 Tammuz]] 5754), Schneerson died at the [[Beth Israel Medical Center]] and was buried at the [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|Ohel]] next to his father-in-law, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, at [[Montefiore Cemetery]] in Queens, New York.<ref>The Encyclopedia of Hasidism, by Tzvi Rabinowicz p. 432 {{ISBN|1-56821-123-6}}.</ref><ref name="NYT19940613A1">{{cite news |last1=Firestone |first1=David |title=Thousands Gather in Crown Hts. To Grieve for Their Grand Rabbi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/13/nyregion/thousands-gather-in-crown-hts-to-grieve-for-their-grand-rabbi.html |access-date=November 14, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=June 13, 1994}}</ref> Shortly after Schneerson's death, the executors of his will discovered several notebooks in a drawer in his office, in which Schneerson had written his scholarly thoughts and religious musings from his earliest years.<ref name="Gonzalez" /> The majority of entries in these journals date between the years 1928 and 1950 and were subsequently published.<ref>[http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1210901/jewish/The-Rebbes-Notebook.htm The Rebbe's Notebook - The Reshimot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045031/http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/article_cdo/aid/1210901/jewish/The-Rebbes-Notebook.htm |date=September 24, 2014 }}, chabad.org</ref>
[[File:פתקים בתוך אוהל הרבי מליובאוויטש.jpg|thumb|The Rebbe's Tomb: Schneerson's [[Ohel (Chabad-Lubavitch)|burial place]] next to his [[Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn|father-in-law]] and predecessor in [[Queens]], New York]]
Following age-old Jewish tradition that the resting place of a [[tzadik]] is holy, Schneerson's gravesite is viewed by many as a sacred site. It has been described by ''[[Yedioth Ahronoth]]'' as "the American Western Wall", where thousands of Jews<ref name="observer.com" /> go to pray each week.<ref name="tabletmag.com" /><ref>{{Cite book |author=David M. Gitlitz & Linda Kay Davidson |title=Pilgrimage and the Jews |publisher=Praeger |year=2005 |pages=118–120 |isbn=978-0-275-98763-3}}</ref><ref name="Sarah Maslin Nir 2013" /> Many more send faxes and e-mails with requests for prayers to be read at the gravesite.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78446/jewish/Sending-a-letter.htm |title=How to Send a letter - Ohel Chabad-Lubavitch |publisher=Ohelchabad.org |access-date=September 9, 2012 |archive-date=August 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100814142240/http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78446/jewish/Sending-a-letter.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

U.S. President [[Donald Trump]] visited the Ohel of the Rebbe in 2024.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx4pexT6pks “Trump visits grave of Chabad Lubavitch rebbe to mark anniversary of October 7 attack on Israel” (New York Post Official Channel - YouTube)]</ref>

==== Wills ====
Schneerson died without naming a successor as leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, causing controversy within Chabad about Schneerson's will. He did, however, write one legal will, which was signed before witnesses, whereby he transferred stewardship of all the major Chabad institutions as well as all his possessions to Agudas Chassidei Chabad.<ref name="willis">''The Messiah of Brooklyn: Understanding Lubavitch Hasidim Past and Present'', M. Avrum Ehrlich, Chapter 20, KTAV Publishing, {{ISBN|0-88125-836-9}}</ref>

Another will, no executed copies of which are known to be in existence, named three senior Chabad rabbis as directors of Agudas Chassidei Chabad.<ref name="willis" />

==== Messianism ====
{{Main|Chabad messianism}}

Schneerson had a passion and desire to raise awareness of the coming of the Messiah. Many of his admirers hoped he would be revealed as the Messiah during his life.<ref name="Susan" /><ref name="commentarymagazine.com" /> They pointed to traditional Jewish theology, which teaches that in every generation, there is one person who is worthy of being the Messiah, and if God deems the time right, he will be revealed by God as such.<ref>J. Immanuel Schochet, [http://www.chabad.org/101679 The Personality of Mashiach]. 1991.</ref><ref name="JTMessiah">Joseph Telushkin, ''[[Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History]]''. HarperCollins, 2014. Page 431</ref><ref>Aharon Lichtenstein, [https://www.scribd.com/doc/111005773/Rav-Aharon-Lichtenstein-s-Hesped-for-the-Lubavitcher-Rebbe-English Eulogy for the Rebbe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307065113/https://www.scribd.com/doc/111005773/Rav-Aharon-Lichtenstein-s-Hesped-for-the-Lubavitcher-Rebbe-English |date=March 7, 2016 }}. June 16, 1994.</ref>
Schneerson's supporters have claimed that many Jews felt that if there was indeed a person worthy of such stature, it was Schneerson.<ref name="Susan" /><ref>The Rebbe's Army. Page 320.</ref> Although Schneerson constantly objected to any talk that he could be the Messiah, this notion sparked controversy, particularly among those unfamiliar with these traditional teachings.<ref name="Susan" /><ref name="Wall Street Journal" /><ref name="Adin Steinsaltz page 24" /> Detractors criticized a children's song with the words "We want ''moshiach'' (the messiah) now / We don't want to wait", that Schneerson commended.<ref name="JTMessiah" /> Since Schneerson's passing, the Messianic movement has largely shrunk, although some followers still believe him to be the Messiah.<ref name="JTMessiah" /> The Chabad umbrella organization, [[Agudas Chasidei Chabad]], has condemned Messianic behavior, stating that it defies the expressed wishes of Schneerson.<ref>{{cite news |title=Statement by Agudas Chassidei Chabad-Lubavitch |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1996/02/09/issue.html |access-date=March 16, 2025 |work=The New York Times |volume=CXLV |issue=50332 |location=New York |date=February 9, 1996 |language=English}}</ref>